We're Jonah and Lawrence from Queens, New York, the co-owners of HerpTown.
A Statement on Law & Ethics
As of December 2023, The Lacey Act does not prohibit interstate shipment of injurious wildlife, as a result of USARK v. Zinke (2017). Travel of these species between the District of Columbia and the remaining Continental United States is still prohibited, so we cannot ship there. Because Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) has fortunately not been detected within the Continental United States due to the USFWS’s strict policy against the importation of injurious amphibians, we are fine with buying and shipping salamanders through interstate lines. However, since Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been detected and Chytridiomycosis is easily caused through interstate trade, we refrain from buying frogs from areas with known incidences of the disease and we use the azole antifungal agent Itraconazole on arrival. In New York State, all native frogs, turtles, snakes, lizards, & salamanders are listed as game species. Therefore, we sell only animals foreign to our region. We firmly believe no wild animals should be taken advantage of and commercialized. https://extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/vertchklst0410.pdf
Our animals are propagated in a captive laboratory setting (many for the first time), heavily researched, and well documented. Our observations are published on CaudataCore and peer-reviewed herpetology journals so other dedicated hobbyists or researchers can replicate our success. All animals were sourced legally from reputable herpetologists, zoo-workers, and hobbyists. 30% of all purchases and donations from HerpTown and our sister website CaudataCore would go to TerraNYC, Inaturalist, and Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR)
nyherptown@gmail.com