Introduction to SCD

Introduction to Sin City Dragons N'feeders

Because it has been such a long time and things have changed somewhat in my life I think a brief introduction of myself and my company is in order.

     Sin City Dragons N'Feeders is owned and operated by myself, Johnothan Wallace. I have been doing business in the Las Vegas and Henderson, Nv area for several years having gotten our start breeding bearded dragons. Along the way we've produced a handful of other species as well including corn snakes, Mexican black king snakes, Bairds rat snakes, Colombian boas, and a few leopard geckos. However, I've been on hiatus from reptile breeding for the last 2-3 years while I changed directions after selling off almost everything in my collection to start over. My primary focus now is dwarf monitors and hard to find colubrids. Some of the species I'm currently working with are yellow ackies, black pine snakes, Taiwan and blue beauty snakes, Kunashiri Island rat snakes, African house snakes, woma pythons, and albino colombian boas with several other species on my "To Do" list.

     Aside from all this I also sell several types of feeders; crickets, super worms, wax worms, meal worms, horned worms, occasionally frozen rodents. Unfortunately, at this time all feeder sales are limited to local clientele only.

     Lastly, I also provide snakes and other reptiles for local photo shoots and other media. This is something that Mike Lee of Polar Pics introduced me to in August of 2008. Since that time I've worked with over a dozen photographers, nearly 2 dozen models, and even have a credit as "Snake Wrangler" for the short film "Ice Princess" at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5289238/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 . 


     If you have any questions about Sin City Dragons N'feeders, myself, or would like to set up a shoot or purchase you can email me at sincitydragonslv@gmail.com or find me at www.facebook.com/scdlv.

Thanks,
John @ Sin City Dragons N'feeders

Fake it til you make it?

"Fake It Til You Make It"

This is not a motto that cuts it in the herpetoculture industry.

     I'm sure we've all run across people like this. Those folks who we know from the minute we meet are all talk. They may even be convincing, the type of person who could sell dentures to a shark. These are the people we see in the industry who know not of what they speak and they hurt people and their animals every time they speak. Well I'm here today to call them out. This is not okay!

     Let me start by saying that it's okay not to have all the answers to all the questions; the Lord knows I don't. We all have to start somewhere and we all have our own areas of expertise. If a potential customer is asking you what an animal is, what it eats, how big it gets, where it comes from, what kind of set up it needs, or any other question pertinent to the care and well being of the animal and you don't know the answer then just say so. You could even say, "I don't know off the top of my head but I can find out or point you in the right direction if you like." All too often I see people who could barely tell a garter snake from a rattler giving others advice on animals they have no experience with, and it makes me cringe. With todays technological advances there is no excuse for this behavior. There is almost always an expert opinion no more than a few keystrokes away. On top of that the internet is full of good resources if you take a few minutes to read up on the animal.

     Giving out the wrong information is harmful to the animal, the keeper, and you. It's harmful to the animal for obvious reasons. If the animal is set up incorrectly, fed the wrong diet, the keeper is misinformed about it's size the animal will be the one suffering. It's harmful to the keeper because not only could the animal die, which we all know sucks, but if the animal is not cared for properly it could lash out at the keeper. Both of these bad experiences could cause a new keeper not to want any more reptiles which is bad for the industry in general. Lastly, it's bad for the person giving the bad information because eventually it will be found out that you gave bad info which will lead to bad word of mouth and less people doing business with you. It could also be bad for you if said customer happens to have a short temper and doesn't like being conned.  

That's all for today folks, hope this helps someone out there. Thanks,
John at Sin City Dragons N'feeders    

How to choose your first reptile...

Today we will cover the question everyone asks themselves before acquiring their first reptile, "What kind of reptile should I get?"
The answer to this question is only discovered by answering more questions and here are some you need to ask yourself.
1. Who will be exposed to this animal, adults only or children and adults?
2. What kind of space am I willing to commit to this animal?
3. How much money will it cost to maintain and feed?
4. Am I willing to handle insects or rodents as food or would I prefer a strict vegetarian and all the work entailed in maintaining the balanced diet of a vegetarian?
5. Do I live somewhere where they are allowed? Check your lease and/or you're HOA as well as local laws especially when considering large or venomous reptiles. You don't want to go through the heartache of getting attached to your pet only to be forced to get rid of it later, or worse, fined for having it.
Once you've answered these questions for yourself you should find a reptile dealer, not a chain pet store, and tell them what criteria you're looking for. Hopefully they are knowledgeable and can make some good recommendations as to what your first reptile should be. The last step is, after talking to the dealer, to take your list of potential new family members and find breeders of those particular species through websites like www.kingsnake.com and call or email them and listen to what they have to say. Often times the breeders will give you, not only insight into owning that particular species that the dealer could not, but helpful tips as to the best ways of keeping them happy and healthy. From there it is up to you to make the right decision for your family and home.
The author has only one request, be reasonable. If you decide that you want your first reptile to be a large lizard or a large snake start with a baby and take heed, reptiles that get large can do so very quickly when kept properly reaching 70% of their full potential size at 1-2 years of age. Many times this overwhelms the reptile’s owner and the animal ends up being sold again or worse. If you think you want a 7 foot lizard start with one that only gets 3 ft and see how it fits before you move up to the big leagues.
If this has been helpful to even a handful of people then it was worth the time it took to type. Good luck in finding your new family member and hopefully you will enjoy each other for years to come.................................................................................. Thanks to Mike at PolarPics Las Vegas for taking the photos and thanks to the model in the lower pic, Jessica... for more info contact sincitydragons@gmail.com