East Bay Vivarium

Adam E a month ago

Wonderful environment staff that are extremely knowledgeable about the care and behavior of reptiles and show their enthusiasm with their customer service and commitment to reptile care. They have all the supplies you’ll need and will happily assist you find your reptile that is right for you.

catherine 7 months ago

i wish i could like this place… i was also met with wonder and amazement when i first went here, in awe of their selection and store layout. however, a while back i had visited and one of the employees let me handle one of their gopher snakes. while the employee was handling the snake, the snake was hissing and clearly uncomfortable and stressed, which was in no way helped by the employee 1) holding the snake in an uncomfortable manner, not letting the snake hold on in any way and 2) playing with the snake by repeatedly putting the snake towards his coworker and laughing (??) the snake was clearly hissing and stressed.. anyways, it was funny because when he passed me the snake, and i was holding him in a comfortable manner for it and not playing with it (??!) the snake was calm and relaxed and the employee went something like “wow he suddenly wants to be so calm haha” maybe if you handled the snake with care and respect the snake wouldn’t be so stressed?? it broke my heart to see and especially as i couldn’t afford the snake at the time. it was especially sad as the employee was saying how he might buy the snake for himself.. i have experience handling gopher snakes for multiple

Eric Lam 8 months ago

Great variety of reptiles! It's a great place to bring your little ones just to check out all the meat critters. The cherry on top is that they have great pricing for all your day to day need for you reptile friends too.

Julien Amado 8 months ago

This place has a weird dude bro vibe about it, but what can we expect from somewhere that breeds and sells sentient creatures as objects or food :/ It’s depressing walking around seeing the crowded, tiny tanks with murky water and barely any light sources for the critters to feel, no fresh air, PLASTIC plants instead of actual habitats smh. I saw countless animals who looked to be clawing at the glass trying to beg for freedom :( Some of the bigger reptiles like the snakes didn’t even have enough space to stretch out completely!!! Imagine living your whole life crammed into the space of an airplane seat, that’s basically how they’re being imprisoned here. They aren’t even giving these crits the basics they need, let’s not even MENTION enrichment and mental stimulation, exercise, love… It’s also incredibly irresponsible to sell species that your own shop labels as invasive (the red eared sliders for example), only to sell them to whoever and have them contribute to the abandoned population later. Reptiles are some of the more complicated “exotic” pets to care for, and that means loads of folks buying them without thought and leaving them to die slowly or abandoning them soon afte

Kitty Jones 8 months ago

EBV has a great selection of supplies that is helpful for reptile caretakers. I was temped to buy some aquatic plants for my rescued turtles, but I could not bring myself to give any money to this horribly cruel place. We must stop importing, breeding, and selling these poor reptiles like objects. It would be so wonderful if EBV transitions to become a reptile rescue instead of exploiting animals for profit. I have rescued many reptiles (ball python, bearded dragon, and numerous red eared and yellow bellied sliders) all of whom had been bought at a store then later literally abandoned. I recently rescued a severely neglected bearded dragon who has been bought as a baby from EBV then spent the following 5 years languishing in a tiny, completely empty tank with no lighting or sunlight. His life was miserable, as are the lives for all of most of the animals being sold like objects with no regard for their life long well being - much less for the countless animals who urgently need homes right now.