LONG BUT HONEST REVIEW: 100/10 reptile shop. I'm from the twin cities of MN and the husbandry here is top notch and unlike I've ever seen (I've been to many reptile shops around MN and the twin cities area). The staff is knowledgeable and they genuinely care about their animals. Overhead a staff member asking if someone had a tank set up for a crested gecko that someone was interested in looking at. The staff member also allowed the interested person to handle the crested gecko, but only after requesting that they put on hand sanitizer (love love love). Additionally, the tanks for all their animals are all extremely clean and well maintained. 95% of the animals were all kept in more comfortable sized tanks than you would normally see for pet store kept animals (Usually the tanks are much smaller than what is comfortable for temporary keeping). They have SO many types of reptiles, it felt like going to a miniature expo with the variety of reptiles there. From crested geckos to black/white Tegu's as well as different breeds of chameleons, crocodile skinks, cave geckos, frogs, bugs, and more! (Surrenders as well as in house bred, etc). They have a fairly sized pet store section (SO many tanks and reptiles). The staff were all super sweet and helpful. As a reptile owner of 5, and a reptile lover, I really love to see this level of husbandry in a reptile store. I live 4 hours from there (roughly) and I will say I will definitely be coming to buy from them at some point. I seriously do not have enough good to say about the place. I would highly recommend going, whether you are just looking at animals, wanting to buy, or need supplies, they have so much. I am seriously impressed, they are such an example of what every reptile shop should be when holding these animals until their adoptions. Support your local (ethical) businesses! Thank you for taking the time to read this review :) - A reptile enthusiast read more

Reptile Rapture is a one-stop shop for all things exotic pets. They recently expanded their store, and now there are twice as many options to browse through! The store is extremely organized, and the reptile and amphibian enclosures are well maintained. The animals all look comfortable and well taken care of. Their arachnid offerings are also always growing - we popped in recently and were happy to see they were selling jumping spiders (audax and regius). The service is superb, with a staff member always available to answer questions or offer assistance with any animals or behind-the-counter items. They offer live crickets and dubia roaches, along with frozen rodents, and other feeder Please consider supporting locally owned businesses like Reptile Rapture over the big pet store chains! You get a level of quality, care, and service that's unmatched. read more

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In December I rescued a adorable bearded dragon named pez with metabolic bone disease. This rescue communicated hos condition very well. They made sure I had a good set up and would make a good home for him and he was shipped out. When I say he arrived as the absolute sweetest animal and has been a complete joy to have. I don't know if they read these but I want them to know how amazing he is doing now including being able to run and eat by himself. He was the perfect addition to our little reptile family and the entire adoption process was easy and they were very friendly and helpful. When it's time to adopt again I will 100% be checking with this rescue first. read more

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i love reptiles, and this store is an "okay" place. they have a good variety of decor for habitats. the one thing i will say is how badly i feel for the animals. i hope at night they have some sort of alternative for the bigger reptiles. every time i go there, all of the reptiles are trying to escape, banging themselves on walls and scratching at them. they wander back and forth. one time i even noticed a lizard swaying back and forth against the glass, even put my hand in-front of it to block its view to see if it would stop just for it to move to the other side and continue to sway against the glass door which is abnormal behavior. all the animals are held in enclosures too small to be mentally stimulating, and the biggest tortoise they have is always banging its head against the wall to escape. every single time i've been there. now i obviously don't know much about the store and how they treat animals, but as far as i can tell they either need to sell them quickly or get the funding to make them more enriching enclosures. all of the reptiles are going insane. glass enclosures are also frowned upon because they can't really see it, so they are constantly trying to walk forward with no success and they end up confused and stressed. read more

Follow-up: So how does the owner decide to respond to a bad review? They try to dox the reviewer and falsely portray the feedback, instead of responding reasonably. We are still rating this shop as EXTREMELY unprofessional. Even their response to this review shows that. How so? After we provided a picture of the habitat, they sent us a request to provide multiple pictures and then a set of questions. Yes, sending pictures of our home is what is being described as a "Home Inspection". And yes, sending a list of questions is also a "Home Inspection". If they needed such photos or required some sort of questionnaire to be filled out, they should have stipulated it in their website before making a purchase, not afterwards. How do they respond to this review? By talking about driving cross-country or something. How do they treat a 1-star review? They respond by saying "they care about their animals". This is nonsense -- we're criticizing them because of their unprofessional business practices: that is, if they feel the need to contractually stipulate that A) we need to provide photos of our home and B) we must answer their questionnaire, then they should put that as part of an agreement in the purchase process, and not afterward. It is completely unprofessional to demand that customers answer a set of questions and provided pictures after being paid, without stating that beforehand. Imagine walking into Petco, buying a goldfish, paying for it, and then as you walk out, a person at door demands that you send them pictures of your fish-tank and provide pictures of your house. Here is the correct response to this kind of bad review: "Sir, we're sorry that you had a bad experience with our store. We acknowledge that we didn't provide you with our stipulations prior to purchase, and we are addressing this problem by adding the purchase terms and conditions on our website, so that customers will be aware that we may request additional information about the caring of animals as a condition of purchase." read more

We got a full set up for a crested gecko today. Our 11-year-old son has been asking for a reptile and we finally got him one today. I've been to a few other pet stores around town but I've never seen so many active, healthy looking reptiles in one place. I think they do a better job than the local zoo. The girl who helped us was very competent and was able to explain everything we needed to do to care for our new friend. This huge lizard was the first thing you see when you come in the store and he was amazing! read more

Reptile Rapture - Reptile Shops Near Me - Monona, Wisconsin

The reptiles really sell this place! The staff are complete reptile dorks which makes them good at their jobs and a sense of humor doesn't hurt read more

Reptile Rapture - Albino Boa Constrictor - Reptile Shops Near Me - Monona, Wisconsin

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We went to go check out what they have. We live about 2.5 hours away. We walked in and noticed they had a Bioactive set up so as we were in the need of talking to someone about starting one we asked. We were redirected to the one who was in charge of it and he spent 45minutes talking to us, showing us his pointing out the stuff he used, and why he used it or what he had learned doing his. No pressure at all to buy from them. We got it all except plants i wanted a little color. Would recommend them to anyone! Our little ladies LOVE their crickets and roaches as well! We go back almost every weekend for a refill on bugs! read more

Reptile Rapture - Bioactive enclosure for our gecko - Reptile Shops Near Me - Monona, Wisconsin

Came all the way from Rockford Illinois to Madison just to visit this shop for my first time, and I will definitely make the trip again just to get my reptile accessories from this shop. They are super organized and they have absolutely everything you'd ever need for your little reptile buddies. read more

Stop in this place a few times and they are always out of what I'm looking for! The people have been friendly but this store is overpriced on everything. Don't bother stopping by for help with aquatic turtles, you won't get any. Won't be back. read more

Super helpful! They always have the bugs I need for my Beardie. Lots of products and a fair return policy. I'm glad they are expanding.

amazing place! went here several times each one was great- I got almost immedite help when I asked. All the workers are extremely nice, helpful, and educated. read more

I searched for Red Tegu's for sale online and ended up finding a cute little Red Paraguayan Tegu rescue from Reptile Rapture, so I called the shop to see if he was still available and sure enough he was!! They had amazing customer service over the phone, answered all my questions that I had and even was kind enough to email me more pictures of this little guy before I bought him! They took care of business and had him shipped over night and came to my home the next morning!! He came exactly how I wanted him, even doe he is still a bit swirly because he is little guy, he hasn't hissed or even tried to bite me. He's so nice and mellow and I can't wait to watch him grow! Overall, I had a great experience with Reptile Rapture and I would rate them more than 5 stars if I could!! *Btw he fell asleep in my hand after I was rubbing on his tiny jaws in the last picture! Such a beauty! read more

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We heard about Reptile Rapture shortly after purchasing a Russian Tortoise. We had a few questions about his care and behavior, and we thought it would be great to find a place that catered to reptile owners. Let me tell you, THIS is the place. We arrived just as they opened, and the woman admitted that she was just helping out her husband, Richard(the owner, and reptile aficionado). Unfortunately, he wouldn't be in for another hour. After she heard about our new pet, she called Richard on his cell, and then handed it to me...He was so great! He gave us some tortoise background, and answered my questions. I think we were on the phone for a good twenty minutes. I was really impressed that he would be so helpful, especially considering that we didn't buy our tortoise from his store. We did end up getting some hay and bedding( a mere $16), but I told them that we would be frequent customers. The prices are competitive to any other store, and I appreciate the great service! If you're looking for a new reptile(and trust me, they have loads. Everything--big and little snakes, lizards, tortoises, and frogs, etc.) stop in here! The shop is a new one, grown out of a love for reptiles, and the hobby of raising them...The Allens are running a great place! read more

Today was my first time at this store. It was Amazing. Like an idiot I figured I'd stop at a big name pet store and save a few bucks on tank decor then go get the pet from a reputable store. Bad call. Reptile Rapture had several items I bought or looked at at the other store but it was much cheaper here. The store is filled with all sorts of animals, some that I've never seen in a zoo let alone a pet store. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. The associate that first approached me asked if I needed anything and I said no just looking for now. He responded with asking if I wanted to see something cool then took me to see a python laying her eggs. It was very cool and amazing to see people who love their job and animals as they do. It was a great experience and will definatly be back. read more

I have recently become a frequent customer to this place because I have a ball python, a leopard gecko and now a baby black blood python I purchased from the store. Selection is great and if they don't have something, I am sure they know someone who has an animal or how to get one. Animal cages are always clean and presentable. Animals always appear content in their enclosures. Not all of the animals are tamed down yet and Richard will admit that to you. It would be very hard to hand tame all of the animals he has. He also has very good pricing which makes it easier to love. Another great thing is their selection of live and frozen feeders but more-so the live ones. He breeds mice, rats, and I believe African Soft Fur Rats as well and has just about any life stage available. I've been getting the occassional rat pup there to try to convert my ball python. Frozen animals always look very healthy and plump. Better quality than I have seen from larger stores. You can tell Richard and his family are passionate about what they do and I think it's very cool they can turn their passion into a living. Stop in and also check out their website. There selection in-store seems to be more than what's on the website. read more

We live in Rockford, Illinois and made the trip to Madison. We are so impressed with Richard, his wife and the whole staff. They answered all of our questions about many of the reptiles we had never seen before. Our new Rhino Iguana has a new, loving home. We now a have a great resource and new friends. read more

I first became acquainted with Reptile Rapture (Richard) via YouTube and started following his Instagram page when I discovered they had Brazilian Rainbow Boas available recently. I contacted the store by phone since I live in Maryland and we are expecting our BRB very soon and couldn't be more excited. Every time I've needed to communicate with Ti regarding the purchase, the professionalism and cheerfulness has been SUPERB. I feel very confident purchasing from Reptile Rapture because it is very evident they care about every one of their animals. I only wished we lived closer to the store, as we would be able to make all of our supply purchases from them as well. We are grateful that Richard and his staff are very knowledgeable, authentic and reputable!!! read more

Called Reptile Rapture about a snake they were selling online and they responded "sorry, we do not answer questions already answered in the ad". Completely unprofessional and arrogant, the customer is always right! read more

After a lifetime of curiosity, I decided to purchase my first reptile. Unfortunately, I had a bad experience with an online retailer. The positive of that experience is that it encouraged me to work closer with breeders and small businesses. Which led me to Reptile Rapture. They have an incredible reputation with reptile owners and herp enthusiasts in my state. They come very highly recommended. Last weekend I met with a breeder to purchase an animal. I drove 2 hours to meet. Reptile Rapture is fortunately located near the halfway point of my drive. I was looking to pick up frozen food and I also wanted to check out the facility as they have a large variety of animals that I am interested in, and I wanted to check out their facility as a possible future supplier for food. I'm so glad that I stopped. When we walked in, there was somebody who was cleaning & working with the invertebrates. While this person was very busy and had their hands full, it was very encouraging for me to see his enthusiasm for these animals as he was showing another staff member how cool the different animals were as he was interacting with them and caring for them. All of the animals are well displayed. As someone who did months of research into proper husbandry before choosing what kind of animals to bring into my home, I am very comfortable saying that I am so impressed with the quality of the care that their animals receive. All of the terrariums were clean, had appropriate substrate and temperatures. All of the animals had necessary hides. All of the animals looked healthy and at appropriate weights and sizes for their ages. In addition, all of the terrariums have information about the size the animal was expected to reach, and some care information posted outside of the enclosure. Prior to this weekend, I had met with someone who was desperately looking to get rid of an animal. After looking at the rehoming fee and the current set up, I decided to rehome the animal even though I had only done the minimum of research. While this isn't something I would. normally do, the current owner did not have the appropriate setup, the animal has some behavioral issues, and I had some concerns that the low rehoming fee would be attractive to somebody who was less willing to purchase necessary items and provide a quality home in spite of the behavioral problems. I chose to take the animal knowing that I would need to do research after the fact and make some purchases to ensure the best care. I explained the situation to one of the staff members (the owner?), who was incredibly understanding and helpful in her knowledge as well as recommendations of feeding and care and additional items that I might need. She was very reassuring in that I could turn the situation around for this animal. Having spent a lot of time in my local chain pet stores and online price comparing for terrariums, food, substrate, and learning about things like appropriate hides and artificial plants... I am comfortable saying that their prices are comparable, and in some cases incredibly better, than what I've seen at chain retailers including Amazon, Petco, and PetSmart. I have one complaint. The store is located too far from my house for it to be a regular stop. In the future, going there will need to be a planned specialty trip. I genuinely wish that I had a store like this in my area. I would go purely to look at the large variety of animals if they were closer. Wonderful place. Super positive experience. I will gladly return. read more

Reptile Rapture is a great business. Madison is very lucky to have these folks here. Richard and Cheryl are wonderful people -- personable, caring, and will bend over backwards for customers. Employee turnover is really low, and the employees are helpful and won't BS their way into a sale. Product selection is good, and seems to be expanding into higher-range/professional level equipment. They don't carry any low-end novelty junk here. Livestock are quarantined, fed and housed properly, and labeled clearly. Selection is good, with an emphasis on captive bred animals of species that actually make good pets. Really good selection of feeder insects, and this is the only place from which I will buy rodents (live or frozen) -- they are raised here, and are higher quality than even the "pet" rodents I've seen in any other Madison pet store. Prices are fair, which is to say the prices are pretty low considering the quality and level of service. read more

I live about 80 miles north of reptile rapture and would not purchase a reptile from them again! They sold me a rainbow Jackson's chameleon with an eye infection on September 18, 2021 it was a Saturday. Monday September 20th I called my veterinarian for an appointment to have the chameleon examined. The veterinarian gave me Clindamycin for it's eye infection and on October 11th he died. I sent a photo of the chameleon with the eye infection on the day I purchased it, my veterinarian clinic information and asked if reptile rapture guaranteed their reptiles. Richard never called the veterinarian clinic or got back a hold of me? Reptile rapture had the chameleon for a month before I purchased it and were the ones that neglected the chameleon. I would of had to subpoena 4 people from the veterinarian clinic to take reptile rapture to small claims court and that would have shut the clinic for the day. I currently own a male and female iguana, male and female crested gecko, female gold dust day gecko, female reef gecko, male mossy leaf tail gecko, male Puerto Rican crescent gecko and in August my Jackson's chameleon died. I've been caring for lizards for 45 years. And five of my lizards have yearly wellness exams. Petco and Pet Smart guarantee their animals for 30 days no questioned asked. After my experience with reptile rapture I would not recommend them! read more

What a great store. I was super surprised. I'm bummed it wasn't around when I lived in Madison, but that probably saved me a lot of money! Incredible selection of herps to purchase. The tanks were clean. The animals looked healthy. The owner or clerk, well, whoever helped me, hooked me up with a much needed cooling pack that I was in dire need of for some shipping I had to do that day. It was really appreciated. I wish my town had a store this great. read more

No rating required..... Sadly I bought my corn for 75$ only 6 years ago and that included live shipping at pet supply plus. The availability is constant for standard corn snakes but nothing interesting or rare. In short I find your pricing a bit too steep for most and you're pet availability is a joke... Every (pet) on your site is either adopted or out of stock and I've been checking you're site for months now ever since my corn named strawberry was stolen and I'm not able to find her. Police don't even help not even when my best friend passed away and I was at his funeral only to return home to my new car destroyed before I could get it on the road and my strawberry gone as well as many other property items. Any free corns that can't blend in around new York state I'll adopt them all but not paying to take someone else's mistake under the guise that its a rehabilitated pet at a price poor welfare folk wouldn't ever afford. So lower you're prices say in half and add free shipping and I would buy. Think like this its a living being with a heart and the want to live, how can you put a price on that. Hoping the best for you're company in the future. Mines pretty bleak lately.... read more

Bought a sulcate tortoise from here. Spent hundreds of dollars on supplies that they said it needed. Followed all of their instructions. Tortoise had orange spots on it and died within 2 weeks. Store refused to offer any forrm of a refund/exchange. You live and you learn I guess. At least I can tell other people not to waster their time or money. read more

I just decided recently that i will never go back and spend a penny at this place. Everytime i go in there to buy something. I get in my car and think. Wow, what assholes. Their customer service, or well lack of, is horrible. Everytime i go in both employees have their faces glued to their laptops and say nothing. Its pretty cold. Then when i walk to the checkout and place my items on the counter for purchase they say nothing, and could care less to help me out. This last time i stood there for a long while, as richard sat there playing on his computer, didnt say anything or apologized for making me wait for him to stop dicking around and do his job. Finally a woman came to check me out. They're terribly rude, and just dont give a s**t. Its not likr this has happened only once or twice, its been everytime. So dissapointing. From now on ill go out of my way to another store to purchase my feeders n whatnot. The place sucks. read more