East Bay Vivarium

i wish i could like this place… i was also met with wonder and amazement when i first went here, in awe of their selection and store layout. however, a while back i had visited and one of the employees let me handle one of their gopher snakes. while the employee was handling the snake, the snake was hissing and clearly uncomfortable and stressed, which was in no way helped by the employee 1) holding the snake in an uncomfortable manner, not letting the snake hold on in any way and 2) playing with the snake by repeatedly putting the snake towards his coworker and laughing (??) the snake was clearly hissing and stressed.. anyways, it was funny because when he passed me the snake, and i was holding him in a comfortable manner for it and not playing with it (??!) the snake was calm and relaxed and the employee went something like “wow he suddenly wants to be so calm haha” maybe if you handled the snake with care and respect the snake wouldn’t be so stressed?? it broke my heart to see and especially as i couldn’t afford the snake at the time. it was especially sad as the employee was saying how he might buy the snake for himself.. i have experience handling gopher snakes for multiple years and expected much better from this vivarium, especially one so popular in the bay. i wish i could support a local business but if this is the etiquette that is upheld here, where even basic respect isn’t given to their animals, then it makes it very hard for me to support and trust this place :( photo: the cape gopher snake was sitting still in my hand for a long while like this while, in the employee’s hands he was hissing, hanging and visually clearly uncomfortable :(

Great variety of reptiles! It's a great place to bring your little ones just to check out all the meat critters. The cherry on top is that they have great pricing for all your day to day need for you reptile friends too.

This place has a weird dude bro vibe about it, but what can we expect from somewhere that breeds and sells sentient creatures as objects or food :/ It’s depressing walking around seeing the crowded, tiny tanks with murky water and barely any light sources for the critters to feel, no fresh air, PLASTIC plants instead of actual habitats smh. I saw countless animals who looked to be clawing at the glass trying to beg for freedom :( Some of the bigger reptiles like the snakes didn’t even have enough space to stretch out completely!!! Imagine living your whole life crammed into the space of an airplane seat, that’s basically how they’re being imprisoned here. They aren’t even giving these crits the basics they need, let’s not even MENTION enrichment and mental stimulation, exercise, love… It’s also incredibly irresponsible to sell species that your own shop labels as invasive (the red eared sliders for example), only to sell them to whoever and have them contribute to the abandoned population later. Reptiles are some of the more complicated “exotic” pets to care for, and that means loads of folks buying them without thought and leaving them to die slowly or abandoning them soon after getting bored. The shelters and rescues are overwhelmed with animals like this, we shouldn’t be paying for it, if anything this shop could be selling supplies and thatd be more ethical.

The owner is an awesome guy. Picked up a male red tegu from them. Would recommend their store to anyone looking for healthy quality reptile & exotic pets.

Traveled from Sacramento to see the oldest and largest reptile store, and was not disappointed. Waited over a year to save up for my purchase and found the best in house breeders in the state. We love our fire bellied newts.