Appalachian Reptiles & Aquatics — Local services in Hagerstown

My girlfriend and I drive over an hour almost every week to check this place out. I absolutely love it here. In the past year, I’ve probably bought close to 100 freshwater fish, and they have all done very well, haven’t lost a single one. Bought a handful of plants here as well, again, they have all done really well for me. My girlfriend bought a ball python a couple of weeks ago and she is extremely healthy and I can tell it was cared for and eating well. I’ve recently started transitioning from freshwater to saltwater, I bought some crabs and snails from here with only a few casualties, that were more than likely my fault as a beginner. I really only have two complaints about this place, one being that most of the dry goods don’t have prices on them. The other being that the saltwater section here is kind of disappointing and looks like it has been neglected, one frag tank has hair algae all over most of the corals, and the other looks like it has red Cyanobacteria (I think that’s what it is). There aren’t many saltwater fish to choose from, and the snails and crabs haven’t been restocked since I bought them all 2 months ago. I’m in no way knocking this place for the saltwater section, I understand it’s hard to maintain on a daily basis and probably hard to order the right amount of stuff since there probably aren’t a lot of people into saltwater tanks in the area. I would just much rather support a local business than a big corporation or pay for overnight shipping! The owner here is also amazing, he is super friendly, patient, and knows what he is...

TL;DR: Amazing shop. Ignore the clutter, it's worth it. //

This is THE place to shop for aquatics and reptiles in the Hagerstown area. I haven't even looked at a PetSmart or a Petco since I found Appalachian.

They take amazing care of their animals, and always have someone on staff who is truly knowledgeable about each animal you're considering. Their livestock is pretty impressive in terms of variation as well.

If I had to dredge up complaints, the store is a bit cluttered, with some items left unpriced. This is in part because they simply stock more things than their space can handle. I would MUCH rather a shop like this, cluttered for us human visitors while giving each animal the space they need, as opposed to a wide open Petco torturing bettas in tiny cups.

My second complaint, and I promise I won't spin this one as a positive too, is that some of the employees occasionally come across as a bit unprofessional. Not rude, just like they're not willing to do what needs to be done to help you. For example I asked for the price of a product and they said they didn't know, and just searched up a price online. Then, told me the owner would likely have charged less but he wasn't in today.

So if the store is reading this for advice, y'all are doing amazing! Just get those products priced properly and make sure your employees all have the tools, training, and power to assist customers to the...

I asked one of the employees to assist me in building a safe habitat for my red eared slider. He recommended purchasing a premium aquarium black sand substrate. I thought he knew what he was talking about so I used the black sand for my turtles aquarium. One month later I found him dead next to the filter. I needed to know how he died. The only thing we did differently was add the black sand substrate. Come to find out my turtle died from impaction. It’s a blockage in the digestive system that leads to constipation. This blockage is typically caused by something the animal ate. Unfortunately, items that may seem harmless, like the substrate we kept in the aquarium, was an impaction hazard. Loose substrates can become ingested accidentally, especially by juveniles. Impactions caused by loose substrates usually develop over time, so the symptoms appear gradually and not suddenly. Most of the time, symptoms will go unseen until it is too late.

Moral of the story: Trust but verify. Some of the people who work in these stores do not care about your animal and don’t know everything. I would always brag about how resilient my turtle was. Had him for 2 years and drove him cross country in a tiny container. He was happy as can be. Be cautious who you take advice from. It cost me my...