Graeme Hannah's favourite reptile is the blue tongue skink, his first reptile.
Graeme Hannah's favourite reptile is the blue tongue skink, his first reptile.
A pet is for life, not just for Christmas. Especially when that pet is expected to live for 20 to 30 years.
Graeme Hannah closes the doors of his Katikati north business Reptile World in December to avoid that “pet for Christmas” calamity.
“If I find out it’s for a Christmas present, I don’t sell it. We don’t send anything away this month for fear it’s going to be an unwanted Christmas gift.
“I’ve seen it happen before. Mum will say ‘no, no’ to a reptile for their child and the grandparents think ‘we’ll get it for them instead’. It has got to be okay with the mother.
“People have to realise that no matter what animal they take on in life, whether it’s a bird, dog or a reptile, they all have needs ... every animal has a right to be on this planet and they should be looked after properly.”
He also turns people away who are not prepared or flexible in the housing of the animal — now and for its future growth.
Tortoises are the most popular animal, followed closely by the bearded dragon.
Graeme has been buying, breeding, caring for and selling reptiles for 20 years although his love of birds as been lifelong.
Animals on his Katikati south property include (reptiles) cunningham skinks, water dragons, bearded dragons, blue tongue skinks and leopard geckos. Then there are tortoises — red eared, snake neck, painted and leaf. There are also newts, guinea pigs, chinchillas, multiple species of parrots, ostriches, alpacas and they even have a cow. A pack of rottweilers guard the property. Graeme loves all animals. Except cats, Graeme hates cats.
His aim is to keep bloodlines going on many species.
“The idea is to bring in new bloodlines to set up another group so if it collapses in one area, we have another one. There are a lot of people my age who are doing the birds but if we don’t get the younger people interested, everything will just die out.”
His fasciation with birds started at a young age.
“On my seventh birthday my uncle showed up with a pair of golden pheasants and some pigeons, he was a bird nut.
“By age 13, I had 20 aviaries. I started breeding birds and selling them and from then it’s just skyrocketed.”
Among the animals of Reptile World are reptiles, chinchillas, guinea pigs, ostriches, alpacas, multiple species of birds and more.
His first reptile was a blue tongue skink, which he still has. The blue tongues are his favorites.
The most requested animals are tortoises, he says, as they are super cute and are easy to feed as they are grass-fed. The bearded dragon comes a close second as they are also easy to feed and make great pets.
“When they get older you can put them on your shoulder and they’ll stay there all day.”
One of the many reptile species at Reptile World.
Graeme sells to buyers throughout the country. Exporting and importing reptiles in New Zealand is prohibited except in certain circumstances and with permissions.
