My Early History:

I was born in Philadelphia PA in 1982. When I was 6 years old, my family and I moved to a suburb of Atlantic City along the beautiful South Jersey shoreline. Growing up, I always loved animals a lot more than the average child. I would spend hours hiking through the dense Pine Barren Forests catching tree frogs, pine snakes, box turtles, northern garters and everything else that moved. I loved watching diamond back terrapins while wading waist deep in the muck of the Jersey Marsh land. Native wildlife was always very special to me, as I love having an understanding of the environment and knowing my place as well as the place of other creatures in it. Learning the changes of habitats throughout the seasons and studying their effect on the creatures that inhabit them has always been a passion of mine.

As I got a little older and entered High School the internet era was bringing exotic animals closer to me than I ever imagined! I began buying every reptile and amphibian I could get my hands on. I was addicted to herps! With little knowledge and minimal resources other than basic field guides and pet shop care manuals, I went through a few years of husbandry trial and error, honing my skills from countless hours of water testing, humidity gauging, log keeping and other girlfriend-deterring behavior. I remember my mom told me I could use a small room in our home for my reptiles, so I began stacking 10-20 gallon aquariums on shelves, on the floor, in the closet. It had to be a good month before my mom came to check in on the “reptile room”, and much to her chagrin my menagerie had increased to giant proportions.

After graduating from Atlantic City High School, a few friends and I decided to drive to Florida and stay with some friends for a couple of weeks. While driving around the area, I noticed a local pet shop boasting exotic reptiles. I pulled into the lot and walked up to the door of the local dealer, little did I know this moment would change the direction of my life forever! When I walked in, I knew this was where I wanted to be! Reptiles and amphibians I had only seen on Discovery Channel were readily available for purchase! People were knowledgeable about care and breeding and eager to talk herps with anyone interested. It was clear to me I needed to get a job at this reptile store. After about 2 weeks of straight pestering the owner with my proposal to work for free, he finally gave me a job, a new world of opportunity opened up for me. I called my mother, “How’s vacation?” she asked. I replied, “Well I got a really cool job and I think I am going to stay the summer and work.” She told me to enjoy it, because you only live once. 

I never made it home after that summer. I took to the reptile scene like a turtle to the sea, expanding my collection to over 100 snakes and lizards. I was breeding, keeping and learning. Like a sponge I was hob knobbing with some of the biggest names in the industry, soaking up information and contacts. I was learning cutting edge breeding and husbandry techniques, and working the scene just waiting for an opportunity. I was working weekdays at the shop and on weekends going to homestead to volunteer at the Everglades Outpost and Zoological imports. I was living my dream!

Traveling the World of Reptiles:

In 2003, I left my job and decided to take a crack at breeding and jobbing the reptile business. I saved a bit of money and with some help from my family organized a few trips to meet some exporters and breeders overseas. I spent a month in Egypt touring northern Africa throughout the Sudan, Morocco and Sinai desert. I then moved on to Central America touring Costa Rica, Nicaragua, panama and Mexico. Then back to Africa for another month in Nigeria and the republic of Benin. I spent all my time studying Reptiles in their natural habitats and living with people whom exported them across the globe.

Some of the reptiles I have captured in the wild include:

• Egyptian Cobras
• Red Spitting Cobras
• Desert Horned Vipers
• Ball Pythons
• Uromastyx including Egyptian and Ornate
• Fer De Lance
• Eyelash Vipers
• American Crocodiles
• Morletts Crocodiles
• Rare and elusive Desert Black Cobra Walternesia aegyptia
• Boa Constrictors
• Assorted Dendrobates and other dart frog species

As well as hundreds of other reptiles and amphibians, in their native environments!

I was involved directly with local habitat restoration and breeding development of the Egyptian Tortoise Testudo kleinmanni as well as the desert sand monitor Varanus griseus. Both CITES I reptiles at the time.

Some of my Captive breeding includes:

• Dendrobates Pumilio as well as other Dart frogs
• Red Eye Tree Frogs
• Panther Chameleons
• Parsons Chameleons
• Green Tree Pythons
• Tokay Geckos
• Saw scaled Vipers
• Banded Rock Rattlesnakes
• Red Spitting Cobras as well as other African and Asian cobra species
• Reticulated, Burmese and Rock Pythons
• Emerald Tree boas
• Recently introduced morphs of the Common and Florida Snapping Turtle
• Corn Snakes

…And many more!

I have taken part in many things over the years in this business and I have been gratefully fortunate to have good friends and great mentors along the way. I hope to share my love and passion for reptiles and amphibians with you as a customer and a friend. And I hope one day the world will learn to appreciate reptiles and amphibians as more than entertaining pets or business breeding projects, but as a small window into what mother nature has to offer us in her infinite beauty.