House of Exotics — Local services in Cañon City

I went in about an hour ago to look at enclosures for my tarantula and to look into buying another jumping spider. Upon being greeted the staff was very friendly, but that isn't where my issue lies. My boyfriend and I have never had an issue keeping our four spiders clean and content, and after looking at their selection of spiders I could tell something was off, almost detouring me from getting the jumping spider altogether. Not only were the enclosures for the tarantulas underkept and under-stimulating, but the spiders themselves appeared to be malnourished and incredibly agitated. The two jumping spiders they DID have were both in cups SO poorly maintained. I mean, it would've taken weeks without cleaning for them to get this bad. old molts (from August), dead crickets, and fecal matter and decay clouding the enclosure. Some of the tarantulas that were there should've been in larger, cleaner enclosures. I ONLY decided to take the jumping spider home because I knew I had to rescue it. Upon checkout I looked into many other animals such as the rats where they did not have enough hide out areas in their enclosures, and they were littered with enough feces to create piles. We also asked for crickets for our tarantula at home where we were given three live, large crickets and one decaying cricket, which does not usually happen by accident when you're only putting 4 in the bag. This store is disorganized and these animals are being neglected to a degree I've ONLY ever seen at small pet stores such as this one. I won't even mention some of the reptiles or other animals out of main view in the store. Severely underwhelmed with the lack of care given to these animals. I gave them a second chance after gaining a first impression months ago, but they have not since improved. I would only shop from here if you're looking for a rescue project because this was...

I tired to call the store during business hours but they never answered. So I decided to stop by anyway. Drove over an hour and when I arrived they didn't have any plecostomus. What kinda of fish store doesn't have a single pleco? Its the most popular fish in the aquarium hobby! I talked to the manager and she told me they have a shipment coming in on Thursday and to come back then. As an experienced fish keeper for over 30+ years I realize they dont quarantine thier fish. This is absolutely irresponsible way to keep fish. It would only take one sick fish to kill off my entire tank of rare and expensive cichlids. I will NEVER do business either House...

So grateful to have Leslie and her family running the store, they're working tirelessly to keep it fully stocked with lots of variety! The quality of the animals has improved greatly and Leslie works to bring in a fantastic variety of salt and freshwater fish! She ordered me a bunch of live plants and gorgeous mopani wood to build a 15 gallon freshwater aquascape. She's also ordered some really cool flashy fish, snails, and shrimp to stock my tank! Really enjoying my hobby with...