Hmm, if the shop's in Minot, ND, that might explain the lack of responses. I'm not sure how many members from ND the BOI has, but it may be a small number. If they don't ship or do web-based sales, might be hard to get more response than that above. If they are a member of your local better business bureau, you could call and see if there are any complaints listed on them. Also, make several visits, on different days of different weeks to see how they maintain their animals overall. Check on cleanliness, see if the herps are eating the right food (i.e., good greens instead of head lettuce for the herbivores), have the right lighting, etc. Display cages might not have all of the ammenities of a regular setup, b/c the aim is to display the animal (which I don't especially agree with, but it's often the case, even with fairly decent stores), but what is there should be correct and clean. Visiting at different times is important, b/c if you base your purchase on one day, that might be the day after they cleaned one time for the month. I've been in stores where they are spotless one day, then a couple weeks later, total mess.
Also, check out the animal to the best of your knowledge. Many care sheets and books have info on selecting an animal and how to check for signs of poor health, and if you have a specific species in mind, I"m sure plenty of the folks here are willing to help you out with some info or links to help you inspect the animal if necessary. (Sorry if any of this is too basic of info, I just figure better to err on the side of caution.)
Good luck, and please post the results of your purchase if you make one, so that the next person who stops in from ND can see how it went for you.
