TIMMINS - The lizards, snakes, and fish that make downtown Timmins their home are on the move.
In the coming weeks, Aquatics and Exotics pet shop and exotic pet supplier will leave its store at 205 Third Ave. and move into a new home.
Owners Robert “Reptile Rob” Boucher and Hailee Morgan have big plans for their new space at 216 Second Ave.
“There are a couple of little things we need to do before we can really move in,” said Morgan.
With more room in their new home, Morgan and Boucher are planning an indoor pond feature on the main floor, as well as more space to enjoy the creatures.
The current location has been open for about a year and supplies heat bulbs, food, tanks, terrariums, and other necessities for owners of snakes, lizards, and other exotic pets, as well as many of the pets themselves.
They’re expecting the move to be completed in March. Getting the freshwater and saltwater fish, reptiles, and bugs from one location to the other can be tricky, even though they’re only a block or so away.
“We have to technically set them up another tank in the new place, then move them there,” said Boucher. “But you wouldn’t believe how many customers are saying ‘you need help with the move?’”
During the move, they will continue to work with Science Timmins and conduct birthday parties for those looking to do something different in town.
“The kids love it, all their friends talk about it after, and the parents are having more fun at the birthday parties than anywhere else,” said Boucher.
The new space will be home to the animals and the shop’s owners. If anything goes wrong, Boucher said that being on-site will allow them to address the issues faster and make the space feel more like home to them and the animals.
“Our new location, we will be living on-site, so 24-hour care,” he said. “In our old location, every inch had to make money, but here, we’ve got a little more room for ambiance.”
The recent break-ins are a big concern for the team, as a broken window could be a life-or-death emergency for the animals in their care.
“With all the break-ins and the windows and stuff, if someone were to break our window to steal our tablet, it would kill all the livestock before we could even get here,” said Boucher. “We have been lucky, we haven’t been bothered.”‘
Boucher is sorry to be leaving his current landlord after being in the current location for about a year, but the chance to own their own space was too good to pass up.
They hope to remodel the basement to host parties and give their animals more space.
In the meantime, Boucher is helping bring the animals to a wider audience on Tiktok, too. Most of the videos feature the animals in the shop, and tips on care for them.
“It’s really taken off,” said Boucher.