Scaly Tailz

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Begin at the Beginning

Scaly Tailz was started in 1997. Before that, I was working at a local pet store in the town mall. I came in before the store opened, fed critters, cleaned enclosures, and made sure critters were okay. I realized I had never taken care of reptiles or amphibians before (my grandparents were pretty generous with the pets they allowed my sisters and brother and I to keep, but my grandfather had a deep fear of anything reptilian, so I was unable to keep those as pets (I was the girl who loved dinosaurs, and had tons of dino toys). So, I needed to research their proper care - this is when kids will say, “You Googled it, right?”, and I say, nope, there was no Google back then (lol - the looks on their faces can be pretty priceless). I went to the public library, used the card catalogs, and read books - lots and lots of books - on the care of reptiles and amphibians. I began acquiring reptiles as pets. My oldest son at the time was in elementary school, and kids tell their teachers EVERYTHING about their home lives, lol. The teacher contacted me, and asked if I would bring some of our unusual pets in to share with the class. I did, and it was a big hit. Then another teacher called, and another, and another...then another school contacted me...and we were off and running! A little while later, someone asked if I took in reptiles and amphibians - I thought about it, and decided I would take in whatever I was comfortable with (no HUGE snakes, nothing venomous).

We have had lots of ups and downs, struggles with covering expenses, with nervous landlords...but it has all been worth it. I love reptiles and amphibians, and I love sharing my critters with others, and talking to them about reptiles and amphibians.

Scaly Tailz is now an official 501(c)3 nonprofit organization! I was informed by a friend about the Indiana University’s Nonprofit Legal Clinic. I met with the professor in charge in August of 2016. She loved the idea of Scaly Tailz, and we started working with our first I.U. Law School grad student, Justin. Justin graduated, and we waited for the next grad student, Brittany. It was a lot of painstaking paperwork and research, but it paid off - We received our 501(c)3 status in March 2018.

The next step is to secure donations, grants, and funding, so that we can obtain a larger location that is accessible to the public. Once we get this new location, we will be able to take in more animals, including aquatic reptiles, we will be able to have volunteers, and we will be able to offer tours.

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