Reptile Basics

We attended the Tinley show this past weekend.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Attendance seemed to be pretty good.  Talking to some other vendors I found they shared the concern that this event was not very well advertised.  It was put together pretty quickly relative to other NARBC shows as a meeting/fundraiser for Pijac and USARK.  It was a great success.

Talking with Andrew Wyatt- (USARK) I was pleased to learn that the auction took in about $35,000 which is to be split between USARK and Pijac.  I would imagine that other dues and donations were also paid so hopefully that number is quite a bit higher.  I was also encouraged to learn that there is still quite a good deal of hope to overcome this proposed ban and USFWS proposed rule change.  USARK in particular has exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds.  It is money well spent and I believe we would already be sunk in this hobby if not for them.

As for the show- got to see several regular customers for the first time.  It is good to meet people and talk to them and I do not get up to the Great Lakes area much.  Show was half the “normal” Tinley size but room was well laid out and full of vendors.  Filled up pretty good with customers as well!  I think we will try to be back for the regularly scheduled October event but that is a long way off- we will have to see if it fits in. I would encourage anyone to attend this one- great show.

Frank is going to start attending the Shepardsville KY show on a regular basis and try it out.  Looks like a good show and the promoter is very helpful.  Too bad all reptile show promoters do not have his attitude.  We could use one in the Mid-Atlantic states that has a clue.  Stu has been hitting the Atlanta shows (Repticon and herp society) as well as Columbia SC.  Frank has been going to the Birmingham AL and Hamburg PA  shows quite regularly and I pick up White Plains and Daytona.   As always- if you need anything specific at one of these shows make sure you email me 2 weeks ahead!

Enjoy the snow………….again………….

2009 has been a challenging year for many businesses.  Somehow though, the reptile industry remains as strong as ever!  I want to thank everyone for their support this past year- I hope we have lived up to expectations as much as possible!

I have added quite a bit to the offerings in 2009.  I have reworked a lot of the rodent watering equipment to make life a bit easier!   Added water bowls right at the end of the year and much more.  Also survived a major website overhaul.  That is just not much fun!  Been a busy year and I have a lot more coming in 2010.  There are several pretty big projects that I had really hoped would hit in ‘09 that just did not make it.  They about can not miss for ‘10!

On the subject of rodent watering- Seems like I have finally managed to strike at least a small truce with Edstrom and we will be offering some better price breaks on the valves in the next week or so.  Have to wait for the new shipment to arrive.  Following this shipment I will be offering bulk/wholesale pricing on the valves and several other related hardware again.  Edstrom continues to have excessive waits on the valves which is not helping but they tell me that will improve in the coming months.  Hasn’t yet.  I apologize in advance for any back orders on the valves- I really work hard to keep good supplies of what I sell on hand so I can fill orders promptly but just can’t seem to with the valves no matter what I try.

The animal market this year has been a rough one for many.  Some will blame it all on the economy, not so sure about that- supplies are selling same or better than ever.   Others will blame it on market crashing sales from some larger breeders- seen that happen before over the years and it is generally a short term impact.  My thinking is while that contributes, the largest factor is the explosive growth in this hobby in the past few years.  Kind of a “reptile bubble” if you will.  Many thousands of hobbyists have been getting in and getting a few animals and now they are successfully breeding them.  Remember all those BP’s 3 years ago?  They are breeding now.  Like houses, you can’t keep building them endlessly forever and expect they will all sell for large sums.  At some point things need to re balance.  Prices need to hit an equilibrium in the market.  This is not new to reptiles, just been a long time since it has happened and never to this scale.  Again, we have never seen this kind of popularity in this hobby before! Have faith!

We will be in White Plains again January 24th.  You can click on the link for the website and more info.  Bruce continues to do an outstanding job with that show and it is really a pleasure to attend.  Attendance is always good, good vendors, good facility, right size, and on and on.  It has achieved Zen!  If you need to reserve caging now is the time!  it is only about 3 weeks out and coming fast! We have already started to build for that show.  Hopefully the snow will manage to not trap us up there?  Been lucky for years now- we will see?  Seems like a year for snow so far.

It looks very likely we will hit the Tinley Park expo in mid February.  We will likely not be bringing caging but can make pre-arranged deliveries if it is needed.  Going to “go light”- supplies in large quantities but no trailer.  Let me know if you have any requests on that show, I will be making the final decision in a few days.

We are also looking ahead to the Daytona Expo already.  Got the invite in the mail a few days ago.  Time to start thinking about that again………If you have not made it to FL. for that one I suggest you go, it is worth it!

Well, we have got the new site up today.  Overall pretty smooth experience so far but a few bugs.  Please bear with us for a couple of days while we get it all sorted out.

If you have any problems with it please drop us an email- we will be happy to take orders over the phone if need be- 336 880 5798

Thanks for your support-

Rich

Got some new items coming online this week.  Some are already on the site and a few need to be added, got to get some pictures taken today.  Should have some time??

I have rounded up some really neat components for water tubing connections!  Starting with the new tank connector- This new bulkhead is a lot less, well,  bulky.  It requires a 5/8″ hole instead of the much larger hole the current bulkhead uses.  What sets this system apart is the tubing attaches to a removable fitting that locks into place in the bulkhead.  With a quarter turn you can connect or disconnect the tubing from your water reservoir.  The bulkhead will AUTOMATICALLY shut off the flow of water whenever the tubing is disconnected!  No more large ball valve putting stress on everything when you turn it!  The next improvement over the prior system is the much sturdier nylon construction.  The weakest point on the older model has always been the connecting point where the tubing pushes on.  This new connection is many, many times stronger and very easily replaceable.  The fittings are also universal so you can move your reservoir around and just plug into to any supply line with the male connector (available separately if you need them).  Kind of a modular setup.

Next up- the quick connect link for inline use.  Want to connect multiple racks together for use with one reservoir?  I know I do.  Problem is disconnecting the tubing that links them together is a pain in the rear.  Once the tubing has been on awhile it becomes “One” with the “T” or Elbow.  No more.  With this in-line connector you can connect and disconnect with the same quarter turn.  Move racks around, connect them to other racks.  The fun that can be had!

The drain valve at the bottom of the rack is a really helpful addition but they are a bit costly.  Now they are quite a bit less money!  You guessed it- same quick connect fitting with a cap on it.  Want to drain out your lines or bleed the air real quick?  1/4 turn takes the cap off and a 1/4 turn puts it back on.  Now the drain valve is under $2.

Particles in your water supply cause the vast majority of dripping valves.  Hard to keep all the dust out of the reservoir, we are after all breeding rodents.  Gee, where could all the dust come from?  We now offer an easily replaceable, much tighter filter.  It uses a 60 micron stainless steel screen.  Not much is getting through.  It can be back washed several times as needed or simply replaced when clogged up for maximum efficiency.

Speaking of reservoirs- we will now be offering our own 3 gallon reservoir that will include the Quick connecting bulkhead setup (Already installed!) and the inline filter.  We went with a square bucket for much better seal than the older model (1 gallon round bucket) with 3 times the capacity.  We will be offering it for the same price as the original 1 gallon reservoir.

We have also moved to our own tubing allowing much better quantity discounts while maintaining  the same quality and flexibility.  The new tubing comes on MUCH more convenient 100′ rolls instead of the 500′ rolls we have been dealing with.  We still sell by the foot so you can get as little or as much as you need.  Tubing clamps have also been replaced with our own- again prices have dropped as well as some much more attractive quantity breaks being available.

All of this should be on the website for ordering today (10/21/09) if I can get all the pictures taken.  Several of the components are already up- check them out!

http://www.reptilebasics.com/Rodent-Bird-Watering-p-1-c-268.html

Also new and exciting!!  The new, better, faster, stronger, shinier website should be ready to launch beginning of November.  Stay tuned for details!!

Another Daytona Expo is behind us.  This year was one of the most challenging we have had to get ready for.  Overall it went off without a hitch.  Both of our pre-sold cage customers where waiting on us just as planned!  Almost unheard of!

Wayne Hill did a great job with this show.  The new facility at the Ocean Center is great!  Loading and unloading was a MUCH smoother experience.  Instead of a stressful, rushed situation with crappy parking and over zealous parking “officials” looking to write parking tickets this was well organized with adequate parking.  I really did not think this was possible there. I did not have my annual run in with some guy on a John Deer utility cart giving me a bunch of static about how I can not walk across his parking lot.  Kind of disappointing I did not get to give him heartburn this year.

Inside, the new facility swallowed up the tables and customers quite a bit better than in the past.  I would guess this show has hit its theoretical maximum as far as vendors go at this point.  Everyone is in the main room which is great.  No more tables in the halls, bathrooms, lobbies, etc.  Aisles were very wide and easy to navigate.  This is a real help in selling.  No river of people sweeping people right past you.

While I am sure some will be unhappy with this show for one reason or another- In my opinion it is the best one we have attended.  Our sales were better than ever, we were much more relaxed, we got to talk to more people.  About as good as it gets!

Looking ahead- I will be set up with Frank in Raleigh next weekend and White Plains the week after that.  We are absolutely swamped with cage orders for the next couple of weeks (??) so it looks like we will be going to WP NY pretty light.  Not sure if I can get enough together to warrant dragging the trailer up there.  I will make the call on that middle of next week when I see where we are at.  If you are needing a rack/cage for that show better speak up real soon.

I am planning an update on the website sometime before the year is out.  I have some new shopping cart software I like pretty good.  Not cheap but pretty nice.  Seems they all have their pros and cons but I think this is a step up.  The real challenge is moving the database with all order data/history over.  Of course one shopping cart does not know how to talk to the other.  Why should there be any type of standard database structure??  Looks like there is a solution for that I will need to test out but if that works then it should not be too bad.  Famous last words………………