Reptile zoo/pet shop nears completion ahead of weekend expo

A new reptile-focused zoo and pet shop in Sioux Falls is almost ready to open — and the hope is that after this weekend there will be many more reptile owners to support it.

The second annual Sioux Falls Reptile Expo will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

“Last time, we were hoping we’d get 400 people, and we got 2,500, and it looks like it will be between 3,000 and 4,000 that will show up, so we have twice the amount of card readers and lines, and it should be a really, really good event,” organizer Andrew Adam said.

Adam is hoping that many of those people become future supporters of Reptile Adventure Zoo, which he and his wife, Stacey, are opening at 2501 W. Russell St.

In addition to an immersive zoo with 100 exhibits, it will include a pet shop focused on reptiles and be the home for Adam’s nonprofit, Sioux Falls Area Reptile Rescue & Rehoming, along with the Sioux Falls Herpetological Society.

At the expo, visitors will be able to buy what he calls “the big four” — bearded dragons, crested geckos, leopard geckos and ball pythons — along with some new additions from 50 vendors.

“I worked hard to get other vendors — someone has spiders, someone has a bunch of frogs and salamanders, so it should be a cool turnout with quite a bit of variety,” Adam said.

There also will be feeders and plants for sale along with ready-to-go tanks, hourly educational presentations, face painting, free henna tattoos and bounce houses.

“They’re dinosaur-themed, and I have 18 reptile statues you can do photo-ops with, so lots and lots of stuff,” Adam said.

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The hope is that the pet shop side of Reptile Adventure Zoo will be able to support the needs of expo customers, he said.

On the zoo side of the business, $10 admission will lead visitors through a large cave-like arch, with a miniature arch for kids, where there will be a large water feature with a tank of swimming turtles that can be touched.

The hope is to have everything open before the end of October.

“The pet store is basically ready to go,” he said. “We have alligators showing up here Friday, so that’s cool, and just got in a 14-foot Burmese python, so we’ll try to get the enclosure ready to go. The tortoises are ready. We’ve practiced letting them roam, and the pond is set up.”

The pet store will carry some reptiles he has bred and others on consignment from vendors at the expo.

Adam has been able to hire his first employees, including one who reached out from the Twin Cities and worked at a reptile experience called Snake Discovery.

“He starts Oct. 1, and a bunch of other people have reached out. I started a YouTube channel and have been getting traction with that and with the expo,” Adam said. “It’s coming along nicely.”

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