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    31

    Mar 2021

    Last Updated: 31/03/2021
    Business
    Business

    Sneak peek: Reptile shop to open in Starbeck tomorrow

    by Connor Creaghan

    | 31 Mar, 2021
    Comment

    0

    What started as a hobby for Tom Whittaker will become a full business tomorrow when Yorkshire Reptile shop opens. He only decided to embark on the venture eight weeks ago.

    yorkshire-reptile-sneak-peek
    Manager Ben Dean and owner Tom Whittaker.

    A reptile shop is set to open its doors in Starbeck and the owner is "frilled" to get started.

    Yorkshire Reptile, at 67d High Street, will be the only shop of its kind in Harrogate.

    Owner Tom Whittaker believes his emphasis on animal welfare will set his shop apart from other reptile businesses.

    The shop will open its doors tomorrow, on April 1 - no joke - with snakes, bearded dragons, chameleons, tortoises and more.



    It also sells food for the animals, vivariums and decorations for the tanks. None of the animals that the shop stocks are venomous or dangerous in anyway.



    Read more:



    • First ever four-day Great Yorkshire Show confirmed

    • Plans to revive Harrogate district economy after April 12





    What started off as a hobby for owner Mr Whittaker has now become a full business venture.



    Mr Whittaker, whose background is in cyber-security, only decided to open the shop eight weeks ago.

    He told the Stray Ferret:

    "My dad took me to a reptile show in Doncaster when I was 12-years-old. Ever since then I have been fascinated by it.
    "It's just how they move, how they eat, how they shed, their temperament. There are so many different kinds.
    "I don't want to compare them to Pokemon but you feel like you have to get all of them. I am obsessed and so are a lot of people."


    Prices start at £50 for a corn snake up to a green tree python, which can set you back as much as £700.