New Downtown: Scales & Shells Herpetarium
Owners Darius and Lindzy Hargrove
Face your fear and feed your fascination with this new Downtown spot, Scales and Shells Herpetarium. What’s a herpetarium you ask? A herpetaruim is a zoological exhibition space for reptiles and amphibians. Downtown now has its very own semi- interactive mini zoo featuring snakes, lizards, tortoises, and spiders! Owners Darius and Linzy Hargrove met about 3 years ago and bonded over a shared love of animals. Darius always had a love of reptiles and amphibians and started adopting reptiles around 2023. He owned 5 when he met vet tech Linzy. Fast forward 3 years and their herpetarium family has grown to 65, and they’re own family grew by one this past year.
Scales & Shells was originally located near Carlisle and Menaul, however, citing a desire for more foot traffic, the Hargroves made the decision to bring their herpetarium Downtown. The space opened this past November on 6th street. Both maintain other full-time jobs as they work to establish this new business. This is also why you’ll see their hours are weekends only at the moment.
Offering a variety of ways to engage with their animals, customers can book Scales & Shells for events and parties, they also offer a chance to feed an animal. Look for upcoming events like their ‘Spring into Reptiles’ event later this month. They also take volunteers if this sounds like something that excites you. Darius and Linzy started this space from a desire to share their love of reptiles. They’re looking forward to providing opportunity and education for others to share the joy of these animals.
Hours:
Friday: 6-9pm
Saturday: 11am – 6pm
Sundays: 10am – 3pm
521 Central Ave NW, Suite G
