Zookeeper

These guys are the best. So very knowledgable, friendly and eager to please. Their selection ranges from exotic species down to your regular hamster. I alway purchase my snake food from here, and the few times my snakes are not hungry, Zookeeper happily accepts them back in exchange for credit. Customer service at it’s finest.
If you need animal food, have a question about a fossil or just want to peruse their amazing selection of exotic animals and insects, Zookeeper is the place for you.

Let me start off. and say «Jillian» is the BEST!!! You can tell, she really cares about her job. and the customer. She got us. Set up. with all the stuff we needed for our growing hermit crab family ;) The whole staff, at Zoo Keeper was very friendly and helpful. We will be back. Great folks to deal with.5 BIG STARS!!!

Let me start by saying I love this place! Dave is the best! We went into zoo keeper planning on just letting my daughter look at some animals maybe buy a lizard or something small and ended up leaving with two chinchillas who I absolutely love! At first I was worried about taking on a new pet but Dave was right they are the sweetest and so easy to take care of he was able to give us a good deal on everything we needed to. He even got my 3 year old to hold a huge fuzzy spider lol Will definitely be back when I need more goodies for Chins and who knows maybe another animal.

When you capture a fuzzy black and white spider that moves in to your kitchen window after a heavy rain, you soon realize that spiders are kinda cute and incredibly interesting, and also pretty, plus many regrow their limbs! That’s how I ended up at Zookeeper. Right off 183 and Burnet makes for a quick stop for supplies, often baby crickets (.05/​ea).
The employees at Zookeeper are what Austin businesses are all about; passionate, knowledgeable, friendly, and personal. Treat it like wandering into your eccentric neighbor’s basement with an unusual hobby, and you’ll have a great time! It’s a little dank, sporadic, and smelly in here, but hey, it is what it is when you’re dealing with rodents, bugs, and reptiles. I’m certain kids love it here, there are sugar gliders, snakes, Sophia the sloth, bunnies, guinea pigs, tarantulas, scorpions, and much more to get your heart racing, and skin scrawling.
This really is a one stop shop. Zookeeper carries pets, habitats, food, they even offer boarding and care. Great prices that compete with online prices, valuable advice, and the employees can help you identify species. Definitely a great specialty shop to check out if you’re at all interested!

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

I am a very new Tarantula keeper, and joined a Facebook group to learn more about them. The members of this group raved about Zookeeper and owner Dave. I went to Austin this past weekend for a work conference and was so excited to get to visit Zookeeper. This place is awesome, and a tarantula lover’s dream come true! Even though they were super busy, Dave took the time to learn more about me and what I was looking for and helped me choose 2 tarantula’s for my experience level. I will also say, it is one thing to be knowledgeable of your product. It is quite another to be knowledgeable and passionate, and it definitely shows! I am now totally trying to find excuses to go back to Austin! Thanks Dave!!!

These people are amazing. I’ve never come across a worker not knowing about an animal. Very helpful an always cut me some good deals on pets. I visit every trip to Austin. Love love love this place!

I absolutely love this place. Bought my dragon from here. They were very patient with me and helped me with ideas and suggestions on taking care of him. Crickets and worms are priced very low. Sometimes it’s just neat to just walk in and see what they have new. Recommended this place to many people :)

PLEASE PLEEEEEASE READ!!!
Love love love the whole gang at Zookeeper. Got our bearded dragon there and she lived for almost 13 years with their support and advice. As long as they don’t sell any animal like a SLOW LORIS that would live a miserable life being captive, we’re cool. SEE
It’s not worth it if your pet is unhappy!!!

I bought a male ferret here, so I can really only review my experience with that. He is a really healthy, very large male. He came to me in perfect health and has been growing very quickly. His coat is extremely soft and not at all wiry like a lot of other ferrets I’ve seen.
When I went to check out, one of the employees was hugging him gently, kissing on him and saying goodbye. They probably hold and socialize their ferrets pretty well because he has a really great calm personality and has never bitten me.
I bought another ferret at a competitor and she came home with ear mites and has a really bad biting problem. She was much smaller and her coat is not as healthy. I can tell there’s a difference in the way the animals are cared for.

We walked into Zoo keeper today and the customer service is out of this world GOOD! Our 4yr felt like a princess in there. The staff was so attentive and ensured we were having a good time. My daughter got to pet the animals, hold some and learn about a lot exotic animals. Thank you so much for the experience and candy at the door! Yall are great!

I play games often at Emerald Tavern next door so I am always dropping in to Zookeeper at least once a week. The store layout has been rearranged recently and it is a massive improvement to the flow of the shop. There are new animals every single week I visit. Place is clean and they love their animals here. The staff is very knowledgeable about their animals. If you are planning on buying several animals (i.e. 2+ leopard geckos) then ask to talk to the owner and cut a deal. He will give you a deal if you buy that same day.
**Here is a TIP** if you see an animal you want. BUY IT ASAP! They sell animals very quickly, there has been at least 2 occasions where I thought to myself «I will come back and get it next weekend» and whatdaknow… it sold by the following weekend.

Went here to pick up hermit crabs. Sure, there were things about the habitat that I could criticize. But hey, it was the best set up I’ve seen for hermit crabs at any store. Some of the crabs didn’t seem toooo perky and the selection was relatively small – but the two goobers I purchased and brought home were clean, have appetites, have explored their new environment curiously and aren’t fearful. They’ve got good dispositions and are making a healthy transition, shockingly quick!
I would buy more crabs from them if they had other species to offer besides the standard Purple Pinchers.

We love going here! It IS like a little zoo. They have some exciting new thing to look at every time we go. We want all of the animals. The staff is very knowledgable and everyone seems to really enjoy what they’re doing. Everyone we’ve dealt with was super helpful. So far, from the Zookeeper, we’ve added to our family: a Brooks Kingsnake, a pacman frog, and an orange-​kneed tarantula. (These little animals are addicting.) We love them so much. If we decide to add any other animals, we’ll definitely get them here.
We live way South, nowhere near zookeeper, so our animals get Petco crickets. One day the girl at Petco who was helping, asked about my animals. She asked if I got them there and I said, «No. Up north at Zookeeper.» She said, «Yes! I LOVE that place! Isn’t it cool?! I go in there alllll the time!» Not that Zookeeper is at all like Petco, but I still thought it was funny.

My son has been begging me for a sugar glider for awhile. After some research we decided to just «go look» at them at Zookeeper. That never actually works.
Daniel, the owner, was amazing. He answered our (at least) 200 questions and let us get used to holding our new baby before we even left the place. He gave us a great package deal for all the essentials. He genuinely seemed like he cared for all his animals, he even asked us to call in a few days to «check in.» This place has the best customer service ever! We will be back for all of Gizmo’s needs!

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.

absolutely the best pet store /​group in central texas

I’ve enjoyed shopping at this pet store for a long time – they’ve always had the coolest animals, and best supplies… at good prices. But recently, when I had a crazy situation going on and I really needed help – Zookeepers owners (and Jillian, in particular) stepped up, and really took care of me!
I had quite a surprise this weekend, when my prize Python, Solomon, who had been missing for a full 8 MONTHS (NO JOKE!!), was suddenly spotted, curled up and sleeping peacefully in a box in the corner of our office closet!
I was elated to have finally found him, alive and well, apparently… But, of course (ironically!), I had just recently given up hope on ever relocating him, and, only a couple weeks before, I had gotten rid of all of his housing equipment. …So, now I had my snake back, but, nowhere to house him! :-(
This was bad timing for me – I am in the process of moving, and finances are tight!
Well, I went down to Zookeepers, and after listening to me explain my plight to them, they went the extra mile in helping me out. They were able to put together for me a package of quality new and used supplies, at a discounted price that I could afford – so that I could properly take care of my prodigal Python after our surprise reunion!
I can’t thank them enough for their timely assistance! I will definitely be shopping there for a long time to come. …And, I highly recommend them to everybody here in the area, for all of your exotic pet needs! ;-D

This is the place to go if you have any animal needs whatsoever. They’re so friendly and helpful as well as having excellent customer service skills. All of the staff is extremely knowledgeable as well being very down to earth. I’ve been going here for years and I live an hour away which says a lot. They really go above and beyond. I purchased a baby corn snake and it passed away the night I got it but they had no problem providing me with a replacement the next morning, no questions asked. All of the other animals I’ve purchased have been super healthy and have lived long happy lives. There’s no better place than Zookeeper!

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 Unilocal. (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.

What a jewel of an exotic pet shop, right here in Austin.
Highly, HIGHLY recommend this place. They’ve constantly got a rotating selection of all sorts of reptiles, mammals, fish, you name it! And a sloth. Seriously, how cool is that.
The staff is always available extremely knowledgeable about everything, from care to feeding to upkeep to breeding. I’ve been here a lot over the years, and they have the same, friendly people working here. It’s a true testament to their passion and love for what they do.
It’s also neat to come in and see people from all levels of experience in pet ownership get the same level of service. From experts who want specific advice, to newbies wanting their first reptile as a pet; no customer is treated as «more important.» Here, everyone is important. And I love that.
And that’s why I keep coming back here. Because you are truly valued, from the moment you walk in the door.
Also, the sloth.

This is one of the best pet stores I have ever been to. Everyone was so nice, helpful and knowledgeable. You can play with the pet of your choice before buying and they help you round up everything you need to start. Again, I love this pet store.

Love this place! My husband bought me some gorgeous Gargoyle Geckos on Valentines Day, one was even red! We got a fantastic deal on them plus their terrariums. Love to visit. Always very knowledgeable staff, always willing to even let us handle our perspective purchases. Staff are also very funny an a joy to be around! –Fans from Corpus Christi–

Absolutely impressed with the knowledgeable staff. My son had been wanting a kingsnake for the last year and had researched constantly on the web. We found Zookeepers online and went into their store. They had two different kinds to choose from but were willing to order any kind we wanted. Brandon allowed us to handle both for a while and was very patient with our questions and the amount of time we spent choosing the snake with the best temperament for our family. We came home with «Wade» & it is a perfect fit. Thank you so much. We live our in Round Rock but we will be back to this store for supplies many times over :-)

Best pet store ever.
From cute little snakes, to a freakin two-​toed sloth to the tiny ferrets they get in. I love this place more than words can say.
I also get to hold and touch anything I want.
Amazing!
I wish this place fame and fortune.