We are “The Reptile Store” of the Twin Cities, and work very hard to stay that way. We have been in business since 1978.
Having been into reptiles since the late 1960’s and growing up in northern California, I spent a lot of time at the original East Bay Vivarium in Oakland, CA. I moved to Minnesota after getting out of the military in 1975. In 1976 I worked for Terry Odegaard at his pet store called The Pet Dragon. I was in charge of the mail order sales. (That’s pre e-mail, as home computers & cell phones were just being developed.) A year or so after working for Terry he decided to get out of the business and offered it to me. So, in 1978 I started Twin Cities Reptiles as a mail order business.
In 1980 I opened up the business as a retail store. The first retail location was on the ground floor level of a house. A whopping 400 square feet of space! About a year or so later we moved to a different location that was 500 square feet. About two years after that we moved again. This time to a location we would stay in for the next nine + years. This was a 1,200 square foot basement location below the “Down in the Valley” record shop. We have since relocated again to our current location, where we have been since the early 90’s. It is currently our largest location with over 6,000 square feet of space.
Join the Fight!
“Get the Facts, Not the Hype!” Visit www.USARK.org. Stay informed and join the fight to keep your pets!
This is extremely important right now, there are several new laws being passed and many states are jumping on the anti-reptile bandwagon. If you enjoy being able to keep your pets you need to keep up to date on what is going on. You also may be asked to do something as simple as write some letters. We can’t stress enough how important it is to do this!
TCR is one of the oldest reptile specialty stores in the nation and the largest in Minnesota.
We pride ourselves on offering the largest selection of reptiles, amphibians and supplies available. We also carry the largest selection of supplies for reptiles as well as small animals & fish supplies. We do not carry dogs, cats or birds but do carry supplies for them and top of the line premium brands of dog and cat foods.
Over the years we have bred and produced the following animals: Burmese, Reticulated, Dwarf Reticulated, Children’s, Spotted, Maclotts, Carpet and Ball pythons. Columbian, Brazilian and Columbian Rainbow, Kenyan Sand, and various types of Rosy boas. Red, Black, Yellow, Texas, Great Plains and Chinese ratsnakes. California, Florida, Eastern, Desert, Grey Banded and Sonoran kingsnakes as well as various milk snakes. Bulls, Gophers, Cat Eyed, Mangrove, & Western hognose snakes. Also various types of lizards including, Bearded Dragons, Leopard, African Fat Tail, Tokay & Crested geckos, Veiled chameleons, Green iguanas and Blue Tongue skinks.
We have been featured in various articles in the Minneapolis Star & Tribune, Best of the Twin Cities Magazine (twice), Walker Art Magazine and various other publications as well.