Tarantulabarn 1990 – 2015 25 years in the Hobby Way back in the sands of time, when the internet was born, the channel tunnel joined England and France for the first time. East and West Germany announce unification and Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to a five-year term as the first-ever President of the Soviet Union and not forgetting the Brixton Poll Tax Riots and the first release of the family film Home Alone. Things in the hobby were very different than they are today. Reptiles and inverts were relatively unheard of in the pet hobby, with most being wild caught. This, along with the lack of equipment, resulted in many animals needing help. No bulb guards caused many burn injuries, no proper vivariums or haistat information and lack of husbandry information caused illness and untamed animals and countless other problems. It was in 1990 that Steve started volunteering with the Junior Amateur Entomology Society by driving their mini bus on field trips and to and from the few invert shows within the UK, with the Granby Halls in Leicester being the main one, Thats where you could buy a red knee spiderling for around the £20 mark, (£3 today). This sparked his interest in Inverts which remains with him today. This new interest sparked a passion that saw Steve take on a Royal Python, then a huge 18 Indian Python then many other species as they became avaliable. Within a year Steve and his Wife Donna had to move home in order to accommodate all their new charges. Soon, Steve was linking with many other hobbyist and keepers, becoming the South East Satellite of the International Tortoise and Terrapin Rescue Society. Donna soon took on the day to day care of the reptiles when Steve was out at work, but not wanting to take a back seat, Steve soon began keeping many Tarantulas and other Inverts. He found the diverse range of animals amazing, and soon was successful in breeding many of his own. He started selling these at shows, then from home, and Tarantulabarn was born. The years since then have been varied, the world has changed almost beyond belief. One thing that has been around all that time is Tarantulabarn. Going through a number of phases, Tarantulabarn has not only become a well known name in the invert hobby, but has enabled hundreds of keepers to experience the unique experience of European shows with the creation of Coachtotheshow, which carries people to various shows across Europe. Steve picked up on the need for specialist transport services some 8 years ago, and to this day still runs two nationwide courier runs for animals each month, covering some hundred thousand miles each year with plans for 2 more Wholesale only vans to accommodate the new contracts coming on board. This has opened up new pets to many new owners, and given a larger market to breeders, who in turn have gone on to produce new strains and variants. We also picked up on a need for a local specialist wholesale need, and became involved in Nature Zone Ltd, who produced many products under the Whats that brand. Surprisingly, one of the better sellers was the natural roasted dog bones, roasted in our own custom made 6 oven! This involvement in the wholesale trade highlighted a need for a specialist retailer in the area, and the opportunity presented itself when a shop unit became available around the same time as his factory lease came to an end. The decision was made and the wholesale company was closed. The reptile and invert products were transferred to the new business as Whats That, and this range became the own brand of Tarantulabarn Exotics. Looking forward, plans to expand our own range are well in hand, and should be available in many local shops in the next couple of years. As a special celebration, each and every month through out 2015 we will have a celebration offer on a range of items from Wooden and glass enclosures, substrates, frozen reptile food and animal transport. Details of each offer will be announced on our Facebook page and our online shop. In addition, keep your eyes open as there will be short term super specials that wont always be announced in advance, and may only last for a few hours.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 23:10:06 +0000
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