About us
SarahMy primary job is in the software industry, where I spend 8 hours a day, Monday through Friday, writing technical documentation. Thankfully, I have a boss who is very flexible and supportive of my unique interest in uncommon pets, allowing me to work from home when I am waiting for an important delivery for the business. I also work for an awesome company that even let me bring in a mantis, "Eden," to keep in the office as the office mascot! When I get home, I am the one who primarily handles all of the day-to-day care of all the animals we sell, as well as our breeders, and their feeders. I also am the one who handles most customer relations and communication, and responds to most of the emails we get from our customers and suppliers. In addition, I write all of the caresheets and most of the other content posted on this website. What inspired me to start PanTerraPets.com?I’ve had a fascination with critters and small pets ever since I was a small child. Growing up with woods behind my house and a pond nearby, I was always outside catching insects, frogs, and lizards in my backyard, and in the backyards of anyone we would visit. I would carry around my insect field guide to identify and learn about each species I found. As a teenager, I discovered reptile and exotic animal shows, and even today I get an adrenaline rush every time I go to these shows. I just love getting the opportunity to talk to everyone face-to-face and share knowledge and experiences with people who are equally as passionate about these creatures as I am, especially since there are many people I interact with in daily life that just don’t understand or appreciate my fascination with these creatures in the same way. Today, with the internet revolution, there are so many new ways to enjoy the hobby via online communities, forums, and informational websites, but my passion for these creatures and the hobbyist community has never wavered. |
EricBy day, I work for an aerospace company where I work long hours negotiating deals and managing contracts for satellite parts. When I get home, I take care of all the plants we use in our terrariums and include in the habitat kits that we sell. I also make all of our fruit fly cultures, handle the day-to-day record keeping including inventory, orders, and sales, and I am also the primary webmaster for PanTerraPets.com. If I ever have a spare moment, I like to spend time in our workshop or doing hands-on projects to make our lives, and others’ in the hobby, a little bit easier. I have many ideas for new products that could simplify the day-to-day care of our terrarium pets, and love to work on prototyping and testing them out on our own collection. What inspired me to start PanTerraPets.com?Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment, or maybe I don’t actually find new projects – they find me!! I’ve joked with Sarah that I don’t really make To-Do lists, I just make lists of things I wish I had time to get to! Either way, the fact is when I commit to something, I’m all in. I’ve always wanted to start some kind of business (I even happen to have a degree in business), but I never really knew what, though it had to be something I found truly fascinating. Sarah introduced me to exotic pets, and praying mantises in particular. Like so many others, I was instantly blown away to learn of the incredible variety of mantis species that exist. And yet, so few people are even aware of these beautiful and complex little adaptations of nature, much less consider the possibility of raising such fascinating creatures as pets. We quickly became aware of the passionate following and growing interest, compared to the all-but-nonexistant support in the pet industry, and we couldn’t resist staking this meager contribution to something greater than us. Here’s hoping that our business grows faster than our To-Do list – but not faster than our love! ;-D |