Reptile Basics

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………………

Been awhile since I have been on here.  I have been very fortunate and stayed quite busy this season.  Hatched out a pretty nice pile of colubrids- some killer Cal Kings and my first season on Sonoran Gopher morphs and Hypo Stillwater Bulls.  Super cute little babies!  Colubrids may not be the most stylish animals to work with but I tell you what- There is something to be said for a 3 month vacation in the winter and the quick, easy sell!!  A freezer full of frozen mice is a no brainer as well.

Unlike the internet, shows have been predictably slower during the  summer.  I don’t think it is so much economy related as summer related.  Happens every season.  Frank had a very mediocre show in Hamburg- August is always the slowest there- and I have not heard from Stu about Atlanta as of this morning so I don’t know about that one. Likely find out later today.  Someone told me via email yesterday it was quite a bit improved over previous shows though.  Hopefully so.

I am in the very good position of being pretty well sold out on racks and cages for Daytona already.  I might be able to squeeze in a couple of odds and ends.  I won’t know for sure until I pack the trailer the rest of the way but I am pretty full!  That being the case it looks like I have had a pretty good show already and I haven’t even left yet??  So- since I do not have to chase around a bunch of racks and the show bills are already pretty well paid I will be offering up some pretty nice sale prices on dry goods at the show.  I have not nailed down specifically what or how much yet but will in the coming week or so- I want some No Haggle pricing!!  I will send out a newsletter with details and numbers about a week before the show. Looks like we are at tables 318-320 and all of the usual suspects will be along- Frank, Bobby, Dr Lew.  Looks like my wife will be along for the ride this year as well so I can put her to work as well!  Bet she decides to go visit family in Apopka instead of working though

With the new show layout we lose Scott Seavey and Neil Golli though.  We are scattered all over the place now.  Bummer.  It was a lot of fun watching Neil run around like a lunatic the whole time.  He seems to do more business away from the table than at it?

It occurred to me that many of you fly in for this one and can’t really take home a pile of supplies with you but may want to take advantage of the sales- So I talked to Chad at ShipYourReptiles.com about setting up UPS ground shipping at the show as well as the animal overnight.  Done deal!  Now you will be able to buy your animals AND your supplies and put it all in a box and see it when you get home, how cool is that?  Someone should have thought of this years ago…………

Other than that not much going on out of the ordinary.  I will be in Raleigh this time (Sept. 5&6) followed up by White Plains (Sept. 13) .  Get your orders for racks/cages in for them any time now.  We will be pretty busy keeping up with all of this and have limited time to get it all done!

I may take the ride up to Tinley again, not sure if I will go to set up or not, they may already be sold out.  Either way, I may be able to fill some requests for delivery there if you want it as well.

Had someone email me the other day asking if I had any new insights on the HR669 discussions that have been going around.  The answer is yes, and no.

I spoke with Andrew from USARK a couple of weeks back for a few minutes about this PIJAC conspiracy theory.  Didn’t get very far at all.  The true politician, he had no comment other than what his own position was.  Certainly no “bad mouthing” or other competitive hype.   Fair enough.

I know for a fact through personal conversation with the proprietor of one moderate sized “snake farm” in central Florida a few years back that he would like to see the basement breeder eliminated.  It somehow cuts into his livelihood or some such convoluted logic.  This particular individual is also good buddies with a not so small “snake farm” right up the road from him.  Hopefully the feelings are not mutual between them though the rumor mill in Florida says they are.  Who knows.

What does this tell us??  Well, it tells me that there are some legislation minded individuals that carry pretty good weight in this industry among us.  Scary.  Unlike some of the conspiracy theory crazy’s out there in the forums I will not jump to the conclusion that these larger breeders are ACTING on some of their outlooks.  There are a lot of things in life that people may ponder or believe that they are smart enough to know shouldn’t happen.  Legislation that is friendly to the biggest of the breeders may sound pretty good to them but I would like to think that they are smart enough to realize the long term impact of such an outcome.  Once you get the government in on something it is near impossible to get them out.  Why invite the run away train into your livingroom even if the short term outcome looks positive? I think that in some ways this parallels the health care debate currently going on.  I think most would agree all is not as it should be but do you invite the government into the game to fix it??  Sounds great- everybody is covered but does anyone really buy that??  The lottery here in NC was supposed to fund the schools but magically, it does not- who would have seen that coming??  You get the idea………

In conclusion- We need to watch this nonsense closely.  Rumors are worthless and often started by morons and people with nothing better to do with their time.  The internet is an awesome tool to get info out there to the masses and rally the troops but it is also our worst enemy at the same time.  Many with a keyboard considers themselves  an expert and more than willing to stir the pot for personal satisfaction and the need to see there name in print.  I do know that Andrew at USARK is on the game and doing a very effective job thus far.  Lets let him do his job and support him.  He does not seem to be shy, if there is a bonafide conspiracy that comes to light I expect we will hear about it from him.

I went up to the Hamburg show in PA a couple of weeks ago.  As usual there, it was hot.  Kind of a marginal turnout for that place but not too bad.  That show is amazing- it has been around since nearly forever and continues to have an amazing turnout of vendors and customers.  Some shows are obviously better than others but overall that one has been pretty consistant over the years.  Pretty impressive.  I will say venomous keeping seems to be in a downward spiral, not much there anymore.  Back in the good ole days it was half the show.  Now it is about 1/5.  Much of it is not that impressive at that.

White Plains NY is the next big one for us in mid July.  I am starting to get orders for that one- now is the time!  If you want something get on the list!  We start building for that this coming week.

The trailer is about sold out for Daytona.  Got room for a few odds and ends but I would guestimate we are about 7/8 of the way full.  GET YOUR ORDER IN!  We may end up with multiple vehicles going down this year, not sure yet, but it is possible we may have more room.  If we can fill Franks van as well then so be it.  Along comes the van.  I look forward to getting the show program in the near future and see what Wayne Hill has done with the layout.  I like the idea of having everyone in the main room, no more tables in the halls, bathrooms, lobby, roof, etc.  I am hoping it will be real impressive.  I am also hoping that the trend of more variety will continue.  I like BP’s as much as the next guy but there is a lot of neat stuff out there besides them.  Lets see some of it.

As always, if you need racks/caging check out the show list on the website.  We have people hitting many of the shows on the east coast and we can arrange delivery, even to some of the smaller ones.

New 28 watt heat panels are on the site now and ready for sale.  That will likely be it for new heat panels for awhile.  Think we have the bases pretty well covered!  Next time we have any down time I am going to have a crack at the economy cage ideas I have.

Pretty soon it is time for Daytona again- looking to get the cage orders in early this year if we can.  If you are needing a delivery this year please get in touch by mid July if possible.  I will not have as much room in the truck this year as I have had in the past.

We will be finishing up a batch of the show displays this week.  As of now I have about 3 of the 16 not spoken for yet- Let me know if you need any as it will probably be July before I get to do some more of them for Daytona.  I plan on bringing a dozen or so down there this year.  You can check out a pic of them here in the blog!

Next White Plains is in July, start thinking about your cage deliveries-Summer will go by quick!