Tropical Island Pets

09/04/2026

Don't forget to tell Rhea Happy 21st Birthday!

Rhea has over 10 years of professional experience with reptiles and fish! We are so glad that she is our Reptile Specialist!

09/02/2026

We are out of live rats until tomorrow!

08/28/2026

Brazilian short tailed possum 

08/24/2026

North America’s common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) is found throughout the eastern United States and much of Mexico. For people who do not know turtles very well, almost every North American turtle they see is likely to be erroneously labeled a “box turtle.”

The real box turtle is distinctive, with a high-domed carapace (upper shell), and a hinged plastron (lower shell) allowing the turtle to completely enclose itself within to evade predators. There are a total of seven recognized species of box turtles, with three recognized subspecies of the common box turtle.

North American box turtles are declining due to habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, in addition to human activity. Many die attempting to cross roads. The species has been assessed as being vulnerable to extinction. As with many reptiles, and especially turtles, box turtles are long-lived, and slow to reproduce, making any population declines that much more dire.

These charismatic turtles are omnivores, and are known to eat a wide variety of animals and plants. Their home ranges are surprisingly small, varying roughly between 0.4 and 15 acres; for better context, the lower end of that range is smaller than a football field. All of this means that these turtles cannot be moved far without causing them harm. While it can be tempting to keep a box turtle found in a roadway as a pet, removing that turtle from the wild may be detrimental to the local population. It may also be illegal due to state protections.

If you see a box turtle in the road, and can safely help it cross, move it only in the direction it was headed across that road. It has a destination in mind. It is so important that more people understand the challenges our native reptiles are facing, and help conserve them.
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The photograph used in this post shows a young eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) observed in North Carolina. The photo was taken by iNaturalist user joshl, and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. The image was not altered for use in this post.
View license information here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

08/22/2026

Guinea pigs! All boys.

08/22/2026

Bengal! This dude is 4 months old.
Klondike Kid Exotics

08/21/2026

Biscuit is sleeping the day away 

08/15/2026

08/14/2026

We still have baby axolotl‘s 

08/10/2026

UPDATE, SHES BEEN FOUND!
Our shop cat, Biscuit, is missing! We think she slipped out Saturday night around 8pm, if you see her please call 573-318-4073.
This is in the South Sprigg area of Cape, across from Bi-State.