Arizona

I'm thinking about moving our business out of California next year. I've been looking towards Arizona. Wanted some feedback on the following:

1. Looking for opinions from business owners on the attitude of the state in general and any local governments towards small business (we're looking in the Prescott area, but any experience would be good).

2. Reptile ownership. Are there any statewide limitations towards the size of your collection, reptile industry, size of individual animals, etc?

Thanks in advance,

Well Rich Ihle and Chris McAra of GiantKeeper Reptiles is there.
I know Rich has tons of boas.
And Chris shas some too.

I will be there in 2 1/2 years. (You can help me move)


I not sure about what kind of reptiles you can own.
But I sure do know that you can carry concealed weapons if you have a permit.
And if you don't have a permit.....you can still carry but part of it has to be in plain view. (Like the handle or something)


oh wait a second.....your moving to AZ?

HOORAY.......we can discuss that breeding loan..............he he he he.

She and the wife can hang out. You and I can do the club scene.

Dan,

I lived in the Phoenix metro area for 8 years and I never had a problem with the size of my collection or individual animals. Zoning my be a problem, depending on where you live as far as running a business. To my knowledge there are no restrictions or limitations to size of individual animals in the state, at least not Phoenix. I'm not sure if Prescott would have city ordinances against it though. I've been in Nebraska for 2 years, so I'm not up with the current laws. You could probably contact the Arizona Herpetological Association to find out more. If you want I can dig up some contact info for you out of some of my old newsletters. Not sure if it's current though.

Like Ritchie said, Riche Ihle has his facilities there and I know that the Arizona Reptile Center in Mesa has a HUGE Burmese in their shop as display. They sell Carpets, Burms, Retics, etc. etc. to the public.

Come to Texas!!! It's better here!

Hello,
Well, for your information I live in Prescott, 11 years total. Good town, and personally we need a GOOD store here. At the moment we have 3 stores. Petco, Petsmart and a small family owned place.
It is fine here to sell any snakes, lizards, etc as long as they pass state laws. The selling of native species is not legal, and all hots. There are a few species here and there that are not allowed as well, such as snapper turtles. I am not sure on the demand for a herp shop here, though folks like myself would like to see one with folks who know what they are talking about. The shops available are not so great. Buying and dealling with our pet shops is something I try to avoid, other than getting a bit of my animals fed I do not go in them.
Arizona has decent laws concerning herps. Basiclly any native herp cannot be sold or traded, only gifted out. We are only allowed to have native hots (-4 protected crotalids). Boas, retics, and most any other herp is allowed in the state. No Crocs and there kin. No snappers ( Check with AZ Game and Fish regulations). I have 24 snakes at the moment. Boas, crotalids and colubrids make up the stock, all legally kept and so on. I have never heard of any problems in the state regarding size of collections as long as it is legal, seems good to me.

----Beau Medlar

Thanks for everyone's replies. That was exactly the information I was looking for, especially Beau's.

95% of our business is done via internet/mail order and shows so there is not a desperate need for the local business, though it is great to deal with people face to face.

Thanks again,

My feelings are this too. Doing business through the internet and mail,etc works out better in my opinion as well. Overhead through a shop kills profits and to me does not work out for the betterment of the animals (this of cource is dependant on many things), although shops work well if the owners can meet the people they sell to and help out in giving better information to the local community ( which lacks in most shops). I myself have only bought 3 reptiles through shops. A real nice boa from Ken Foose out of Las Vegas, great guy, and the others out of "small town shops". Ken was the only knowledgeable person out of the bunch. I have reseived great herps through a friend in Colorado, James Bear (Serpents Lair Reptiles) and also a great person to do business with.
Prescott, and other Arizona locales are good for a home, then business in my opinion. There is a lot I would love to work with, but some state laws keep me from doing them (venomous snakes in general) but overall I love the state and feild herping is my main focus in herpetoculture, so this state is great for that. In the end, what you have to look at is what type of business you want to run with reptiles and what this state offers you and your interests in herpetoculture. If the focus of your businesss will be boas, corns, bearded dragons and the like this state works out. Great feild herping available most the year and a beautiful place to live. If you choose Arizona and Prescott in general I am sure you will enjoy it very well.

----Beau Medlar

Small Business Survival Guide

An interesting read if your thinking of moving your business.

Arizona has no laws pertaining to size of collection or types. Like Beau had said you just cannot buy, sell, or trade native venomous and SOME other critters from this state. It IS legal to collect most species, including rattlers (like I said MOST, but not all), as long as you have your handy dandy hunting permit. Don't exceed the bag limits, etc.
I have housed as many as 4 dozen snakes from retics, boas, kings, corns, and milks.

Send me an email and I will give you a file of Az. Game and Fish regulations. Pretty informative. I keep it handy.........just in case! It is in "acrobat reader" format, hope your pc has that.

Brian Oakley
Phx, AZ

....I would really enjoy working in a nice herp shop in this area. If one rolls into town send me an application. Heh....

----Beau Medlar