1,000 square foot store specializes only in leopard geckos.
To Ray and Carol Roehner, the most important part of their work isn’t making money, it’s educating new gecko owners and providing enthusiasts with high-quality, healthy animals.
“Carol and I love these creatures very much, and we have a great passion for what we do,” Ray said. “Providing these wonderful little friends for our customers and knowing they will be part of their lives for many years, is especially gratifying. When we get comments from young folks that we are mentors to them, or that they now plan to go on to veterinary school, we are particularly thrilled, knowing that in some small way we, and our geckos, have had a positive impact on their lives.”
As the owners of Designer Geckos, Ray and Carol first opened their online business in 2008, which quickly blossomed into a thriving success. In 2009, they opened their 1,000-square-foot store in Longmont, Colo. Not only is the store packed with everything you could possibly need to care for your geckos, it also has a reading room where customers may sit and research the animals prior to purchase.
While most reptile retailers carry a variety of animals, Designer Geckos specializes solely in leopard geckos, and it may be the only commercial storefront of its kind in the world. Thanks to working with many of the industry’s top breeders, Ron Tremper and his staff in particular, Ray and Carol have hand-picked some of the most coveted morphs on the market to add to their gecko breeding stock.
“Many breeders and collectors obtain their geckos from us because we offer high-end geckos at reasonable prices, and hobbyists also buy from us because all of our geckos have solid health profiles and are socialized to humans,” Ray said. “We handle each gecko daily to ensure that our customers will have an enjoyable experience right from the start. We take great pride in the quality of our animals, and we provide high-level, humane care.”
When asked about any intentions to expand, the Roehners have a different view than most. “We have had a few requests to franchise our store in other areas, but our preference is to keep our operation on a smaller scale,” Ray said. “We don’t want to lose focus of those personal interactions and quality aspects that are so important to us.” REPTILES
Some of the many unique and coveted morphs that Designer Geckos work with are:
- Super giant sunglow
- Giant snow eclipse
- Designer geckos tangerine
- Jungle and striped bandit
- Striped tangerine giant
- Various giants
- Bold striped snow bandit
- Snow diablo blanco
- Bold stripe mack snow
- Designer geckos sunglow