North Baltimore reptile shop answers exotic questions

NORTH BALTIMORE — If you've been thinking about a new pet and a dog or cat seems a little tame, the Backroad Madhouse Reptile Supply Co. in North Baltimore may be just the place for you. Whether it's a Peter's banded sand skink or a translucent veiled chameleon, the new business at 127 S. Main St. has everything a new pet owner needs to get started, according to owners Richard Stevenson and Angel Johnson. "It's fun. It's a great stress release," said Stevenson. "Sometimes when you have a rough day at work and you go out there and play with the animals, they just kind of hug on you and crawl all over you." The two met a couple of years ago when Johnson hosted a reptile expo in Findlay and Stevenson was one of the vendors. Both have day jobs and home businesses as well. Stevenson is a surgical first assistant, and Johnson is a registered nurse who works full time doing case management. "We all still do our regular jobs," said Johnson. "Then I started my home business with the reptiles. We've got the expo now, we've got two of them. And now we have the store so we keep busy." The store, which can be identified by the two gold chameleon logos on the front windows, opened in January. Stevenson said the name of the business is a play on both of their home businesses. "I'm Madhouse Serpent and she's Backroad Reptiles and Exotics, so we just kind of made a play on it," he explained. 'That's how we roll' Both Johnson and Stevenson have been interested in reptiles since they were youngsters. "I had a snake when I was about yea big, about 6 years old," said Stevenson. "I think it was a California garter snake. I think we found it in the yard at the time." "Same thing, ask my mom," Johnson added. "I brought in every animal outside, so a lot salamanders, frogs, snakes. We started young and never stopped." Stevenson said reptiles are a $10 billion a year industry. "There's a lot of misconceptions about reptiles. And there's a lot of animal rights people that want to ban them, but there's really no reason for it because they're less harmful than a dog," he said. "People don't understand it so we're very much about education." He said many people misunderstand reptiles, like pythons. "People think they're scared of them, but these guys are docile," he said. "When you say pythons, people think they're 20 foot long and they'll swallow you." But that's a myth, he said. While a python can eat a 200-pound deer, it can't eat a 200-pound human being due to the wider shoulders. And unlike dogs and cats, reptiles aren't really affectionate, he noted. "Reptiles have three things in mind; food, water and making babies. That's pretty much their whole goal in life. They're not sociable animals. They're not in groups, typically," he said. If anyone is interested in learning more about reptiles, stop by the shop, said Stevenson. Staff will show available pets and let interested customers hold them. "There's a lot of townsfolk that just come in to look and when they see it they're like, 'Wow, I didn't think that this is what it would be like,'" said Stevenson. "They ask us questions and we answer them. That's how we roll." Store hours are 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Stocked with snakes The two, who also breed reptiles, have stocked the store with the animals that interest them the most. "So stuff that I breed, obviously that's what I want to bring in," said Johnson. "I know about it. I know how it works, what's good for it." Johnson's partial to geckos and bearded dragons, while Stevenson likes snakes. The front of the business is devoted to bedding, cages and all the things that reptiles like to eat, ranging from superworms to rats. Most of the reptiles can be found in tanks at the back of the store. Prices vary greatly, said Stevenson, from $55 for a leopard gecko to $800 for a dumerili ground boa. "There's a lot of animals in the pet trade right now. We tend to stray away from imports just because of the health risks to the animal," he said. "We like to source stuff from trusted people, if we don't have it already." And if they do have to import a reptile, they will keep it in quarantine for several months. One tank is home to three yellow uromastyx. These lizards eat lentils for protein and vegetables, Stevenson said. There are also several beaded dragons — both large and small. They prefer greens, crickets and mealworms. "It's really fun when they sit on that log and kind of wave at you," Stevenson said. Tanks and cages are cleaned about twice a week. "Every single animal is different with its care," said Johnson. "And if we don't feel like they can take care of it, we won't sell an animal," Stevenson added. Another resident of the shop is a wild-type ball python that measures about 4½ feet long. "In different regions of Africa, they get a lot bigger. They'll get longer," Stevenson said. "I have a friend who has one he calls Big Bertha. She's about 7 foot and she weighs close to 8,000 grams." There are also red-foot tortoises, red-eyed tree frogs and chameleons for sale. "We're really, really eager to help," said Stevenson. "People are curious, and if they've never experienced it, they don't know. If they come in, we'd like to get a chance to educate them." Wolf: 419-427-8419