PRODUCTS WITH A purpose are flooding the reptile aisles as people snap up specialty foods for their iguanas and chameleons. That’s according to Packaged Facts, which predicts steady growth in reptile products beyond 2020 in its U.S. Pet Market Trends and Opportunities report. Stake out a piece of this $383 million market by stocking live foods, fortifying powders and specialty foods for different types of reptiles.
Live Food
Stocking live food makes life easier for your lizards and iguana owners, but the real purpose is to get people in your store. Sell too many crickets at a time and they’ll croak before they’re eaten. Sell smaller batches and make friends with your return customers, because they’re likely to mention your store a lot, like every time someone asks what they feed their bearded dragon.
Flightless Fruit Flies Culture Kit
Timberline
KEY FEATURES: These busy little buggers entertain reptiles and frogs but are totally flightless and won’t swarm a pet’s cage — or your pet store.
SALES TIP: Market it as a gift that keeps on giving. One order will produce flies for more than a month.
timberlinefresh.com, (800) 423-2248
$24.99
Live Crickets
Fluker Farms
KEY FEATURES: Acheta domestica is diverse strain of crickets with a high survival rate, boosted by a diverse lineage spanning 60 generations and multiple geographies.
SALES TIP: Make your life easier by feeding and watering in-store crickets with Fluker’s Orange Cube Cricket Diet.
flukerfarms.com, (225) 343-7035
$6.90/100
Small Breeder Box
Lee’s HerpHaven
KEY FEATURES: This durable storage and breeding container houses 10,000 residents at a time.
SALES TIP: Package it as a starter kit by adding bedding, chow and water gels.
exoticnutrition.com, (757) 988-0301
$19.49
Fortified
Help reptile owners keep up ideal calcium-to-phosphorus ratios and appropriate levels of vitamin D by stocking gut-loading bug dust, nutritional supplements and products that add an extra boost of energy. Nutritional balance is essential to reptiles, which are sometimes too fussy to eat at all. If a reptile won’t eat, suggest some non-dusted feedings, a light misting before gut-loading, or a different dust all together.
Jump Start Caloric Supplement & Appetite Stimulant
Zilla, Central Garden & Pet Co.
KEY FEATURES: Delivers a healthy, concentrated dose of calories and vitamins and an energy boost to combat everyday sluggishness.
SALES TIP: Offer this to bolster weak appetites brought on by breeding and illness.
zillarules.com, (888) 255-4527
$12.29
Veggie Burger
Repashy
KEY FEATURES: This plant-based gel works as a nutritional treat for bearded dragons, blue tongue skinks and other omnivorous reptiles.
SALES TIP: Try it as a one-off treat for tortoises and iguanas, but be aware that this brand dosage runs strong.
repashy.com, (855) 737-2749
$8.99
Herptivite
Rep-Cal
KEY FEATURES: A superior multivitamin, multimineral and amino acid food supplement developed from the latest findings in reptile and amphibian nutritional research.
SALES TIP: Hype the supplement’s roots in sea vegetation, which includes the vitamin A requirement for reptiles thanks to beta carotene.
repcal.com, (800) 406-6446
$8.99
Shelf Stable
Diets with a longer shelf life are easy to manage, and let you stock a variety of foods and snacks without running a live bait shop. Mix it up with mealworms for anoles and basilisks, and dragons and geckos, or dried river shrimp for turtles and terrestrial amphibians. Crossover alert! Dried reptile snacks can sometimes be sold as crossover items for fish and birds.
Dragon Grub
Exo Terra by Hagen
KEY FEATURES: Black Soldier Fly larvae stars in this specialty blend of freeze dried, insect-based pellets.
SALES TIP: Ask about the pet’s age, this diet has specialized blends for adults and juveniles.
usa.hagen.com, (800) 353-3444
$7.99 – $10.99
Crested Gecko Diet
Zoo Med
KEY FEATURES: A specialty diet for crested geckos, designed after a year of nutritional science testing.
SALES TIP: Show off all the options, this diet comes in watermelon and tropical fruit flavors, and in pouches and bottles.
zoomed.com, (888) 496-6633
$12.99
Pro Reptomin Juvenile Turtle Formula
Tetrafauna
KEY FEATURES: Each floating pellet contains high levels of fat and vitamin D3 to promote vitality and immune health in young turtles.
SALES TIP: Point out the high calcium to phosphorus ratio and boost of protein in this blend.
tetra-fish.com, (800) 322-1266
$7.99