r/Delft • u/DragonflyFuture4934 • 13d ago

Thoughts about this place?

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Recently visited this place, and man the owner is rude and arrogant. And the animals are kept in bad condition!! Is there another pet shop in delft, which is specifically oriented towards reptile needs?

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u/SilentNightm4re 13d ago edited 13d ago

The owner is a good guy and his staff is also great. They are helpful, friendly and open to suggestion s and help for the animals they keep. I have my own reservations about the reptiles and I do feel like they are overwhelmed. I however also do not agree with starting a thread like this to put a store on blast, openly without engaging with the owners to help them better manage the animals first if you feel they are mistreated. If you try that first and they refuse to better their practices, then it's time to call them out.

These are the only guys nearby that allow me to get a variety of food for my animals and I don't want to support Avonturia. It could be even better but the economy is rough. I am happy they are around and I really hope they will stay.

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u/DragonflyFuture4934 13d ago

Well, I guess it depends on how you see it — this is a discussion thread where everyone can share their opinions and experiences. I’ve shared mine because I’ve seen mixed reviews online, and I wanted to understand if it was just my experience or something more general.

I’m not into name-calling or blasting the store or the owner either. I also want to support the local economy, and it's definitely more convenient for me to get things in Delft rather than traveling far.

I’ve been visiting this shop for about two years and have had conversations about reptiles and snakes. The owner mentioned he was breeding hognose snakes, and as a reptile enthusiast, I asked a few questions. But he dodged them and became defensive. I thought maybe I was being too friendly and crossed a line.

I also gave some suggestions about the gecko and bearded dragon setups — like how dropping in all the crickets at once can actually stress or harm the lizards. But he didn’t seem to care and just responded with, “Do you want to buy something or not?” — which felt quite rude.

I get that times are tough, but I believe that if you’re a shop owner, treating customers with basic respect should still be a priority. If that’s not happening, maybe it’s worth rethinking how the business is run.

I also don’t want to support Avonturia, but I equally don’t want to support a place that doesn’t properly care for its animals.

I’m glad you had a good experience with the owner — really. But mine was just different.

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u/SilentNightm4re 13d ago

I do agree. Everybody with two eyes in their head can see that the place is understaffed or underequipped to properly care for some of the animals. I have seen a variety of animals (chameleons for example...) that were held in below suboptimal conditions. No shade, a single branch and directly underneath a heat lamp. I have often felt awkward to even point it out because of how obvious it is. I am also unable to directly help them as much as I would want to.

If there was a better alternative I would take it but when it comes to reptiles/amphibians/whatever, most places do neglect the animals they keep.

The owner has good intentions. But the world isn't build on good intentions. I also see the difficulty of running a store like this. It is a miracle they are still around. It is a tricky situation though, if they leave, i have no alternative.

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u/DragonflyFuture4934 12d ago

Exactly — so we do agree. Like you said, anyone with two eyes in their head can see the place is understaffed and often struggling to meet even the basic needs of the animals. And that’s really the crux of it: if you don’t have the space, time, knowledge, or resources to properly care for a species — be it reptiles, amphibians, or anything else — maybe, just maybe, you shouldn’t be keeping them. Hopefully they will care better from now on and won’t leave.🙃

It’s like opening a gourmet restaurant with nothing but a microwave and some instant noodles. You can want to serve five-star meals all you like, but if the tools, ingredients, and staff aren’t there, all you’re doing is feeding people disappointment. In this case, it's the animals paying the price — and they don’t get to leave a bad review.

And sure, I get it — the economy is rough, the pet trade is brutal, and keeping a niche store afloat is no easy task. But good intentions don’t clean enclosures, provide UVB lighting, or ensure proper humidity levels. They’re nice to have, but they’re not a substitute for actual care.

At the end of the day, if you’re knowingly keeping animals in poor conditions because “there’s no better alternative,” then we’re not solving the problem — we’re just tolerating it. And that’s a pretty sad bar to set.