East Bay Vivarium

A lovely newer employee helped me pick out a Brazilian Rainbow Boa last weekend. She admitted not knowing much about them, but was still able to find me the right people to talk to. Good service, and gorgeous smile.
Oh yea and the Vivarium is pretty cool too.

I visit the EB Vivarium often to pick up things for my cresties & most of the staff are really nice and very helpful. The only reason I give this place 4 out of 5 is because a few of the staff are really rude and have an attitude like you are bothering them when you ask for help. Besides that the place is great.

After receiving a pet rat as a gift for Christmas, my boyfriend and I knew that we needed to get our little rattie a friend, and ASAP! I wasn’t thrilled about any of the pet stores local to me and their selections, and had seen great reviews on the Vivarium so yesterday I finally tried my luck.
My ONLY qualm was that I walked in and entirely around the store without being greeted or offered help. It’s not a huge place, but had I been searching for one of the reptiles in the main floor, I’d have been absolutely lost.
I returned to the front of the store, asked about pet rats, and was quickly shown two that were behind the counter. Being the vain jerks we are, we had been in search of a plain white rat. Most pet shops only had hooded rats, and we just weren’t feeling it: P I asked about plain whites, and the employee promptly went and grabbed a few more for me to choose from. EBV had multiple little white ratties, all with a slew of adorable tiny black markings around their faces for character. When she returned, another employee came with her, and brought his knowledge of the rats and their personalities with him.
I was advised to grab some vitamins for the water, because he’ll be in a new environment, and was quickly on my way home. It was as pleasant as I could have expected, and my new little rattie is all too adorable.

Love this place.
Fun outing just to visit or purchase.
Wish it was a little less odoriffic but that’s why we don’t have snakes anymore… :)

*UPDATE* I have now waited 3 weeks to update my review to 1 star, I tried to let the owner make this right but after 1 message I never heard back from him. Since my review I took my chameleon home and he still wasn’t moving and laying down «playing dead». The next day he died. Please don’t board your reptiles here. Save yourself some heartache and make the trip to Reptile Depot in sacramento. They are fair priced and way helpful.
So I wish I could give this place 5 stars… When my boyfriend and I first purchased our baby panther chameleon from East Bay Vivarium we had a GREAT experience, everyone was very helpful on everything we needed to have a enjoyable environment for our new pet. This is the only reason I am giving them 2 stars, could have been 5… but…
Over our christmas break we decided it would be better to take advantage of their boarding services while we went to visit family. It all seemed great. When we dropped our chameleon off on the 23^rd of December I noticed that the employee grabbed my chameleon from the top. This is a BIG no no for chameleons. They think its a predator coming to attack… at the time I didn’t say anything cause I was in a hurry but still had some worry. heres where I get very very upset…
My boyfriend and I came to east bay vivarium today (Dec 26^th) to pick up our pet. It took a while for them to find him which is okay cause we forgot our receipt. Turns out they put him with the amphibians and when he was brought back to us we were told he was «playing dead». who tells a customer their pet is «playing dead?!» I trusted the employee and then got really worried when he wouldn’t move. I have now moved him to his cage and he hasn’t moved once. Yes, he is alive but it seems he was very neglected. He looks as if he didn’t eat and he is very uncomfortable. It has now been 4 HOURS and he hasn’t opened his eyes or moved.
Bottom line… I would BUY from here cause they seem to know what they are doing but when it comes down to taking care of your reptile overnight for $ 10, don’t do it.
Disclaimer… I know chameleons are a very hard pet to take care of but I trusted them, but the way I saw him handled and how he’s acting now in his home is very discomforting. Please don’t board your pet here.

I am so impressed and happy with the service I received from Fa-​nay, I have to send this shot out to her right now before I drive off. Thank you again Fa-​nay for making my daughter’s day and this mama very happy. A full review with details to follow… shot out to Austin also, who helped us on a prior visit. Excellent customer service.

I’ve been going to this place for 15 years now. I bought a ball python during my first visit and she was the sweetest pet in the world. The staff were amazing and attentive, going into detail on proper pet care. They even took out multiple types of snakes for me to hold to see which ones I jibed with the best.
I moved out of the bay many years ago, but I make a point to come visit the vivarium every time I’m back in town.

My review would have been potentially 5 stars but for the last five minutes that I was in the store making my purchase, which comprised of aggressive cut throat selling and incorrect info.
I was purchasing a female crested for companionship/​eventual breeding with my male. The main girl I was working with (bright red hair), was really cool and pretty knowledgeable. She helped me look through all the females with no hesitation.
I picked out miscellaneous plants and things too… I was already spending over 200 $ between the lizard I picked out and my other goodies when the aggressive selling came into play.
They (she and some other girl) started pressing me to buy extra supplements that LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE and ALL OF MY OWN RESEARCH has dictated is unnecessary. This other girl pointed out too «how much uv» they need and how, as «floor dwelling lizards,» they needed the extra uv. Crested geckos are both not floor dwelling, they are arboreal (living in trees) and NOCTURNAL… Meaning they HIDE WHEN THE SUN IS OUT.
I expressed my contrary understanding and they kept arguing and pushing and explaining the «benefits» with a particular level of condescension. The only reason I ended up getting the supplements (an extra 20 $) was the mention that the female I was purchasing might already be pregnant (and I do know that in general pregnancy, for any animal, requires much higher levels of calcium) and that in the least, she would end up pregnant, as it’s an eventual goal to get baby cresties out of this whole thing.
Overall it was a successful trip, but the aggressive selling and misinformation really put a bitter taste in my mouth, and I think I’ll stick to Serpentarium from now on.

Love this place always buy my beautiful breeder mice from them. And love to just look around. They are always crazy busy. So it’s kinda chaotic and I wish they had better parking it’s really hard if u park in there parking lot I always seem to get blocked in. They are helpful when that happens but it’s inconvenient. Not there fault. Just wish this place was in a better location for parking .but great place to visit. Awesome staff if they weren’t so busy .lol

Seriously love love coming to this place, I come here weekly to get food for my reptiles. These last few visit Shasha has become my favorite here. She’s always super nice and knowledgable! It’s always nice to come in and chat with her. Will be coming back this Friday to buy my Brazilian Rainbow Boa from her.

2^nd time being here
First time was just to find something to do on a boring day with my little step sister.
Second time I bought a snake — first. Time. Ever.
I did some research online but thought physical and hands on would be better
Gabe was so fucking helpful ! EVERY question and concern was answered and he was very patient and informative !
Bought a beautiful baby Kenyan Sand Boa for $ 45
The place was packed, it was a Saturday though.
The owners look like douches, but they’re actually kind and helpful, so don’t judge a book by its cover, those guys just have Resting Douche Face Syndrome (just like some women have Resting Bitch Face Syndrome)
I highly recommend this place for all of your reptile needs! Or come in to visit and hold some creatures for $ 5 — 5 Minutes !!
Only 4 stars because they forgot my thermometer and I had to drive all the way back from Antioch to get it. They were polite and it was no trouble to get me a new one :)

I’m seeing the negative reviews and wondering what on earth because I have been here several times and all experiences have been great. I bought 2 Scorpions from EBV over 15 years ago and fell in love with the place. We bought my sons gecko there about 9 years ago and last week we bought a yellow belly ball python.
All of the Reptiles, Amphibians, and Arachnids look healthy and well cared for which seems to be rare in Pet stores these days! A Manager at a local Petco offered to sell me their Ball Pythons for over ½ off. They looked sickly and miserable and were very aggressive (the pythons… lol). It was heartbreaking. As much as I wanted to «rescue» the snakes… I’m not sure I can.
The staff have always been extremely helpful and are very patient and knowledgeable. I’m not sure who the cranky cursing African American girl is but I have never even seen her. We even make the weekly drive from San Ramon just to buy live mice for the python because we love wandering around. My next purchase will be a Tarantula and it will be from EBV.
I don’t know why anyone would go anywhere else!!!

I have purchased 3 snakes for our family from this establishment, 2 corns and 1 ball python, and we always return for any supplies or pet care we require. We travel from Danville because we know their employees are the best of the best in the business and every person who helps us is always knowledgeable and helpful!
Thank you East Bay and our family absolutely adores our reptiles!!!

to Owen:
The fact that this man Owen felt the need to even «keep our group in mind» was unnecessary. He was a horrible sales man or whatever he wants to consider himself.
To all those who have or will visit this place I highly suggest it is not a place he considers a «zoo» he was obviously following us for no reason and his story is not true.
He didn’t grab the wood-​like snake item, he snatched it from my hand.
I’ve already spread the word to plenty other guests who’s wanted to visit this place and because of that, they won’t be getting much returned or new customers.

I’m not a pet owner, so I’m reviewing this place more as a fun attraction than an actual source of pet goods. I absolutely love bringing visitors to Berkeley here to see the animals — you can learn so much from checking out these beautiful, phallic creatures and if the staff aren’t busy, sometimes they’ll tell you a bit about what’s being sold and answer questions.
It seems that most people who come here approach it as a zoo rather than a store, and you’ve got to give the staff serious credit for being so patient with that. (IIRC, a couple of the bigger animals aren’t for sale, so it does seem like the owners are OK with the zoo thing and encouraging it.) I know several reptile owners and make a point of buying gifts for them here because I want to keep this place in business. They have a great variety of supplies and terrarium decorations.
I strongly recommend visiting during slow times, e.g. midday during the week. You’ll have a much better experience and won’t be literally rubbing shoulders with other customers. You’ll probably still have to park on the street though.

This place is way rad. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and you can feel that everyone there truly has a passion for what they do. I’m a very happy ratmom thanks to the lovelies at the Vivarium. Never in my life have I learned so much about rat companionship as I did from the fine folks here. My boys are well socialized, compassionate, and happy. When I picked them up I was sent off with a good supply of vitamins to add to their water because they are prone to bacterial lung infections, and making the transition to a new environment can leave them susceptible to illness.
My boys are happy and loving life, which means that I am happy and loving life. =] thank you guys for all that you do, and I will certainly be back when I’m ready to add some more little love nuggets to my little happy rat fam.

What a great establishment! I’ve purchase two snakes from these guys and come here weekly for their meals.
Both snakes I have are very healthy and tame. They have had no problems shedding, eating, no mites, etc.
As for the people at this place, they are quite helpful and willing to assist you when in need of advice. I really feel that they individually care about the homes these animals are going to and their persistence in making sure you know what you are getting into when purchasing reptiles.
All of that being said, their prices are very reasonable and are by far the best quality reptile shop in the Bay Area.
I will definitely be coming here for many more purchases :).
p. s. I’m really happy that you guys didn’t get annoyed at me when I was asking to hold all those different snakes to make my purchase: P.

This place is absolutely spectacular. Cages are good size (especially for a store) and everyone is extremely friendly and knowledgeable. The owner is extremely nice and would put himself in danger to make his customers happy! (Trust me, I saw it!!!)
5 stars all the way!!! Can wait for it to be baby season so I can get my baby beaded lizards (that they breed the selfs!)

Bought two ornate frogs from this place and they both died within a week! I’ve housed and cared for many MANY frogs (ornates, cornudas, tree frogs, and budgette frogs). There is a «warning – buy at your own risk» type of sign taped to the front of the frog tanks– and I guess it really holds true! The workers either a. don’t take proper care of these frogs or b. buy them in poor condition. If they did take pride in the way they cared for their amphibians they wouldn’t need to post such signs.
I do love coming here to see the different types of reptiles, amphibians, fishes, etc. that they carry but would never buy anything from this place. Workers are very laid back and friendly. They have their dogs chilling throughout the store – giving it a homey type feel and everyone is more than willing to help you. Too bad they aren’t willing to inform you about the poor health quality of their reptiles/​amphibians/​etc. They should really think about employing a veterinarian or something.

We finally got to visit this awesome store! This is the only place that I know of in the bay area that has poison dart frogs, so I wanted to see if I could find a little buddy for my blue azureus. Sadly, they didn’t have any available, so we just looked around at all the creatures they had for sale. Man, this place is almost like going to the zoo! All types of geckos, (they even had a couple of New Caledonian Giant Geckos!), snakes, tarantulas, lizards, turtles, and frogs. Fun to stroll around and see items that we might need for our odd variety of pets.
Additional perks; great selection of turtle ponds/​tubs that we have never seen anywhere else. (not even on the internet!) Also a good selection of real and fake plants, even though I am not a fan of fake plants, we do own a turtle that loves devouring every delicious plant that finds it way into the pond.
We will be back for sure!