Sabrina Z.

DO NOT BUY BEARDED DRAGONS HERE - Dragons have or carry the deadly to bearded virus Atadenovirus, also commonly known as "wasting away" or "star gazing" disease!!! I'm so sad to have to write this review, but I am unfortunately left with no choice. I bought 2 bearded dragons here at Mark's Ark for $70/ea. (plus another $300+ for the enclosure, lights, leaves, hide hut etc.). One out of the 2 beardies we got, one was not growing (grew 1 gram in 1 month - the other grew 17g). Habitat was set up properly thanks to a lot of research on my part. Unfortunately their "lizard expert" is not very knowledgeable, he recommended a "red light" bulb that could be "left on at night," however, heat sources at night should produce NO light whatsoever, ie ceramic, as to not damage their eyes or disrupt their sleep schedule since they are diurnal. We did a lot of research and set up the tank properly w/no help from Mark's Ark's employee, but still couldn't figure out why one was growing and the other was not. We called the store and spoke to said "lizard expert" and he was extremely rude by phone and even had the audacity to be coy and say "well your lizard grew 1 gram so technically it has grown". We quickly realized we were going to get no where w/this rude employee. All of Charizard's symptoms pointed directly to the virus, but said "expert" at Mark's didn't mention it even as a possibility. After doing all we could, separate enclosures, hand feeding, etc, and saw no improvement, we decided it was time to take our sweet little baby lizard to the BEST Exotic Vet, Dr. Clubb of Rainforest Clinic. When making the appointment, the RECEPTIONIST said to us is that it sounds like the Atadenovirus, so we rushed her in to get checked out, ($180 later and this vet is VERY reasonable saw 2 dragons for 1 appt fee- but none the less $ that could've been avoided had they had sold us healthy reptiles). They test for the virus w/a stool sample so we decided to test both beardies to be safe because she said if one has it then both likely do since they came from the same enclosure from Mark's Ark. Unfortunately, we found out that our seemingly healthy sweet girl Chomp, as well as Char, both have the virus. Heartbroken, since we have formed a strong bonds with our babies, we knew that the outlook was grave. We were especially sad finding out that the Chomp our healthier looking girl had it, and learned that the virus can, and usually is, a death sentence for most beardies. Fortunately, Chomp is not exhibiting any signs currently, and we have high hopes that she will continue to grow/thrive and just carry the virus w/no symptoms, but there are no guarantees. However, even being a carrier we now cannot have ANY other lizards as it is very contagious. We were also warned that at a moments notice she could stop eating and experience full organ failure due to the virus. She now has to have regular stool sample checks and be watched carefully as any infection can be fatal for her. The bottom line is that as we grow closer to our sweet lizard, we may one day lose her to this disease - as it has NO CURE! As far as our sweet Charizard (7g baby) well, she passed away on 4/1/2022, in my hands, and I wept like a baby. We got her on 2/19/2022, just long enough for us to have bonded and feel so sad upon her passing. We don't want this story to be your story and that is why we are writing this review. What does that mean for you? If you buy a lizard here then you are putting yourself at risk for making an investment that could possibly lead to just financial and emotional losses. I hate to have to post this, I wish this wasn't the case for us. But we are out a TON of money, down to one lizard (who has the virus - w/no signs but it's no guarantee that she will live a full life), and we had to invest in additional cages etc. to keep our lizards separate when both were alive (only now to be left with an extra cage with no use to us since we cannot purchase ANY other lizards) It all is just a sad story. See pics below of our babies. RIP Charizard 4.1.2022

Devon F.

Love this place! I've gotten budgies, parakeets and now my cockatiels! They take great care of all of their wildlife (spiders, fish, lizards, birds, ferrets, bunnies, chinchillas, etc) and always give excellent service! They also clip my birds feathers and nails for a low price and they have a great selection of fresh and healthy foods for your pets as well. So far this is my go-to for exotic animal needs!

Alexis R.

If you are interested in buying a betta fish then don't go anywhere else!! My boyfriend and I went to PetCo and PetsMart and we weren't happy with the fish they had available. Most of them weren't even moving and some were even dead inside of their mini plastic cups. I was told by my mother to check out the fish at Mark's Ark. Im so happy we did!! They had a lot of bettas and each one had their own display tank with tank decor and all of the bettas were swimming and lively! The bettas were also way more beautiful! All of them are bright and vibrant and looked extremely well taken care of and happy. The betta we were interested in getting was a blood moon betta. At PetCo there was one for sale for $19.99. At Mark's Ark the blood moon we got was only $4.99! Neither of us have ever owned a betta fish so we had a lot of questions. The staff answered all of them and weren't annoyed at all about our inexperience. The staff explained to us the right water to use for the tank and how to acclimate our new fish to the new water he would be in. They also assured us that we would be able to call them if we had more questions. I am so happy and grateful I didn't settle for the zombie bettas at PetCo and PetsMart. My heart goes out to those poor fishies. Mark's Ark is doing good by the fish they sell and I feel that with confidence. I'm going to recommend anyone who wants a betta to you guys!

Rachel R.

I never expected to get better service going into a pet store, than I do going to a high end apparel retailer, but yet I did. I am by no means an expert on fish, as I have had guinea pigs and rabbits as pets for most of my life. I had been to other aquarium supply and pet stores in my area, but was either ignored because I wasn't a "frequent flyer" there, or brushed off and told to get something easy, like a beta. I have a catfish that doesn't play well with others, but I still wanted to upgrade his tank, and get him some bigger, non edible friends. When I walked in, I was greeted by a gentleman, whose candor and sense of humor immediately put me at ease. I was able to explain about my cranky cat fish, and he very quickly directed me to two fish that would suit my new tank just fine. From there, I was helped through absolutely every step of the process, from tank selection, to new LED lights. I was shown options, and with honesty and integrity, walked out with 100% a new set up. The only thing that remained the same was Bert, the cranky catfish. Come to find out, the gentleman that spent the better portion of an hour and a half with me was in fact the owner himself. I told him that I came all the way from Boca to go to his store, and he informed me that people come all the way from Orlando to shop at his store. I am not surprised. To say that this was a great experience is an understatement, and I will for sure be a patron here for ALL of my pets needs!

This is absolutely my go to place for all my aquarium needs as well as my son's questions regarding his rats. Their pricing is generally on point. But the advice is priceless!