Scales ‘n’ Tails

We brought our 2 small kids here in search of a bearded dragon. The staff was patient and knowledgable. We ended up buying a beardy and all his belongings and they gave us a discount because we got so much. He’s awesome! Great personality and a perfect fit for our family. Thank you guys so much!!!

Middle of the pack when it comes to reptile shops. And by that, I mean that they used to be one of the only reptile shops in the Denver area and I probably would’ve given them a 4^th star a few years ago. But now that some serious competition has rolled in, their shortcomings are apparent. Shops like Parker Exotic Pets and Nature’s Box in Aurora are really making these guys look bad.
Prices on food, terrariums, decorations, etc. appear reasonable and I would recommend this store to purchase these things if you don’t have time to wait for a Pangea order. However, I personally would not risk buying a live reptile from this shop. They are a «buy sell trade» type store and you are likely buying a reptile that had a previous owner. Obviously there is no guarantee the animal was properly cared for by the previous owner. I’ve heard some sad stories amongst the Denver herp community regarding animals they purchased here. In addition, the reptile display tanks don’t appear to be cleaned as often as they should and there’s dust EVERYWHERE on the shelving and tops of the display tanks.

My 11 year old son saved up for a ball python and purchased him from the Englewood store a few months ago. Whenever we have questions or concerns, the staff at this store are more than willing to help. Usually we walk in (instead of calling) because my son loves to look around. It’s usually pretty busy, and we may have to wait a little bit, but when it’s our turn they give us their undivided attention. We brought our Python in today because she’s having a hard time shedding. They immediately educated us on things we could do differently, and gently helped remove her dead skin. Each staff member we’ve ever dealt with (at both the Englewood and Castle Rock stores) has been polite and professional, and I love the way they interact with our son. The reptiles here always have fresh water and look very healthy and well-​fed. Scales and tails will always be our go-​to place for the reptile fanatics in our family. Well done, Scales and Tails. Keep up the great work!

Will never shop here again. TRY THE LAKEWOOD LOCATION … much better, cleaner, employees are more helpful/​knowledgeable/​professional. I agree with Ken W’s review — BS return policy. The employees are clueless. They tried to charge me a return «restocking» fee on a punch card. The stores are not linked together so don’t buy a punch card at one and expect to use it at another location. I discovered this before we left the store, BEFORE we even left the counter from our transaction and they tried to charge a re-​stocking fee, citing «company policy».

My husband and I walked in just looking to see if we even wanted a reptile and this nice younger guy associate walked us through the store explaining things. Long story short we decided on a bearded dragon, he helped us choose which all of the things we needed for him and his habitat. 300 we got all that our Dragon will need habitat wise for the next year. Since our purchase our Dragon has grown large and healthy! We continue to go there to get crickets and other needs our Dragon has… It is usually a busy shop and the service isn’t always the most pleasant but they know what they are doing and are always willing to answer any questions. We have looked at petco and petsmart but there aren’t any other shops around that have an equal quality of reptile food and accessories in the Englewood/​Littleton area.

Picked up a screen cover but wasn’t sure I had the right size. Cashier suggested I keep the receipt in case it didn’t fit. She failed to mention «company policy» allows for store credit exchanges only. And now I no longer need the cover. She pointed out the sign, conveniently placed on the front of the counter about 3 feet off the ground. If only my pants zipper had eyes.
Seems like a fine establishment otherwise but that’s a BS policy.

I was not even acknowledged when I went in, not even the slightest, walked around for a minute looking at lizards. Very small shop, but a pretty cool collection. I then walked out, same as before (No acknowledgement) Probably wont be back to this location.

This is a very cool place for your exotic pet needs. They have weird stuff you will not find at the chain stores. It’s a good place to get Tiger Salamanders, tadpoles, and crickets. Every time I go in the guy is cool and gives me a little discount. They are helpful and friendly. I have had to return items and they were all good about it. I really think this place will be around a while.

I walked in, just to browse the snakes because I was thinking about buying one in the near future.
Of course, I’m trying to be on the cheaper side, I find the ball pythons. There were two, and the lady told me they were 34 $.
I got to pick one up and he was really friendly, he curled around my hand and was being cute and calm.
I noticed he had burns all down his back, and I asked what happened.
Apparently the previous owner was cheap and put a heating lamp on top of a plastic topper and it ended up giving the snake burns across his back down to his tail.
She also told me that almost all the customers came in and held him, but never bought him because he was «ugly»
He’s been there 6 months with no home.
So as soon as my finances change, I’m going back to buy him and give him a wonderful home.

Excellent customer service he helped out a lot with my needs my ball python i have always had humidity problems and he. helped me with such a simple fix and there rat pups were good in kali tumnmy i give her 2 she is about 3 months old im getting her fat and big these guys r awsome i will be back for there healthy fedders since i dont let my snake eat thawed these guys r well knowledgable on reptiles i would like to buy a unique spider cuz they r relativley low maintenace

I love this store! The guys that work here are so cool. My son was saving up for a snake. We went in to buy the stuff for the tank. He told them he was paying for it himself & had saved up a bunch of money so they gave him some clip locks for free to make it easier for him to afford the snake! We finally got the snake last week & he is the most chill, friendly ball python. Then we went in for crickets, I asked if they had more clips because a couple popped off & we lost them. Did we have to replace them? No, they comped us a replacement pair. I’ve also bought a baby leopard gecko from them a few years ago, who is now a fat and happy little guy at home.
Back story on coming here: I LOVE reptiles. I used to work at another reptile store when I was younger & absolutely love snakes, lizards, turtles, anything with scales or a forked tongue. I’ve always had reptiles. I used to go to the Petco in Englewood to get crickets cause it was convenient. However!!! About a year ago they started counting, YES COUNTING, one by one, the crickets they sell for feeders. It is RIDICULOUS!!! FYI, when you buy crickets in bulk & you order, say 10,000 crickets, you don’t actually pay for 10,000 crickets, you buy a certain weight worth (always more to account for loss). Anywhere else I have ever gone will eyeball the bag or use a measuring tube that has lines where you fill it up to the 10 line if you want 10 crickets & whether or not there are really 10 crickets is irrelevant. It’s a CRICKET people. It’s not really worth 10 cents. The last straw was when it took the guy at Petco 5 minutes to count out 15 crickets one by one & actually poured one back. WTF! Needless to say, S+T hooks it UP with the crickets.
Moral of the story is I like supporting local businesses because I know how hard it can be to run your own place like that, but when someone goes out of their way & goes above & beyond to help me or my son, they’ve got themselves a loyal customer.

Many months ago I took in a «special needs» gecko from someone on Craigslist. I was told that Ember was bought from Scales N Tails and that the owner had attempted to return her after noticing she wasn’t right. (She had severe head tilt & poor coordination resulting in the need to be hand fed). Ultimately, the owner didn’t return Ember to Scales N Tails; I think she was unsure of what would happen to her if she did.
Nonetheless, I ventured into the Englewood location looking for a specific thermostat. I called ahead and the employee was very friendly, confirmed they had the product, and put it on hold for me. Once here I realized that he hadn’t actually put it behind the counter, but at least it was still there. The staff member was friendly (and a bit flirtatious!) We chatted for a bit before I bought my supplies and headed out.
I don’t know anything about the quality of the animals sold in the store. Though Ember’s previous owner thought that she came from Scales N Tails with her ailments, the veterinarian that I took her to (the day I picked her up) said that it was more likely that the head tilt was caused by trauma. So, somewhere in her life he suspected she’d been dropped or thrown, and I can’t trace that to the owner OR Scales ‘N Tails, so. .. can’t judge either way.
The store itself could have used some dusting. Even the packaging of the thermostat was covered in a dusty film. I probably won’t be back to the shop since I’ve gotten what I need and do not plan on adopting any more reptiles, but my experience was pleasant enough (besides the dust!)

Ok… the guys who work here are reptile addicts! I chatted with one of the guys working there, and he starts listing off all his personal reptiles at home… let’s just say the list was ridiculously long.
He was extremely knowledgeable with hands on experience of a multitude of creepy crawling creatures!
This store does have a heavy odor from all the reptiles and rodents living there.
They had a beautiful selection of reptiles to purchase, and their location is conveniently located off Broadway. What more could you ask for?

My son wanted a snake. No sweat. We bought one (and the whole set-​up) from their Lakewood store. We have been to this location several times for feeders and advice, and they have always been pretty good with providing us both. Good selection and they seem to take proper care of their reptiles. This store does not seem to have as much stock as the Lakewood store, but that could just be the layout and size of the store that makes it look that way.