The Bug Store

Across the street from the Kirkwood MO train station, there is a very interesting place called "The Bug Store". It sells toys and home and garden decor. The reason for the name? Mounted arthropods! They have some very cool ones, as you can see from this picture:

Did you see the giant katydids at the top? Not shown are some amazing stick insects and tarantulas.  Can you imagine a huge collection of Lepidoptera in your living room?  A REALLY big beetle in your bathroom? The Bug Store has got it!

Also what do you think of the mascot?

This is the first time you've seen a Shar-Pei/German Shepperd mix isn't it?

Exotic Amphibian and Reptile Center

In St. Louis City there is an interesting store. The Exotic Amphibian and Reptile Center a.k.a. ExoticARC, stocks a very large variety of reptiles and amphibians, and also has some crabs, arachnids, rodents, and tropical fish.

Before we even entered the ExoticARC, we instantly noticed the two displays in front of the store. One held bearded dragons, and the other held a reticulated python (the world's longest snake.) You can buy one of several reticulated pythons in the store for a couple hundred dollars.

Inside, we saw several more reticulated pythons, and some lizards. We instantly noticed the messiness of the store. It was full of empty, dirty aquariums.

There was a large cage full of baby iguanas, along with a warning that these lizards can be very big, give a nasty bite, and may never be tamed. There was no such warning on an (empty ) baby alligator tank. I was surprised that the price was only about 80 dollars.

There was a glass cage full of tiny plastic containers with hatching ball pythons, corn snakes, king snakes, and milk snakes of various morphs. There must have been hundreds of tiny snakes! Below the snakes there were several baby pac-man frogs, and there was a smaller case with scorpions and tarantulas.

A nearby display housed rattlesnakes and copperheads. They were not for sale!

My mom and I quickly noticed the Halloween Moon Crabs. They were pretty little crabs, with black and orange markings.

Along one wall there were lots of reptiles, especially ball pythons and bearded dragons, but also geckos and small monitors.

A very large (and expensive) Sulcuta tortoise was in a plastic container.

A tiny tank housed tiny Red Eyed Tree-frog froglets.   

I then saw a cage with several rabbits in it. There was no price written on the cage. For some reason I instantly thought of the reticulated pythons.

There were many tanks with fish, including some very beautiful, large ones.

Behind the counter, there were live mice, rats, and hamsters for very cheap (apparently for feeding to large reptiles) but, since they were live, they could also be bought as pets.

At the very back of the store, the was an enormous vivarium which held... (as far as we could see) two small chameleons.  

The ExoticARC store had lots of very interesting animals (many of them relatively rare) at mostly reasonable prices. It is a fun place to look around, even if you don't buy any animals (we didn't.)

My dad said it was better than the reptiles at the zoo!

Animals Mom Hates Part 2: Tarantulas!

WARNING!  If you have arachnophobia, it may be best not to read this post.

Tarantula. The very word strikes terror in the heart of most people. But (unless you have an allergy to the venom) the bite of the tarantulas commonly kept as pets (such as the Chilean Rose) is often compared to a bee sting. The urticating hairs that you may have heard about, can cause a rash, but they are unlikely to cause much damage (unless they get in yours eyes, so it is best to wear safety glasses), and a calm tarantula probably won't shoot them off. Very large tarantulas such as the Goliath Bird Eater, can be more dangerous.
                                     
Chilean Roses are very common spiders, from which bites are rare. They are cheap and highly recommended. They are so calm that a child can safely handle them. These spiders have urticating hairs, so you should wear safety glasses even if you have a very calm tarantula. A five gallon tank is the perfect size for these spiders. They are perfectly capable of living with out any heaters, but you may want to use a red light to encourage activity for your pet. They do not require much food at all; a dollars worth of crickets and/or mealworms will satisfy these animals for a month. They are extremely hearty tarantulas. Chilean Roses come in many different colors including black, gray, and red.

I like tarantulas, and I want a Chilean Rose tarantula. They seem to be very easy and cheap pets to care for.

I think that this is a Chilean Rose.

   

This tarantula is aggressive.