In-store pick-up
Yes
Acks Exotic Pets in Cicero
Categories
Location on the map
Cicero, Onondaga County, New York, US
Service options
In-store shopping
Yes
Delivery
No
Health and safety
Staff required to disinfect surfaces between visits
Yes
Accessibility
Wheelchair-accessible car park
Yes
Wheelchair-accessible entrance
Yes
Planning
Quick visit
Yes
Phone: +1 315-699-4754
Site: https://www.facebook.com/Acks-Ex...
Site: https://www.facebook.com/Acks-Ex...
Opening hours
- Monday:12–7PM
- Tuesday:Closed
- Wednesday:10AM–7PM
- Thursday:12–7PM
- Friday:12–8PM
- Saturday:10AM–8PM
- Sunday:11AM–5PM
Comments (199)
The owner hand raised my male cockitiel, Sycamore.He is an amazing, happy, gregarious boy who fit right into the flock.Although Acks is 25 miles from home, I go there to bask in the atmosphere of extraordinarily well cared for exotic animals, to chat with and to learn from the hands on owner, to get the excellent bulk cockatiel food (which she set me up with for free when I bought Sycamore), and to find unique treats and toys for our 3 cockatiels, that no one else carries.If you want to meet some really cool 😎 reptiles and exotic birds that are kept in pristine condition by an owner who cares deeply about each and every one of them, and knows her stuff about exotics, go to Acks.This is a very special place to come and enjoy hanging out with a community of contented exotic animals of all kinds that you wont find anywhere else, and get the info you need from the owner who doesnt turn their care over to anyone but takes care of all of them herself.
Amazing selection of reptiles! Quality information and decent prices on supplies. Support the independent businesses!
Friendly people who own store and get pretty much anything you may need
I dont like to put down small local businesses. But this place made me sad. It was dirty. Borderline disgusting. Animals without food and most importantly without water . Guy was too busy playing video games to realize that. They should be reported . Check it out for yourself
I loved how all the terrariums were set up to display and make the animals more comfortable. It was pleasant, aside from how crampt and cob-webby the store is. Will be going again when Im looking to buy an exotic reptile or invertebrate.
Helpful, knowledgeable, and great selection of exotics (reptiles, small mammals, amphibians, etc). Will often have food/lighting that other pet stores dont.
Our experience at Acks was truly amazing! We were treated like VIP and the knowledge of the staff was tremendous. Kim was absolutely wonderful! She was kind, empathetic and answered all of our questions. She set us right up with everything we needed for our new baby snake. If you are looking to buy a new pet, need supplies, or just want to check it out, its definitely worth the trip, we are certainly going back!
UPDATE 10/18: ADDING PHOTOS•Aldabras live in a terrible setup. Theyre not for sale (NFS), so this is their life, I guess.•In a corner are large turtles in black tubs. No UVB lighting on them.•The snakes are still crammed into the tiny boxes, and all showed strong signs of stress.•8 red foot tortoises in awful enclosure. NFS and theyve been like this for over a year.(Text limit reached)2017 REVIEW:SERVICEI spent about 20 minutes browsing and was not acknowledged by anyone the entire time. As this is the case, I cant say much about the service, besides there wasnt any.CLEANLINESSBoth the cages and store itself are absolutely filthy. The moment you walk in, youre treated to the smell of cricket bins, the sort of thing you wouldnt normal have prominently displayed. Its a pet store, though, so I let it slide.Now lets discuss the cages. Many of the animals had very dirty water, sometimes filled with feces. The bottom covering (sometimes carpet, most times paper towels) on many of the leopard gecko cages looked like it hadnt been changed in days. Ill discuss more about cages later in this review.On to the store itself. Theres clutter /everywhere/ with no rhyme or apparent reason, its reminiscent of a hoarder house. There are cages and parts of things all over (including safety hazards on the floor). Im not even sure what of this stuff was actually for sale and what was junk (that might have also been for sale).ANIMAL CAREThis was the most dismal part of my experience in this store.•There are several large (roughly 14 nose to tail) tortoises crowded into small roughly 3x3 enclosures.•Some of the snakes (including a full size Rosy Boa) are in roughly 8x6x4 acrylic row cages (the ones normally used for short times at reptile shows). The ball pythons spent the entire time I was looking at them rubbing their noses on the acrylic and looked anxious. The tanks were far too small for a proper heat gradient (if there was heat).Ball pythons in many tanks obviously lacked proper humidity, they had dry wrinkly skin, and some piled into their water bowls. Its worth mentioning here that I dont remember seeing temperature or humidity gauges on any of the tanks in the store (maybe I missed them?). All ball pythons (except the ones in the acrylic cages) are housed several to each tank, even full grown ones. Ball pythons are solitary animals, they become stressed when housed together. There are not enough hides in each tank to make it even reasonably comfortable for the snakes.•The leopard gecko tanks were filthy. Some had large parts of the bottom without covering. While I recommend counter top liner for leopard gecko flooring, paper towels are fine too. At least when cleaned properly, which these tanks were not. Small geckos had entire bowls of mealworms, something which in large quantities is known to cause impaction in small geckos (why risk it?). The geckos did not have a moist hide for humidity (which is needed for shredding).•The full size poison dart frog(s?) was in a very small enclosure where Im not even sure if it had proper temperature parameters, the glass on all sides was almost completely fogged over.•All of the (I assume feeder) mice and rats are in small overcrowded (10g?) tanks. I know theyre (probably) feeders, but they should at least be kept in humane conditions (especially if theyre visible on the sales floor).•Im unsure about the conditions of the fish, birds, and furry creatures, as I admit I didnt spend much time looking at them.REFUND POLICYAs you can see from my review, buying a pet here runs you the risk of getting a sick animal. There are signs posted that there are no returns or refunds. Keep this in mind before purchasing any of their livestock.NOT HANDICAP ACCESSIBLEThere simply is no room for wheelchairs or walkers.IN CLOSINGI sincerely hope the owner sees this review and takes steps to address these issues. Im appalled by the conditions in this store. In the mean time, if youre looking for a companion animal, I highly recommend looking elsewhere.
Went in today to purchase a frog, was disappointed over the fact that when i looked into the critter cage to see the frog all that was there was a skeleton. Very upsetting, i don’t understand how an animal is neglected for so long that all that is left is a skeleton.
Acks Exotic Pets keeps their animals in absolutely deplorable conditions. Many of the reptiles have stuck or patchy shed because theyre kept at low humidity. Today I went in to find not only cobwebs in the tortoise tanks, but MOLD in the same container as a hatchling ball python. I can almost guarantee that any animal you buy from these guys will have health problems that youll need to attend to.
They do have a wide selection of animals, including a lot of different morphs of ball pythons and a few boa morphs. However, their care could be better. A few of the snakes had stuck and incomplete sheds, indicating too low humidity, and they feed their snakes live prey only - this is not best practice in the industry as live rodents can harm or even kill snakes. The enclosures are also far too small for the animals.
Very knowledgeable staff. Wide variety of animals from snakes, lizards, parrots, hamsters, coolest tortoises ever!! And much more. All animals very friendly. We bought 2 healthy bearded dragons and an entire 40gal breeder setup for them as well. Colin was awesome. This was our first lizard ever. He spent over 1 hour with us the first day when we were looking. Very kind with our girls to teach them how to hold a lizard and teach us about caring for the beardie. He was very educated about reptiles, he was awesome at his job.. Kimi was great too. I live over 1 hour away. Glad we made the commute there and that we bought from them and not a chain store. We have now purchased 2 bearded dragon and 2 crested geckos we also go weekly to buy crickets and mealworms weekly and to also see whats new at the store
My only complaint was that I bought 50 crickets and didnt get any egg crates for the crickets with my purchase
Always have what I needGives great advice
Missed all the snakes that used to be there but good people
Was absolutely horrible, animals where covered in stuck shed. The beared dragons where In bins smaller than them with nothing but sand, they didnt even have fresh veggies in there it was sand and nothing else, no hides or enrichment. The enclosers looked like they have never been cleaned. Didnt have any fresh water and the snakes were stuffed in small enclosers. The store over all was filthy.
Good selection of reptiles! They had a few different monitor species, several tortoise species and a few different boas plus several other types of snakes
It wasnt very clean looking and very cluttered
Very disappointed in Acks. When I first started stopping in a couple years ago, it was always a fun little chance to get out of the car, check out some animals, and get supplies for mine at home. Over the last year or so I have been disappointed more and more every time we stop in. There has been a clear shift in the care of the animals from when I first found out about Acks. Each time we’ve gone the set ups have gotten dirtier and dirtier and I find myself feeling horrible for several of the animals there. Its gotten to the point where I go to the animal side when we are in the area or passing through hoping to see a change and to see the animals in better conditions (spoiler alert, each time is more disappointing from the last). Today was by far the worst. In the back corner was this little uro. Probably one of the most unhealthy looking animals Ive ever seen. We werent even sure he was alive at first and after watching him for a while and trying to get any sort of movement from it, it opened its eye just enough to see what was going on before closing it again. Its bad enough the enclosures are always filthy when we stop in, but to have an animal that looks that unhealthy was the last straw for us. Not to mention the yellow water full of dead crickets. It has been very clear over the last year that animal care at this facility needs to be seriously looked at and become more of a priority. I had several things I had planned to purchase today, but I couldnt stand the thought of giving them money after seeing that uro. We put everything back and went to pet supplies plus down the road instead. I would prefer to support a small business, but not if it makes me feel guilty because im disgusted by the way the animals are living everytime im there.
I just always have so much fun when ever I come here. The workers are also so nice and friendly. And have actually purchased pets from here. I Love how they have a bunch of different animals every time I go
Akcs is always a pleasure the staff is always polite and helpful
Amazing shop cool pets and fossils
Got my green cheek here, they take very good care of their animals, sometimes late to open but they’re very nice people
The store is cool if you dont care about the quality of life of your pet. If you can get past the dying reptiles and cobwebs then this is the place to go!
Not a fan of snakes bur lijw looking at the other animals
Carl is such a great person and his experience with every animal he sell is 100% expertise to top it off if after you leave and have any questions or concerns please feel free to call and and he will help to the best of his ability
They know so much more about animals then petsmart or petco, and they are so much cheaper. This is now my go to pet store!
Bought my ball python from here, prices are decent, and I buy my feeder rats from them and they are always sweet.
Just bought a sugar glider from. Them and they were very informative and nice.
Very knowledgeable as a friendly staff.
It was amazing. We had very good service finding what we were looking for and i really think you should see all there excotic animals 😊 heres my healthy baby hes a bearded Dragon
Perfect, needed a UVB/UVA light for my turtle hatchling, Acks had it. Did the job!!
Interesting shop with what seems to be a really nice variety of exotics. However, we arrived close to closing time after driving almost to 40 minutes to get there, and the staff shut the lights off on all of the tanks and habitats about 10 minutes before they closed, so we were hardly able to actually see anything, and they seemed more interested in getting us out of the store early than in anything else, unfortunately. Perhaps they had something that they needed to attend to shortly thereafter, and they are a small family operation, to be fair. We will go back again and see if we have a better customer service experience. That being said, they seem to be the only game in town for exotics.
Really wish i could leave 0 stars... most if not all of the animals they have are very sickly or way past their death bed and are left to a crisp in their enclosures.. highly suggest taking your money and time elsewhere. The neglect inside of here is absolutely horrible and if they really cared about their animals they would NEVER treat animals in the way they do. How is this place even open still? This is just animal abuse... will never see this customer again and will tell everyone i know how horrific this place is. wish i took pictures because no one could understand how bad it was.
Stopped in to see their selection of tarantulas, and was pretty appalled with some of their enclosures.-There were multiple tarantula species that were kept in fish tanks with hardly 1-2 inches of substrate, including a T. Stirmi which loves to burrow.-3 rats kept in a fish tank (not good for their lungs, they need a lot of ventilation as they end up with respiratory illnesses easily)Customer service wasn’t great either—While looking and waiting to be helped, we were completely ignored in favor of showing other customers youtube videos.Things are very overpriced, but I would be willing to pay extra to support small business. I can’t, in good conscious, support the treatment of the animals there. Disappointing, and pretty lazy considering it just takes a simple google search to find out what these animals husbandry requirements are.Honestly, I really just hope somebody reading this cares enough to do better by the animals there.
Nice store to see different animals. Not a lot of room to walk around inside and a lot of the animals on display are not for sale.
Love going here to see whats new. Purchased my hedgehog baby here!
Love this place, always the coolest and weirdest animals everytime we visit.
The person I talked to was very knowledgeable. Loved their turtle!
Might be a little dirty but they have a nice selection of pets and accessories please remember with covid most breeders arent selling/shipping live animals so stock is low almost everywhere. Most pets were taken care of but some geckos were missing tails. Support small businesses and hope they can improve on upkeep and maintenance will definitely be back!
Love this place and this beautiful bird.
Knowledgeable staff, great selection, speedy service. 👍🏼👍🏼
Nice shop. Love the birds they have there.
I have purchased many animal from them and they are always the best. They truly care for the wellbeing of all of their animals. Love acks
Don’t go to any other pet store. Period. they have the best feeders, knowledge and pets there are. You won’t find nicer people or people that actually care about where the pet actually came from and is going to at a chain store believe me I have been there. Follow the Facebook page for updates on feeder insect availability during the pandemic and they also have other cool stuff on there. If I could pick a job to work with no worries other than just what I want to do and where this would be it.
A lot of dead animals, animals in poor health, and not humane living conditions. I stumbled upon this store while driving and would never buy from, reccomend, or support this store. I actually hope some kind of SPCA investigates them ASAP before more animals die. The store itself was also very dirty with horrible smells and overall a mess. My heart breaks for every creature in there. There were also very large tortoises in very small cages in the back of the store barely able to move! The picture is of spider carcasses I saw on my way to the car there were just sitting in the window in baggies. Treatment of animals like this is inexcusable!!
Looks cool inside setup and all
This place is horrifying with the amount of animal neglect. There were several lizards without heat lamps, there were 4 rats shoved into a small cage with only a water bottle, and so much more. I could probably write an essay about the horrible living conditions for these animals. Im truly upset that this place is allowed to stay in business and hasnt been shut down for animal neglect. Please, if youre looking for a place to get a new animal companion or picking up supplies, please look elsewhere, this place doesnt care about animals and only wants your money.
The crystals here are EVERYTHING 💕 the exotic pets are also cool but...the crystals are choice. 💗
Amazing service! Such a wide selection. It was well worth the trip. Will definitely be returning.
Leaving 4 stars because do I think it’s perfect of course not but they are better than any other pet store around here I love this store and they take in unwanted animals and I see them getting a lot of hate for the “small” cages but they are not permanent homes you’re supposed to buy the appropriate sized cages for them I just see a lot of hate is all I like this place I hope they continue to do well and I’ll always keep coming back.
This places biggest asset is that they get many captive bred difficult to obtain reptiles. Their prices on reptiles arent bad either I just wouldnt describe them as having good deals which is fine for a smaller local shop. I have also had one pleasant phone conversation with an employee although the second time I called I was put on hold for twenty minutes and then hung up on lol. Besides that theres a lot wrong with this place imo. Firstly, like some others mentioned the store is way too small for the amount of animals they work with. Many large animals are kept with little to no hides in very small spaces. They had a lace monitor in a very small vertical enclosure with a branch that he could barley fit on. Obviously most pet stores are not going to be able to provide long term extremely large terrariums since the animals are ideally not there for years but they are still not adequate for most of the species they keep, even temporarily. I have seen extremely fatty diets given to insectivorous that need VERY little fat in their diet which is just odd to see from a long running pet shop. Some spaces can get pretty dirty as well. The guy literally has a large fly river turtle in what I would guess to be a 125 gallon tank thats completely empty and dark and it has been there for a very long time which is just wrong. The staff is generally not very friendly either in my opinion. I overheard a staff member giving someone deadly misinformation about temperature for an animal. Luckily the owner did hear this and corrected the employee but yikes. I have also heard, someone who I think was the owner, openly and loudly roasting a customer for having too big of an enclosure for his animal which is the most insane thing ive ever heard. Theres an old myth that many reptiles that arent feeding great need to be in a tiny enclosure as a result which is just false. The animal needs more hides/natural material to feel secure in the space that theyre in and they will eat eventually. If you put any animal in a gigantic enclosure thats basically empty they will most likely feel uncomfortable but the solution to that is improving their large enclosure with some natural safe areas instead of putting them in a tiny space. I also went there to purchase crickets and was told that I could not purchase anything less that 1,000 which is just odd as well. Overall this place gets in some amazing animals I just wish they were going to a better store.
The young man that helped us was EXTREMELY knowledgeable and informative. He had lots of patience with us and helped us choose the perfect pets, while making sure we had the necessities without pressuring us to buy the most expensive extras. We love our new family members (a gorgeous leopard gecko and a sweet ball python) and will definitely be back there when we are ready for more!!
Really awesome and healthy selection.
Very happy to update this review. A friend of mine told me they had updated the store and were making renovations. I stopped in today and was excited to see this is true! The place was bright, clean, and the animals looked quite happy. No longer reeks the minute the door is opened. Well done, keep up the great work!
They have so many cool animals and nice staff. Prairie Dogs.....Enough said
Smells. Dont like this place.
So friendly and knowledgeable. They always answer any questions I may have
Great store for reptiles , snakes,turtles and supplies also birds
The young man working there was amazing! Brought in a bearded dragon that my kids brought home from dads house. I had no idea how to care for him. He looked a little disheveled. He.took him to back cleaned him all up. Then informed us he wasnt a normal bearded dragon but a Silkie Bearded dragon and that his care is different...so glad he was there and got us on the right track!
The one guy was alot of help.
My favorite store for exotic pets from all different kinds of snakes to spiders to all kinds of reptiles and birds. If its legal to own chances are they can get it for u. Excellent staff as well very knowledgeable
Always knows the answers to all my questions.
Wonderful service. Beautiful birds
Great place for all needs for all exotic pet needs for advanced or novice pet owners
Tw: animal neglect/death•••••I went into today in Cicero to look at their feeder prices as Im in the process of getting a whites tree frog (dumpy frog). Ive heard the negative things said about this business in the past but I wrongly assumed theyd adjusted the way they care for their animals and figured Id check them out. I was not expecting to walk in to horrific conditions. There were MANY things wrong with the various enclosures, including a lack of thermometers on every single reptile and amphibian tank, insufficient substrates, no fresh water, and extremely small tanks. However none of that compared to what I saw when I came across their dumpy frog enclosure. At first I assumed there werent any in stock because the tank was almost empty except for a large branch standing up. The top of the branch was directly under a very harsh light. It took me a second to realize what I was looking at but at the directly under the light was a fully grown, shriveled up, dead dumpy frog. This frog was burnt alive. The light was WAY too hot for this frog, it had absolutely nothing in the tank monitoring the heat or the humidity. Its tank was way too small and it had almost no real or fake plants in its enclosure to shield it from the extreme heat coming from that light. The frog looked like it had been there for a while. These people do not care about the well being of the animals. They want to profit off of animals that they do not know how to properly care for and they should not be supported.
Large variety of pets but cluttered and not the cleanest. The guy working was very rude!
I absolutely love this place. I got my Leopard and red foot tortoises from here about 3 years ago and they are very happy and healthy. I love just walking around inside and talking to all the amazing beautiful animals.
We got three snakes from this store. The staff is always there for any questions you may have, they are very knowledgeable! The love for their animals and customers really shows.
Id rather support a local business over a chain for my needs for my bearded dragon. The owner and staff are highly knowledgeable and always very helpful. You can pre-order crickets and horn worms in bulk. The heat bulbs are guaranteed for 3 months so you can replace them if they blow out. Ive been really happy since we started going there.
These guys are amazing. Any questions regarding a reptile or amphibian or exotic pet they will be glad to give information and guidance. They treat their animals well and do an amazing job. Their prices are fair and competitive with other pet stores.
Great service. Animals are always well taken care of.
Bought our sugar glider cage, wheel and bonding pouch here years ago reasonably priced. Only one who carried what I was looking for. Always friendly.
This was the first time going into this pet store because I live out of town.the living conditions of some of the animals including the tortoises was deplorable. There was only one staff member working .. the baby sulcata tortoisesnot properly taken care of one of them was flipped over on its backand it took a long time to get that one store associate to come over and help flip him over. I am really surprised that the people of baldwinsville have not made a big stink about the deplorable conditions of this pet store. I personally would never shop here again!
The owner is very knowledgeable about the animals in his care. I like they he also has animals available from local breeders. I bought my bearded dragon from him years ago and hes a very healthy happy boy.
Impressive variety of unique animals. All fantastic to see. Im a little uninformed on unique pet care, but I love to see them, and mostly visit to browse, and look at the available animals. Also, a couple months ago, I just visited a few times to look at a gorgeous blue macaw
Verry wide selection of snakes and tanks + definitely recommend them to more serious buyers looking for options that are afordable too.
Cute animals
Very knowledgeable staff. Awesome store.
Having trouble (as are others) keeping live food for the reptiles in stock. Good to do business with them
I love going and getting what i need ,and seeing all the cool animals at the same time.
Employees are passionate and know a lot about every animal
A lot of animals being shown said not for sale. As well as living conditions were not very good for these animals. Some were in which seemed incredibly small for some of the bigger snakes. The staff didn’t seem very friendly. And it smelled horrible in there.
Very cool exotic pet store....even had a few mammals Ive never seen before. The store clerk could have been friendlier but overall Id still go back
Pleasant little crystal shop twisted into the mix, i could spend hours here, and all my money😁
This store is awesome! Dont be scarred by the complainers. Get in and get what you need, the staff deals with a high volume of customers so if you need there attention let them know! Theyre actually very friendly and easy to deal with! And 90% of the time they ask if I need help even if Im just browsing! Ill be in tomorrow to buy, thanks Acks pet store.
They are very knowledgeable & have pets there that you cant get anywhere else around the area. The prices are also more reasonable than Petco or Country Max. Would recommend always.
Love Acks. Very friendly, very knowledgeable and you cant beat the prices. Even if you just stop into look around they dont mind. One of the only places around that actually know what they are talking about. And I simply love the driftwood from the Carolinas the best. Top notch.
This is my go-to for my parrots food I love the people theyre very nice and generous and very helpful as well I love walking around and looking at all of the animals they are doing an absolute great job
Always great customer sevice. Gotten several tarantulas from here and will continue to stop in to see what different ones are available. Love the new reptile wall and all the little furry options as well.
Cool store, awesome selection of reptiles and herps. I wish the reef, marine, and freshwater fish selections and quality of the tanks were better. Super prices on decor such as rocks, cork rounds, and exotic woods. Nice birds. Sometimes deals on used tanks. Needs to upgrade to larger store!?!
Great staff, super friendly. I shop here for a majority of my tarantulas. Its always exciting to stop in for feeders amd see what new species they have.
You can get most of the things u need tfor less than other places
We bought our first Bearded Dragon from Carl. He allowed my son to handle the babies and choose which one he wanted. She is beautiful and Carl has been extremely helpful educating us, ordering what we need and is now searching for a nice male for us. We call with questions and feel very comfortable with his knowledge and guidance.
Best exotic pet store
There is a great selection if any of it were actually for sale. All of the pets appear to be owned and are breeders. The place also smells.
Got my snake there and it was a fun experience every time we go. The kids love it
Knowledgeable and friendly staff! I went in on a busy Saturday with a ball python that had not accepted a meal in 10 weeks. Both staff members took the time to work with me and finally get my girl to eat! I have been to acks a few times and have only had great experiences. Would absolutely recommend over any PetSmart or chain pet store for all of your exotic needs!!
Great place for pets and pet supplies. No dogs or cats are sold there but a assortment of fish, snakes, birds, among other critters.
Acks is a local business who has had to make due since Covid began but I have yet to be disappointed in any service. The staff is knowledgeable, helpful & very accomodating. I buy dubai roaches, horn worms & crickets regularly for our 2 dragons at a reasonable price and they are all healthy & great quality!
Great local shop with knowledgeable employees!
Carl is the bomb! He knows his animals and works with people well. Love the variety in pets. Great prices and healthy animals.
Oh my god. I love it here so much. (The smell when you walk in is a little gross, but you get used to it after a few seconds.. Which is gross too.) They have a good selection, good prices, and good knowledge. I could look at the animals in here all day. 10/10.
Rude staff and smells horrible. I guess if you like snakes he is great. Tons of snakes. Not much else.
Amazing selection and super helpful staff!
When you first walk in it smells filthy. The animals cages are disgusting. There are feces all over in the ferret tanks that looks like it hasnt been cleaned for days. The caged birds have feathers missing and seem sick. There was a big grey bird not sure what it was, in a tank that was meant for a mouse, it was half covered with a towel and it looked really stressed. The sugar glider cages were disgusting and their wheels were caked with feces and pee. The only tanks that seem clean are the fish tanks. The mice and rats that they feed to the snakes, the tanks arent clean, they definitely are cramped in there. The rabbits need a bigger area to run around in and didnt even have a house to hide in. The animals didnt seem to be abused or hurt by humans but not having clean tanks is definitely animal abuse. Someone from the health dept needs to go in there and make them clean the place. I couldnt even breathe in there because of how dirty it smelt. I wouldnt buy an animal from here.
Very cool store with a wide variety of exotic pets. (From snakes, reptiles, fish, ferrets, chinchillas, birds, etc.) And pet supplies. Highly recommend shopping at Acks and supporting local business.
One of the best pet shops around for reptiles and fish...6/15/21Note: Just stopped in to look around (havent been here in a while), sad to say but the place is nothing like it used to be..... very sad, no more fish at all, the selection of pet products (unless you have a reptile) is next to nothing... Im not sure what happened but its really sad compared to what it used to be........
We recently did business with them... and tbh they were the best pet store workers I have ever met! They were extremely nice and helpful Id love to do work with them again!!
Pricey on there products but its got a few things new i liked.
Very helpful and friendly staff. Knowledgeable about the animals they sell and very willing to help you care for them. Great prices on crickets and meal worms!!
Some of the best and most knowledgable people around. Always a great experience. And they have so many amazing animals to look at while your there. Love this place.very highly recommend.
Awesome pet store
This is a larger-than-expected pet store with an extensive inventory of animals exotic reptiles snakes and food for them more than I imagine that could be sold here in the US. It is a must-see to stop and just be entertained by the display of creatures that they have and care very well for
I love Acks, been going here for years. Knowledgeable staff, and great prices
Food was awesome. Nice take out service
The staff here is super nice and experienced! 10/10 would go again
Your only local pet shop with a unique selection of legal critters that you wont find anywhere else. Check out their new Liverpool location for exotic fish!
Great store! Has everything youll need for exotics! Locally owned, Carl is a great guy and very helpful! Can get whatever you need if it isnt in stock
If you are of color take your business elsewhere they wont acknowledge you
Very friendly and knowledgeable staff with great affordable pricing
Best place for your scaley friends needs
Apparently a poor frog was literally roasted to death in a cage with only a heat lamp and no shade or shelter. Do better.
What a great place they have so much !
It is sad to see reptiles that should have 55gallon or larger enclosures in much smaller tanks. Variety for reptile needs but on the pricey side.
Great place
This store always have what I need for my pets the people are really nice and friendly there the prices are great
Had fun looking at some cool critters with my grandson. Lots of snakes. Very nice shop owner. Kinda busy and somewhat unkempt but critters appeared taken care of.
This is probably the best pet store in the New York area I love the staff they are very helpful and kind and there were just so many cool animals Ive never seen before its really one of my favorite places.
Kim the employee ignored the fact that the tortoise was flipped over for a while in the water. After informing her that I was posting this online she simply removed the water supply from the tank. Very disturbing. Because they were very small babies and yet struggled for at least 10 minutes before she actually Helped
I was looking for gems and got great treatment even though he had pets sales going on
Animals are well cared for and they have EVERYTHING! I love it in there, and workers are very helpful. Good prices, too.
Every time we travel to NY from LA we stop in. We are never disappointed. Very clean and well kept and always something new!
Cool pets. Awesome guys known carl for years. Really cares for the animals good place to just check out pets
Friendly staff. Great place to go for reptiles or birds.
They had a lot of exotic pets I loved looking at the snakes I was thinking about buying one but I didnt have enough money
Sad and disappointing care of the animals. The employee Kim was informed that the tortoise was flipped over and said, It will flip over, if not they would be extinct. Then she continued to ignore it until she was informed a review is going on Google.
Best place to get feeder rodents and very knowledgable staff. Big corporates got nothing on this mom and pop store! Great job guys!
Always knowledgeable on the animals I ask about. Helpful with any and all questions.
I prefer to travel here.. best prices.. good selections.. great staff..
It was a very interesting place.
Caring staff with lots of knowledge and understanding. One of the great independent pet store of central NY.
I have three lizards one turtle and one tortoise I love going to Acks to look for my exotic pet needs.
Fantastic customer service and love of animals.
This is a great pet store. They had a beautiful hyacinth macaw named kasey, which I freaked out over because I am a bird enthusiast and Ive always wanted to meet a hyacinth in real life. I cried. Hyacinths are my favorite species of macaw. Theyre so sweet and large in size (biggest species.) Thank you so much Acks for making my life long dream come true!!!! They also had a wide variety of conures and some beautiful amazon parrots. 😇 highly recommended. And the smell is totally worth it to see so many beautiful exotic creatures.
I have never purchased anything from them.But they are exactly what they say they are. Plenty of Fish, Spiders, Snakes, Birds etc.The staff is friendly and helpful, they keep everything as clean as they can for the individual pets too!I never get disappointed stopping in to check out their new additions. Maybe one day I will even take one home!
We came in to shop tonight about 7 or 8 min before closing, when we got there the door was locked and when the man working there came to the door , he asked my 11 yr old daughter with an angry voice what do you even want very poor customer service, and the door locked before closing time. Very un happy with our experience
Love this place, i have a few exotic lizards and this is my go to place. I stop sometime jus to see his animals. Hes always so friendly
Love this store! Staff is VERY knowledgeable and usually willing to answer all your questions. Can get very busy and crowded, people like to visit like its a zoo.
They have a problem with meet the needs when ask for specifics they try to give what they want instead of pleasing the customer and they always seem to have a attitude a lot I ve sent well over a $1,000 there buying snakes,mice, and rats the mice and the rats Ive brought after a day of leaving there in a perfectly clean environment with my other mice I buy from aqua plus in Watertown which r always healthy and docile unlike #acksecoticpets who mice and rats sneeze twich and look extremely sad with their ears bak all the time that a sign something wrong wit them then they just die and all the others that arent from acks r healthy and reproducing I wont shop their anymore 🤷🏾♂️💯
I Have known Carl the owner for SEVERAL years, and have bought several animals and 2 parrots from him. Hes very knowledgeable, friendly, and his store is immaculate.
I bought a ferret from Acks on 12/9/19 and couldnt be happier. He was in perfect health very happy and im unsure if they started litter training at the store but it took only 24 hours for me to litter train him at home. He is in perfect health and the service at the store was great! Thanks Acks!Update: a year later and Tamaki is still in perfect health. I know he came from marshal farms so most of the credit has to go to Acks and their employees. Im so greatful for Tamaki and for the care he was given before I adopted him. Thank you Acks!
Worst pet store ever! Was just there with my friend a minute ago, minding our own business, when one of the rude staff members walked up to us and accused me of putting something in one of the fish tanks. I told the guy that I didnt put anything in the tank and my friend said that he was beside me the whole time and saw that I didnt put anything in there. However, the guy still continued to harass us about it even though its clear that I put nothing in the tank. He even checked the cameras and saw that I didnt put anything in the tank. If that wasnt enough, after he checked the cameras, he started to accuse us of messing the with recording and eventually kicked us out and even threatened to call the police. NEVER COME HERE EVER!!! Go to PetSmart instead as that place is actually clean and has nice staff.
Although they are extremely busy and short staffed SOMETIMES, they get every creature taken care of. Answers all my questions. Its the humans that need to be more patient and realize that ;) Thank you all for your amazing customer assistance!
Super cool place
Drove over an hour to see the animals, wish I didnt make the trip. The place was very smelly, dirty, and animals were in filthy cages. Very sad for these animals the store is too small and very unorganized. Gave two stores and thats just being generous because one of the employees was nice.
Kind of smelly even for a pet store. There was a great reptile selection but the mammals were severely lacking. The staff was a mix. One guy was nice and helpful and one guy was on the phone the whole time.
They had a few exotic animals, a beautiful Amazon McCaw too. Yet the store seems a bit crowded. Staff was nice and helpful though.
Went in for feeders today and i have never been here before. I was disgusted by the care of the animal setups. Most of the tanks had poop all over the insides. The place smelled terrible.The place is nothing like you see in their Facebook posts.Prices of live reptiles are far higher then anywhere else. Wont return ill go elsewhere. I can get 1000 mealworms on flukers for 15 shipped. Bought 200 low quality for 8.00 and most were garbage
I went here a couple months ago with my boyfriend and they had an awesome variety of animals, but that doesnt really matter when staff ignore you and wont even greet you. They walk past you without even saying hello. Bad experience...
Its an exotic pet store, whats bot to love about this place. They also have sugar gliders, bonus points for the cool kids.
Yeah, she purchased a rat, cage, food. etc. Gus is a very good rat. This pet store seems to specialize in snakes, lizards, tortosies, and salt water fish. We originally went there to get a fresh water fish.
They are so willing to help with all questions and spent alot of time with us.
They had mainly reptiles (snakes and turtles) not a wide variety in those either but what they lacked in variety they made up for in quantity and the sales associates seemed knowledgeable
The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful.
The kids and I love this place. He truly has exotic pets!!
Owner is very knowledgable with a great mix of birds, small furry critters, reptiles and more you cant find in typical pet stores. Stire is also expanding its inventory so much more to come.
Always a good place for your pet needs
Yes the place smelled, its a pet store so its not a huge deal to me. There are far too many animals not for sale, I was confused as to which ones were for sale. We werent greeted when we walked in, which normally doesnt bother me, but the guy who walked in behind us was greeted by name and she actually acted excited that he was there. I tried to talk to her and she just kept walking without acknowledging I was talking to her. It is very crowded. The tortoises are in unacceptable living conditions, especially since they are not for sale, and they seem to be in there for the long run. I didnt even know how to get the the fish section to look at them. The poor birds had so many bugs flying around them.
Decent.. if you’re looking for a turtle. No joke, this place had 20+ LARGE tortoises in stock the day I went in.
Best in the area at what they do. Best staff and best stuff!!!
I bought my turquoise conure and yellow ringneck here. Great people to ask questions and very friendly
Very friendly staff, everytime i go in i am welcomed with a smile!
I couldnt believe how many different animals they have here! An amazing place for reptile lovers!
Love this place just wish was closer a lot of cool animals u cant find no where
Honestly really enjoyed the selection of truly unusual animals, I just worry in the back of my head the whole time thinking about how crammed the conditions in the back potentially are. Overall very cool place to visit!
This whole place just makes me so sad. Everything is so filthy and tiny. Animals have no room. Cages aren’t cleaned, rodents have the kind of bedding that’s terrible for them, the animals look depressing. I wish I could buy all of the animals and get them out of this hell hole. I can’t imagine treating my pets or any animal the way they do there. If you’re truly and animal lover prices don’t matter but the state and healthy happiness of the animals does. Please stop shopping at places like this. It only makes people pretend to be animal lovers for a profit. I beg people to see the real store in all its filth and animal abandonment and mistreatment. You wouldnt want to live in mold, feces, and without proper love and care.. neither do these animals :(On top of how awful the stores lack of cleanilness is the staff is just as terrible. No one asks you if they can help you and you are not greeted. I would recommend going to another pet store as they are more likely to help you and make you feel comfortable about purchasing a friend/pet. Knowledge is important and these people apparently don’t have time for that. I saw two people buy animals and neither time were they asked if they knew proper care or cage set up although a chain store like pet smart does? You are a one store show.. the customer service and helpfulness shouldn’t be the last thing on your list.Sadly this store is for profit and does not care for its customers or animals.
This place is absolutely disgusting!!, the smell in there is beyond awful!! No ventilation! Animals with no food, water, open sores, and ones that have passed away, in inadequate housing!!This place is like a puppy mill for reptiles!!! They need a to be investigated and shut down!!!! Owner using foul language as he is slamming around enclosures housed with live animals! Lol tortoises where trying to eat own poop because there was no food in there and a dead baby bearded dragon, monitor with open wound on nose, but sure will go with your theory haha!
Made a lot of improvements. And WAY better staff
Best place for exotic pets
Very knowledgeable. Answer all my questions, with explaining a little to make sure I understand.
Looking at the hedgehogs and they were all super nice and the worker that helped us was amazing!!! If u need anything for your pets GO HERE
I purchased an arachnid there that was missing segments on two legs. The store is suspicious
The store and animal cages were all very dirty. I would not recommend this exotic pet store to anyone.
This guy has been around for awhile, he is incredibly knowledgeable but his shop is over crowded and cluttered. He needs a bigger place and should upgrade his fish tanks. The best pet shop around, they do not have places like this anymore. The new petco and petsmart or whatever the stores are, theyre manned by minimum wage workers just looking for a pay check.
Amazing array of exotic animals and the needs of exotic animal owners. Very knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly.
The best exotic pet store in central New York!
Great place to find exotic pets and birds love to just drop by to see whats new and grab food for our birds from there.
Great staff, has everything your looking for and more.
Total reviews rating 4.3
199 Reviews for Acks Exotic Pets 2023:
Review №1
2022-05-12Great place to find pets. Also their new rock collection is pretty cool. I got my lepord tortoise from there
Review №2
2021-11-29I love Acks he has knowledgeable staff, Colin knows a lot about the spiders Im intrigued by, loving my collection. Thanks guys
Review №3
2022-02-25Tons of habitats and equipment for exotic animals! There is both live food and dried food so you can get what your animal needs. They do sell live animals, but I didnt look at any of them, I only needed crickets for my bearded dragon. The worker was able to answer some questions and help me find exactly what I needed.
Review №4
2022-05-22I was trying to get away from chain pet stores because everyone knows how they can be, I found this place while searching the web for anything other than petsmart and petco. Once inside I was confused on where to start or if they were truly open considering half the store had no lights on. The only 2 isles you could get to were blocked halfway to the end by garbage and boxes. The two people at the counter did not say hello, ask if I needed help with anything, but continued their conversation about other things. I walked around for a minute looking at empty shelves and broken product. After about 15 minutes and still no idea what I was looking at I left. I try and support small places like this because I grew up with 1 owner pet shops and always had amazing experiences with them. This was a complete opposite. I’d recommend not giving them any time or money as it seems they don’t need it or care whether you spend money or not.
Review №5
2022-03-25Love this place. A very unique shop with a wide variety for exotic pets. Only downside is that they open at 10.
Review №6
2022-02-20We love Acks they always take care of us and make sure we have everything we need. They are also extremely kind! Our favorite exotic pet store! Thank you guys for all you do!
Review №7
2022-04-12Mostly bearded dragons and birds that are expensive and alot of not for sales. And nit the cleanest place and nobody even asked me what I wanted or anything so I just left after looking around and trying to decide what I was going to get ill just go somewhere else.
Review №8
2022-04-13Absolutely love Acks!! awesome exotic animals, supplies and unique crystals and stones.. definitely recommended!
Review №9
2021-06-27Anyone interested in 1yr old PINK Cockatoo (Australian, Major Mitchell)? Red yellow mohawk. Pink cage! VERY beautiful. Shakes hand says hello.Relocating FL. Retail 7k. Best offer.. make one. Sev3n Tw0 Sev3n - Thre3 0ne Thre3 - Sev3n Zer0 S!x S!x
Review №10
2019-09-04Allways a delight to visit. This is a zoo of exotic animals. Always a friendly staff of lizards and turtles. Unique animals in every isle.