I was expecting more exotic pets since they have exotic in their name, so kind of disappointed right of the bat. When I went in with my boyfriend, we were completely ignored. No one greeted us, or even looked at us a all. We were in there for about 10-15 mins, but since no one wanted to help, we left. The store reeked. I know some pets will naturally have an odor, and that's unavoidable, but with the proper maintenance it should not have reeked that bad. It smelled like dead animals. To top it off, it was sad seeing how many animals were scratching against the glass, and snakes trying to slither up trying to get out. This store makes you feel unwelcome, smells revolting, and sad due to the clearly unhappy pets in small spaces. Would never return. read more

I recently Purchased a reptile from Zookeepers, and Dave was awesome and very informative. Their customer service is unparalleled, to say the least. As a general sales manager I understand the importance of great customer service. They have certainly earned our loyalty. We love the pastel ball python! read more

I always love coming to this store. Everytime i go i see something new and exotic. They have live feeder rats which is almost impossible to find in ATX. read more

The place is friendly and have a wide variety of animals but all of their birds except the biggest one are really aggressive and I can tell they need proper training in handling the birds and rabbits. One bun was labled as "territorial and temperamental" and given to me for free. Had her a week now and she's better behaved than our boy,I wouldnt return but am forever grateful I could give a home to a misunderstood bun. read more

The only reason I am leaving 2 stars is because of the very nice store manager that interacted with us in a kind and helpful manner (nice bald guy). The other kind worker there that was super helpful was the younger guy with the facial hair and the long hair, he was awesome and super helpful just like the store manager. Can't say the same for the younger girl with the small plugs that I believe is the owners daughter and the younger guy with the shorter blond hair. The younger short haired guy is definitely more friendly and helpful than the girl, that's for sure. The 2 never greet us when we come in which I find to be very odd since we always spend quite a bit on supplies and new pets when we stop by there. They also never say excuse me when they need to get past us since it is a very small store and it's hard to pay attention when all of these cute animals are around us, they could at least be polite with some manners and say excuse me, I end up saying excuse me and I always get no response out of it so it just felt a bit rude to me and of course made me feel like we were just an annoyance to them. The young girl especially always made us feel very uncomfortable like we were an annoyance to her or something which I don't understand since we were faithful customers. We asked for a hamster wheel and they said they would check the inventory list but they seemed to have forgotten about us and not let us know they are still checking or anything and they started talking to another customer about rats to a customer that was behind us so we just ended up leaving and decided to not come back. It isn't a nice feeling to spend over 500 in 2 weeks on supplies and pets and not get treated kindly. Let's start off with the multiple tarantulas we bought. More than half of our tarantulas we purchased, also came with mold in their tiny little sauce Tupperware, so that goes to show how little they check to make sure that the spiderlings have a good living condition. We also purchased a large Guyana tarantula that had a piece of bark in it that was infested with these small fruit flies and small little white larvae when we broke the bark in half and it was disgusting and soggy and when I moved the Guyana to a new tank, I emptied out the dirt and tons of those small flies flew out everywhere..it was horrid. We made about a 200 dollar purchase of tarantulas since we love them and have became collectors and also got over charged for the "3 dollar" mini plastic tanks that we bought along with a few of them, ended up getting charged 5 dollars for each instead of 3 since we checked the receipt. The store manager did a kind thing and gave us a nice deal on the 7 curly haired tarantula slings for this purchase which is why we enjoyed interacting with him since he was very kind to us. We had even went back and bought the beautiful budgett frog after this happened, the budgett frogs are kept in such a small enclosure that gives them no swimming room especially since the plastic plant they put with them takes up half of their itty bitty plastic cricket keeper sort of tank space. So that about sums up why we won't be returning. If the store manager and the younger guy with the long hair were the only workers there we would totally come back, but the other 2 have ruined the experience for us due to lack of customer service since they cannot be very friendly with us for some odd reason. On a good note the wax worms and crickets and tarantulas and budgett frog are all alive and well lol. read more

This place is amazing! The employees are incredible knowledgeable and kind. I come here weekly to buy crickets for my daughters bearded dragon. I have also used Zookeeper to board our dragon and pet rabbit while we were out of town on several occasions. They have also clipped our rabbits nails for us. I've read some of these crazy low reviews, and I don't really know what to say. Seems that there's really no way to make every single customer happy and run a successful business. I do believe that Zookeeper is probably as close as it gets. read more

Okay, so I know this isn't how you're supposed to use Yelp but, I'm looking into getting an iguana and would like any info possible about how the animal enclosures are and just the general health of the animals. I have fallen victim to terribly taken care of reptiles that died prematurely because of it, in order to avoid the heartbreak I'd like to know as much as possible about the store. So if you could, please message me with all the info you have! Thanks in Advance read more

The environement is extremely welcoming and they have people that know a lot about each exotic animal they have there. I purchased a baby Veild Chameleon from them and had some health issues with him but they helped me through the issues. I'll definitely be a returning customer and will recommend this place to anyone that asks! must see this place to believe amazing!!! read more

Very helpful people here! The environement is extremely welcoming and they have people that know a lot about each exotic animal they have there. I purchased a baby Veild Chameleon from them and had some health issues with him but they helped me through the issues. I'll definitely be a returning customer and will recommend this place to anyone that asks! read more

Best staff ever!!! They are extremely friendly and informative; never had an issue with the lack of customer service from them. My boy friend and I bought a New Zealand bunny from them and a Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula. And they truly made sure we had all of our questions answered before we left and even suggested us to stop by weekly for guidance anytime. As corny as it may sound their pets there all seem happy and healthy. read more

Zookeeper is an awesome place!! There explore kind of wild animals especially black empire scorpion was so amazing pet! Also, a guy who employee does known few sign language made me can easier communication with him so cool! read more

They don't have any exotic pets here, no birds for sale all just pets. A bunch of hillbillies who can't run anything right and who run out the only customer who can buy out their whole store and them. Like I've said, go there yourself, the place smells like shit and the people who work there as well. When has a bunch of lizards and spiders been exotic, I could get that it's exotic for a bunch of trail or trash but coming from Florida when we see exotic, there's usually monkeys, all kinds of different parrots etc not some iguanas you can buy online for $20 bucks online. Don't buy from these people (if you, do your loss because these animals aren't as young as they say they are) if you go inside all they have is spiders and lizards and workers with shitty attitudes. Of course if you don't have more than them you'd go in there. I being a visitor from Miami thought exotic was good until I saw all the cheap bullshit they pull at this place. Since when has a rat been exotic? This is an honest and fair review. I will be posting to other sites as well to makes sure others know the truth and not the fake lies these people spread everywhere to make a quick cheap buck. read more

Now I know why they're rated the best! So knowledgeable, so helpful, cute and funny! We got a ball python and a tank setup. The owner helped us set up the whole thing and spent so much time with us answering all of our questions! Our snake is beautiful and has entranced or son! read more

Recently, I had an Invertebrate Scavenger Hunt lab project due for my online Biology class at Eastern New Mexico University. I chose Dave's place to obtain pictures of his fantastic specimens. Dave was especially helpful sharing information and handling the "critters" while my lab partner took the shots of us together! I believe I had way more fun there than going to a museum! Dave enjoys and is very enthusiastic about his work! He is a terrific resource person when it comes to these creatures. I heartily recommend visiting his delightful, fun and interesting shop of exotic creatures! Unforgettable experience! Thank you Dave! PS: I ended up with a grade of 22/20!! read more

I went here to look at their plants (which ended up being wildly overpriced) so I ended up wandering around looking at the animals. Overall, I was disappointed in a lot of things and the care of the animals (they seemed to have more than they knew what to do with or have the space for). But the thing that caught my eye (as an owner of these animals) was their axolotl tank. Not only were they RIDICULOUSLY overpriced (I'm talking a normally $30-$40 a being sold for $110), but they were in horrific condition. The tank bottom was absolutely covered with feces and all the axolotls were emaciated and had almost completely lost their gills to stress. The tank was too small for even one of them and there were at least THREE in there. It's so sad to see a shop that is supposed to specialize in exotic animals be so ignorant in their knowledge or, if they had the knowledge, they were being incredibly neglectful. Google what these poor babies are supposed to look like and you'll understand why these were so sad to see. As much as I wish I could rescue those poor things from those horrific conditions, I definitely won't be shopping there to support the mistreatment. read more

Zookeeper - Mistreated axolotls in horrible conditions - Pet Stores Near Me - Austin, Texas

We called Zookeeper after purchasing a beardie from an expo. Which was a bad idea, he wasn't doing well at all. Even though we didn't purchase originally from them Jillian was amazing. She talked us through caring for him, she answered tons of our questions, even my random ones about our hedgehog. She was professional and informative. She helped us choose a new guy and also the best environment for our new dragon Frank at a super reasonable price. Even better though, once we got Frank she was still so supportive and said we can ask any questions any time. This will be the only place we shop from now on for any of our exotic needs. Thanks again for all of your expertise Jillian! read more

If you are looking to check out some exotic pets Zookeeper is the place to go. Great customer service, fair prices, along with very prideful and knowledgeable owners. Aside from customer service, I love that they hand raise alot of the animals that they sell. It makes for a great transition to a permanent home. Birds, Reptile , and Spider selection is nice along with the baby Ferrets and Guinea Pigs. My favorite part? The exotic plants for sale in the back! read more

Yesterday for my birthday my partner surprised me with a trip to Zoo Keeper because he knew they have a sloth and he knew I am OBSESSED with sloths! The sloth at Zoo Keeper is a permanent resident there and the staff take incredible care of her. Sophia the sloth is of an ambassador for sloth awareness and why their natural environment must be preserved so we can protect the various species of sloths. You can find articles about her online...so she's a celebrity sloth, if ever there was such a thing! We are thinking of getting a hedgehog in the near future and Zoo Keeper has a great selection of them and many other unique and exotic pets. The staff at Zoo Keeper do such a great job in educating visitors about every animal they have in the store. They don't just try to sell a pet to make money, but rather make the effort at ensuring pets are going to a home that will meet the animal's needs as well as the human's wants. I love this! This is much different than many other pet stores or the big box chain stores. You can tell the staff really care about the animals and really try to make a great match between animal and human. If you are looking for a new pet addition in your family and want good, honest information and a great selection of healthy and happy animals, go to Zoo Keeper and talk with the informative and friendly staff there! read more

It saddens me to have to write this review after how good i felt about this place before.(and my previous review here shows it all) As in my review on 2/4/2015 i called them up to discus a future special rat pick up. At first Daniel was very excited by how excited i was and thrilled with how much i praised his store. I told him special requests i would like if possible and told him i would be willing to pay more but he politely declined and just asked i write a review on yelp. (which i did right after i got off the phone) So he tells me he would definitely set aside some new rats and he will take special care of them and to call him in 2 weeks to check up and update him on when i will be getting them. So i call and he has no idea who i am or what i was talking about. After re-explaining everything(skipping over the enormous praise i gave previously) He says he will try to set some aside for me when the next litter is grown enough in about a week and to call in another week or two. I called and again no faint idea of who i am but very vague recollections of someone wanting rats. I re-explain everything and my wants again(To which he was previously more then happy and willing to do) and was told he has no time for that and i should handle them and socialize them myself when i get them. Now i understand he runs a business and is busy(as he fully explained to me) but i felt particularly insulted by not only the "handle the rats yourself" comment but by his change in willingness to help after he was so happy to when i was singing his praises. I gave up with trying to plan something special with getting my new baby boys. I made the trip down to Austin holding on to the fact that they had such a great shop 2 and a half years ago when i was first there. The place was clean, the rats were friendly and properly cared for and so friendly right up front in the store. But that was over two years ago. I walked into the store looking for the rats to not find any and asking someone where they were to receive a snide comment about how they knew i was a rat person. I was led to the back to see a giant wooden bin filled with mixed gendered rats and wood shavings. I felt so sad but traveled this far and after so long didnt want to leave empty handed. I spent 30mins trying to pick rats and trying to make sure they were all boys. While picking rats i noticed lots of parents and children roaming around gawking at the creatures around the store. A mother and daughter combo wondered around back to see me with the rats and the mother gave a nice "EWWWWWWWW WHO WOULD HAVE RATS AS A PET?!" The employ told me about how they were named one of the top 10 free places to go to in Austin and since then get tons of parents and kids acting like there store if a zoo. TL;DR -I got my rats on 3/21/2015 and they have been sick with URI and on medicine since then. -This store is over run with parents and kids treating it like a zoo. -They make false promises that are quickly forgotten when you stop telling them how wonderful there store is. -The care for the rats(i can't say for the other animals as i got out quickly) Is petco quality. I understand taking care of a store and animals is tough and busy and if i first called he politely said he couldn't due to being busy i would have understood but he didn't. I got false promises and it just got worse and worse. I hope these guys make it and can live a long life but whenever they do pass i will not be going there ever again. read more

Devastated. DO NOT BUY YOUNGER TORTOISES FROM THESE PEOPLE. I was so excited when I had gotten my tortoise but when the vet told me she had severe calcium deficiency and there wasn't much we could do I was just completely heartbroken. She passed away a few days ago and I am just so disgusted with these people! I saw they gave someone else a sick bird. These are family members we are adding to our family not "temporary pets"!!! read more

As a snake owner, you've got to know where the good mouse hook-ups are. Lucky for me, there are 2 shops battling it out for exotic supremacy of North Burnet. (Herpeton is the other) The manager (owner?) is always helpful and friendly. For example: I had a snake sick with an upper respiratory infection, and you're supposed to administer antibiotic shots every other day, ten times, at home. Well, I don't know if you've ever tried to give a snake a shot in it's back muscle, but it ain't easy. They're all wriggley and don't like to be held in place, much less stuck with a needle. So the manager Dave helped me do it free of charge. I wasn't even there to buy anything else, he just wanted to lend a hand. Another instance is when I sold them a snake a few years ago. He asked me what I thought it was worth, and after I told him, he offered me $10 more than what I asked for! Can't beat reverse negotiating. Their prices for frozen mice are a little higher than Herpeton, but the service is usually better, and the mice are cleaner. If you buy frozen mice, then you know what I mean. read more

This is perhaps one of the best places to buy a new pet at. They have such a great selection of all types of pets, from reptiles to spiders to snakes to furry animals. I have bought a number of pets and supplies from this store and can always count on the staff to be knowledgeable on everything they have. The store owner, Dave (who has a degree in Biology, from what I've been told) knows a lot about all the animals he has in store. He will tell you the pros and cons to each animal you are interested in purchasing and if he feels you would be a good match, for what you would like to buy, he might even offer you a discount, no guarantee on that though. The great thing about this place is that he goes out of his way to find very exotic pets, especially tarantulas and scorpions. You can also ask when they might get certain ones in or maybe have his special order something for you. The staff are all very helpfull so if they don't know the answer they will ask Dave and if you like he can give you a call back on what you wanted to know or let you know when something comes in. The best example of service was when they had a lot of baby chameleons and I was gonna get one but wasn't sure of the maintainance and cost that I would get myself into. They let me know upfront the average cost of what it would take to get me started and the long run cost. At which point I realized I didn't need to get one. I was glad they told me all that upfront. That is what great service is all about, helping the customer out instead of trying to make a buck. Because of this I have referred this place to lots of people for business. They also do a lot of their own breeding so if your lucky, especially with spiders, the babies are usually cheap when they get some so be sure to check in now and then to find out. The bird eating spider is the coolest to check out in store. They also have a display only section for spiders that are well taken care of so if you ever wanted to see a spider the size of your hand, come here. Another cool thing about this location is that they have a sloth in their main store window. Hes been there for awhile so hes always cool to check out as well. They also have a blue lizard there to see in an enclosed terrarium. Well if your kids or yourself are looking for a place to buy pets at, this should be your first stop to check out because the owner knows most of the stores in Austin, plus owns the one in south Austin as well and he can give you the best advice. So stop on by and say hello! read more

Animal enthusiast or whatever you may be, this place is pretty sweet. A unique set of animals a few exotic--to general everday household mouse, it's got a selection. It is a tad small (or at least felt it), but when I'm stuck near snakes, spiders and 'whatever that is,'--my quarters feel a tad confined. It's a fun place to take the kids to 'dream' of the reptiles we won't be adding to our household. The staff is quiet helpful to boot! read more

I've been going to zookeeper for many years. They know animals and they care about them. I can't say enough good things about Dan and his staff. read more

I think this store is the best reptile store in Austin so far. The staffs were very awesome and professional. They have many things that you may need for your reptile. Yes, that is true that they have all kinds of tarantulas, snakes, lizards, and even a sloth (not for sale, thank god). All of the animals looked excellent for the most pet stores. They sell the mercury vapor lamps that I could not find at the bigger name pet stores like Petsmart and I was so relieved! They will help you in any way they can, even if you are not in there buying anything and that got me greatly appreciated. read more

Definitely the best pet store in Austin. The place is full of amazing exotics, and the front two displays are pretty much zoo quality. You and your little ones could easily spend an hour there just checking out all the cool animals. They have some HUGE snakes there. The sloth was sleeping, but we may have to make a trip back just to get a chance to see her. It's very clean, and all the habitats were well maintained. You can tell that they really care about the animals. Not a huge place, but the selections are great. The staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, and they were super sweet to my little boy, who thought it was the coolest place he had ever seen. We went in there for a pretty unexotic pet -- rats -- and the selection was great. I like that they had the pet rats separate from the feeders. The pet rats were obviously really friendly and well-socialized. You could tell they had been handled. The guy helping me told me that they made sure that the rats that had been imprinted on humans were only sold as pets. He pulled a bunch into a box for me and encouraged me to interact with them and pick out the ones that I wanted, and even threw in a third for the price of two. I had been at Herpeton earlier that day. It's not horrible, but not in the same class as Zookeeper, and the blacked-out windows made it feel a little like a sketchy porn store. The kid behind the counter was sweet and went out of his way to help me, but he wasn't an expert like the guys at Zookeeper. It was definitely worth it for me to make the drive up north for a better quality of pet. read more

I frequent here often to buy mice for my snake and every time I go the staff is very helpful and friendly. They go out of their way to help you find exactly what your looking for. I must also mention that they have very good prices on all of their products. I have tried buying mice at other pet stores and they are always 3 times more than what I pay at Zookeeper. Even if you don't need anything from the store, it's always fun to go and check out all the cool pets they take care of in the store. read more

Awesome place. They have beautiful vivariums, and a ton of knowledge. They have a sloth, though it's not for sale. They have a lot of reptiles, and various exotic pets. Lots of odd bugs, cool reptiles, and neat rodents. They have Sugar Gliders. They also sell hedgehogs, though I recommend buying hedgies from a breeder so they are hand raised. read more

Every time I visit this store, it never fails to be a positive experience. The staff are personable, knowlegable, and casually attentive ( They make it known they would love to help you but don't harass you while you're just checking things out.). The prices are fair and there are so many interesting things to look at. I can always count on sound advice, great recommendations- often from personal experience NOT product promotion, and guidance to further seek information. They are never pushy when you ask to view the pets, never giving the impression that you are wasting their time or pressuring you to buy immediately. Also, on a side note they have a store mascot, a sloth, that is really neat to watch and on occasion a free roaming fancy chicken, named Chicken. Why would you give anyone else your money? I will make as many purchases as possible here and support this amazing local business. read more

Zookeeper - I bought Violet, the Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula 2 years ago. We have since added several other. - Pet Stores Near Me - Austin, Texas

I was in the area and decided to give this place a look to get some information on bearded dragons and snakes, there is a great selection and I was surprised to see a sloth in there as well. I went in later one evening and walked right in to be greeted with "can i help you, we are closed" and when I responded with "well the sign says you are open", they responded with "yeah we are closed" Weird. Oh well, Ill stop in another time read more

This place is the best. End of story. Really helpful and knowledgeable, and they take good care of their animals.

Such a great little place! My 3 year old and I love it! I'm going to try to get our bearded dragon's crickets here every time. Cheaper than the other pet stores too! read more

This place is amazing I buy a lot of frogs from here and I went and this lady with beautiful hair hooked me up with a phenomenal deal on a tomato frog this place is without a doubt the best pet store in Austin read more

The staff have a passion for all animals that warms my heart. They have such unique animals to purchase and quality live food. We only buy our live food here! Love it! read more

Knowledgeable and you can tell that they really care about educating pet owners. The staff went above and beyond to help be sure that a young, ball python temporarily in my care was healthy and well cared for. Very patient and generous with their knowledge. read more

Today I bought a blue iguana great service healthy iguanas and other pets and also everybody so friendly all animals so tamed

I came here to purchase an animal, and I was not happy with the staff. The owner seems nice enough, but the woman who worked with me was incredibly rude and condescending. She also gave me a lot of misinformation regarding the animal I was purchasing, despite the fact that she had a "holier than thou" way of speaking. I won't be shopping here again. read more

This place is the best of it's kind in Austin. The cages/terrariums are kept clean and the staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. They raise most of their feeder foods as well as some of their own livestock. I go here at least once a week to check out new animals and pick up some live feeders for my pets (two lizards, two frogs). They have been packed every time I've been in there lately which I am very happy to see. Daniel (the owner) can be seen working the counter on occasion and he is a hell of a nice guy. No matter where you live in Austin and how conveniently other exotic pet stores are located to you, Zookeepers is worth the trip for quality pets, feeders, and advice. They are unmatched by any place in Austin I've seen. read more

It's small and it's a little pricey for items that you may need for your pet (we just spent $70 on a light today). HOWEVER, the people who work there are super nice and very helpful! They also have the sweetest little bunnies ever :) read more

Been going for years. These people are the best. They hooked me up with a dart frog setup that is killer :) Jk, seriously the best pet store in town for lizards and spiders. read more