Our October Vendor Spotlight is Sacred Geckos! These guys are another one stop shop for anyone looking to enter the reptile keeping hobby, or for the seasoned reptile enthusiast. If you are looking for tegus, iguanas, anoles, chameleons, or geckos then check out Sacred Geckos. They also offer custom bioactive cages to ensure your new pet will live a comfortable life.
Reptile Keeping - The Passion of a Lifetime
Zachary Downen has been passionate about animals since he was a child. He got his first fire belly newt at age 4, and his goal was to visit a pet store every week. When he left Missouri to live in Texas, he was introduced to a new world of reptile and fish keeping. Zachary’s first job at 16 was at a local chain pet store. He learned a lot on the job, but eventually realized that his values did not line up with the stores. He moved on to another local pet store and started breeding peacock cichlids. This helped him to gain even more knowledge and confidence and decided he was ready to start breeding animals himself.
Bouncing Back From Hardship
Unfortunately, Zachary ended up battling an addiction and was forced to give up his entire collection in order to get his life back on track. He went to rehab and had to completely start his life over. Eventually, Zachary was able to pull through and overcome his addiction. He is now almost 10 years sober, which is an amazing feat in itself. When he became stable again, he started collecting crested geckos with Joe Bill.
A Pillar in the Community
Joe and Zachary’s collection grew rapidly, and they really honed in on understanding genetics and morphs even more. And with that, the Sacred Geckos we know and love today was created. With their knowledge and passion, they also became the 4th in the world to produce a Lily Axanthic. Now owning his own business, everything finally came full circle for Zachary and he was able to raise animals in a way that truly aligned with his values.
Sacred Geckos' goal is ensuring that someone can come to them with confidence that they will leave with a healthy animal and complete understanding of how to care for it. This project has evolved into a second one called Bill & Co Exotics, who also produce geckos.
You can visit Sacred Geckos at all of the Show Me Reptile Shows in St.Louis for their hometown event. The next show will be on October 22 at the District 9 Machinists Hall. Their best method of contact is text or call to 636-439-1460, through their different social media, or by checking out their website.
