If you are looking for a new companion for your family, but you want to try out a pet other than a cat or dog, stop by Sky High Geckos & Exotics in Williamson! Crystal Marie Little, the owner, and operator opened the shop in March of 2020.
Sharing Knowledge and a Lifelong Love for Animals
Crystal has had a love for reptiles and other exotic pets since she was a kid. She has been breeding geckos since 2016, and that’s really how the shop got started. “I started growing in the hobby and started vending exotic animal expos and was doing online sales,” she says. “Local people got word about me and started to have me come in with my exotics to the schools and local churches for the kids to have the opportunity to interact with the animals.” Folks kept telling Crystal that she should open a shop, so she started saving up to make that dream a reality. “It was always a dream of mine, but I was always too afraid to leap until seeing the local support I received.”
Sky High Geckos and Exotics sells everything from frogs, lizards, and snakes to mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs. After Cystals’s years breeding as a hobbyist, she has many connections and friendships with breeders in the tristate area. “(They’re) people that I’ve personally known and seen their breeding stock. They’re good people with a love and passion for the animals, like myself.” The shop also offers feeder insects, frozen and live prey animals, as well as pet supplies in general. It will serve as a “one-stop” shop to get everything you need.
The shop also sells gemstones and pendants-- a callback to a fond memory from Crystal’s childhood. When she was a kid, she recalls going to the flea market with her grandparents, and going to the booth of a man selling gemstones, rocks, and old foreign coins. “He was my favorite. It was like a little hidden treasure spot that I happened upon,” she says, “and every time we visited I made a beeline for that secret little spot to see what treasure I might find. He actually made me a necklace for my birthday...I still have that necklace.” By selling similar items, Crystal hopes to offer a similar secret treasure spot for her customers.
Supporting a Family Business
Crystal is a single mother of two kids, ages 9 and 11, and they have been excited to help care for the breeders and their offspring from the beginning. “I truly hope that our shop will keep growing so I can pass it down to them,” she says. For her, passing on her love for animals is a family tradition. “I grew up having a lot of up close and hands on experiences with all kinds of animals...I didn't fully realize that so many people especially in my local area may never get to see a fraction of what I deal with on a daily basis… I do truly enjoy their smiles when someone young or old gets to see a new animal they may never get a chance to see again.”
All photos provided by Sky High Geckos & Exotics