Closed For Business - Edinburgh's Herptile High Street Implosion

With the falling numbers of Herptile related shops in Edinburgh, where does the casual hobbyist turn to?

The High Street Option

Herptile shops have come and gone in the capital city.

The earliest one I knew and frequented was Aquacadabra, which was based on Comely Green, in the late 90s.

This is the same shop where I got my first-ever reptile – an Asian Water Dragon called Lizzy.

My dad used to take me there to pick up live food regularly, which involved the occasional pinkie mouse.

Her condition when Lizzy arrived home was not too promising as I recall. I remember seeing her permanently inflated stomach. This wouldn’t ever deflate even after laying eggs. I can’t picture a time when she didn’t have a protruding midriff. 

Sadly, it led to her being put down after a couple of years so it must’ve been a life-threatening illness. Some, if not all, responsibility would fall onto Aquadabra’s care of it initially but we could have done better as keepers perhaps.

The shop itself didn’t hold much of an esteemed look as juvenile Water Dragons were cramped together within small vivarium’s in groups of 3 and 4.

A lucky tortoise did have its own tank so it was not all doom and gloom. 

In the end it met its demise in 2016, after going through different hands and names, and later was converted into flats. 

Water Wonders (later known as Eden Aquatics and Reptiles) was another Edinburgh based retailer, established in 1979, that catered for everything in fish and reptile care. It closed in 2018.

Exotic Merchants, the small Newington based shop, bit the dust in 2024. The owner had the time and patience to answer any queries and let customers handle the pets available in the shop.

Sinead Wilson (Edinburgh private herptile seller) stated to me: ‘now that all the reptile shops in Edinburgh are closed it's become a rather niche community.’

Holding the dim light in the herptile hobby high street tunnel are the world-renowned Pets At Home franchise.

Pets At Home’s Greg Mcpherson, a Store Colleague, kindly spoke to me in this regard:

‘We sell reptiles and amphibians along with some invertebrates like spiders. We also sell all the equipment, from different brands, that you would need to care for your new small creature.’

‘We get basic training on how to look after their vivarium and requirements for different species.’

We get our animals from ‘Monkfield Reptile. They supply to the whole of the UK’s Pets At Home stores.’

When asked about the popularity of purchasing herptiles at Pets At Home, Greg said:

‘No, not regularly. They usually come in and buy the live food or tank for their pet. The Pacman Frog we had here was only sold very recently after being at this branch for a long time. It’s better to go to a private seller and see if they have any.’

Although, they do host a decent number of pets in this genre, it would not hold much of a flame to a seasoned keeper’s expertise.

Why Have All Solely Based Herptile Shops Closed?

Sifting through the reasons may shed some light on the situation.

A particular vendor was criticised for their less than adequate caring conditions for animals and disinterested staff as one Yelp reviewer wrote 5 years before the closure of Water Wonders:

‘Bought here a snake with mites, fish not in good condition either. Poor choice and staff seem to be very unhappy when you ask them any question, however even when you ask, they will present poor or no knowledge at all.’  

A former employee (Adamntitch) of Aquacadabra said of the retailer in 2008 on reptileforums.co.uk:

‘it’s a nice shop maybe a bit over priced’

Exotic Merchant’s former owner Robbie wrote on Facebook in 2024 that ‘competing with online sales and rent costs have sadly caused my shop to close so I will be looking to sell my stock as soon as possible. I will post photos of animals and equipment soon!’

It is clear that a physical shop doesn’t guarantee quality in addition to quantity of space. Operating a business from your own home may sound more appealing as time goes on but still comes at a cost.      

Private Sales Going Public

There seems to be a gap in the Edinburgh market for the private seller or breeder to step in as an opportunist business venture.

Contacting a supplier to import exotic goods and then breeding these at home for eventual sale may sound appealing if you have the license, expertise and contact list to match.

A license to sell Exotic animals through Edinburgh City Council would cost up to a staggering £481.00. That would be a lot of reptiles and amphibians to sell before seeing any profit. It might provide a stumbling block to cash-strapped breeders.

Robbie stated to me that ‘my supplier breeds them (herptiles) so I get in babies from time to time’.

Sinead Wilson added:

‘I can only really offer experience on snake keeping (I'm not an experienced breeder, I'm currently looking at breeding my first clutch of kingsnake eggs this year but this has been over a year in planning).’

She says she knows of Private Breeders/Sellers in Edinburgh ‘that are on the Facebook pages I’m a member of. I think there are only around 5-10 of us at the moment’.

A public event such as an exposition would aid the sales of a private seller if they have a wide range of healthy animals to offer but no known expos have ever taken place in Edinburgh.

Age of the Internet

Online takes the pet trade a long way in providing a non-contact transaction that may be quicker than going to pick up in a city far away from Edinburgh.

The costs may be the telling downside though if time doesn’t make up for it. A reasonable price for the animal can be doubled or more due to the shipping costs.

Nevertheless, online makes shopping easier but possibly has had an adverse effect on the physical outlet. All equipment required can be bought from online based shopping markets, such as Amazon, with next day delivery.

Buying exotic animals may need further research. Social media, such as Facebook, can help point you in the right direction.

There are plenty of Scottish based herptile pages to join and seek out the pets required. This platform is where private sellers and breeders can discuss all things herptile and advertise themselves to increase sales. 

Sinead points out that she ‘advertises herself’ on ‘Facebook and Instagram’.     

Sinead also backed up the above proposition and added: ‘there are a lot of websites that can provide herptiles such as Gumtree or Morphmarket but I have a slight advantage in selling Kingsnakes which are an expensive species. Some sell for £100 and upwards’.

Setting up your own website or page on Facebook may well be the replacement for the high street shop. It’s cost-effective and simpler to start.

It’s an opportunity to start a community online as well as set up physical meetings. We are all trying to connect in some way and the Herptile industry requires this also for its survival.