Store of the Month – July 2023

Pet Paradise

307 Kellam Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23462
(757) 499-9689

https://www.facebook.com/PetParadisevb
https://www.instagram.com/pet_paradise_vb/
https://www.morphmarket.com/stores/petparadisevb

Our store of the month for July is Pet Paradise in Virginia Beach! John Severts bought the store in 1984 and shifted it from an exclusively bird-focused store to a full-range pet shop with reptiles, fish, small mammals, and birds.

Many of the animals in their store are bred in-house, and some of the most rewarding projects have been breeding emerald tree boas and mangrove snakes.

James (John Severt’s son) fell in love with reptiles after watching a pet store educational video that featured a sand boa habitat setup in the theme of the horror movie Tremors. Now he tries to inspire the same love of reptiles through frequent school tours at the shop and participating in the local Halloween festival every year to help people overcome their fear of reptiles.

Recently their store mascot Bruce, the yellow-naped Amazon, passed away after being in the family for 30 years. With the store’s foundation being built on their specialty in birds, it was sad to see her go.

In the future, the Severts hope to expand their store to a bigger location and build more of a web presence. Currently, they’re active on Morph Market, but to be involved more online and more at reptile shows, they hope to help provide for the community’s demand.

They’ve also been watching trends, and see invert popularity growing rapidly. It’s possible social media has increased awareness and access to species that wouldn’t be available otherwise, but if they expand their store, they may carry more variety of these unusual but popular species.

In their free time, the Severts family each have their passion pursuit.  James loves music and playing in local bands, John loves paintball, and Joey enjoys quiet evenings of family time.

With ethical keeping and the search for knowledge on the rise with reptiles, Pet Paradise is a store of reptile people for reptile people. They aim to serve the community, and if you’re ever in Virginia Beach, make sure to give them a visit!