Prairie Exotics shop set to open in November
Cats and hamsters are cute, but Steve Rempel prefers the scaly and slithery options of the pet world.
Rempel is a reptile and exotic animal enthusiast, and his job is taking care of — and educating people about — unusual pets.
Rempel hopes to have Prairie Exotics, located at unit 7, 1692 Dublin Ave., open in November. The shop will be one part pet store and one part rescue shelter, and Rempel hopes that it will also be a place for people to stop by and learn about unusual pets. In his experience, getting the right information about exotic pets at big name pet stores is hit and miss.
“When I bought my first bearded dragon I got all sorts of things I didn’t need,” Rempel said. “Now I’ve learned you can do it a lot more affordably. So that’s what we’re there for is really to educate people.”
Rempel started working in the animal industry five years ago and he immediately saw the need for a facility that can take in surrendered animals. With turtles especially, Rempel has noticed that many people take home the cute, small ones and then find that they don’t have the space or money to keep them when they reach full size.
“A lot of these are longer than say, a seven-year commitment,” Rempel said. “A bearded dragon is 15 to 20 years, a ball python, 40 years. A tortoise might live 75 to 100 years. They start out really tiny, super cute, but when they start to get big and eat $20 to $30 of greens a week, that’s more than a dog will eat and it starts to add up.”
Rempel’s made his shop available to people who can no longer care for their pets, though most are put on a waiting list due to the limited space and resources at Prairie Exotics. Once an animal is rehomed, another one can be brought in.
“This will be our biggest expense with the least return but we need somewhere to put the animals,” Rempel said.
To cover the cost of housing and feeding the animals, Rempel does presentations and kids’ shows on the weekend. It’s a full-time job, but the former tech support worker wouldn’t have it any other way.
“This is a lot more fun,” Rempel said. “It’s making a difference. You go into a school and kids recognize me and go, ‘Reptile guy!’ And they remember something you told them last time. With tech support, once you’re done, you’re lucky to get a thank you.”