Who We Are...
Who We Are...
Geckos Etc. Herpetoculture is a family run business located near Sacramento, California. Founded by Steve and Debra Sykes, Geckos Etc. has grown from a simple bedroom hobby, focusing primarily on Leopard Geckos, to an internationally recognized reptile business. While Leopard Geckos will always be the heart and soul of the company, Geckos Etc. also specializes in Fat Tail Geckos, Knob-tailed Geckos, Blue-Tongued Skinks, and many species of snakes including Western Hognose Snakes, Corn Snakes and King Snakes. Our goal is to provide top-of-the-line animals for both the novice pet keeper and the most serious breeder.
We are currently working with the following animals:
Leopard Geckos
Leopard Geckos are amazing animals – which is one of the reasons we love to work with them! For the beginner reptile keeper, Leopard Geckos are easy to maintain and very docile. And for a serious breeder, the complex genetic diversity is exciting to explore. Since 1996, we have been working with the best bloodlines, and it has become our mission to maintain one of the world’s most diverse collections of Leopard Gecko genetics. We work with almost all morphs and strive to create the highest quality geckos. Whether you are looking for your next pet or your next breeding project, we offer a wealth of genetic diversity to provide exactly what you are looking for.
Fat Tail Geckos
While similar to Leopard Geckos, we consider Fat Tail Geckos as the “next step” in gecko keeping. Their care and temperament are very similar to Leopard Geckos (with some minor exceptions), and they also make great pets. Fat Tail genetics are not as diverse as Leopard Geckos, but the morphs that are available are beautiful and fun to explore. We have been working with Fat Tail Geckos since 2006 and have almost all the morphs available today.
Knob-Tailed Geckos
Knob-Tailed Geckos are a diverse group of geckos that are named for the adorable “knob” at the end of their tail. These species are typically for a more experienced reptile keeper as their care requires a little more knowledge of husbandry. We work with seven species of Knob-Tailed Geckos including: Nephrurus amyae, Nephrurus deleani, Nephrurus levis levis, Nephrurus vertebralis, Nephrurus wheeleri cinctus, Nephrurus wheeleri wheeleri, and Underwoodisaurus milii. Most morph diversity in these species come from line breeding which creates beautiful hypo, red, and aberrant patterns, depending on the species. Perhaps a favorite in our collection, we have been working with Knob-Tailed Geckos since 2002.
Texas Banded Geckos
These adorable animals look just like miniature Leopard Geckos! And, although they are small, we have found them to be very hardy and suitable for intermediate level gecko keepers. Our original stock of Texas Banded Geckos dates back to 2017.
Western Hognose Snakes
These relatively small snakes have a sassy attitude, but are very docile – which is one of the reasons we love them! Since 2008, our collection of Western Hognose Snakes has grown considerably. There are dozens of morphs and combination morphs that make breeding this species so much fun. We are currently working with most morphs of Western Hognose Snakes and plan to expand our breeding projects as the popularity of this species grows.
Corn Snakes
Corn snakes have been in our collection forever! However, we have only been breeding and offering them for sale since 2014. Corn snakes are considered the “Leopard Gecko” of the snake world. Similar to Leopard Geckos, they are easy to care for and are extremely calm and docile. They make a great beginner snake pets. Corn Snake morphs have just as much variety as Leopard Geckos which makes them fun to explore through breeding.
We are excited to be partnering Andrew Sykes (Steve’s son), to provide more Corn Snake availability to our customers. Andrew’s snakes are listed for sale (when available) on our available pages and at reptile shows.
California and Mexican Black King Snakes
We never planned on adding California and Mexican Black King Snakes to our collection, but when demand for these species exhausted the supply in the US, we decided to try our hand at these incredible snakes! We have found that they are very easy to care for, easy to handle, and make great pets! We work with albino and non-albino morphs of both species. Most of our California King Snake projects are selectively bred to create awesome high white individuals. Conversely, we selectively breed our Mexican Black King Snakes to produce pure black animals.
Leucistic Texas and Black Rat Snakes
These beautiful all-white snakes are visually stunning. Because they are semi-arboreal, it is fun to keep them in display terrariums. Some can be a bit feisty at times, but overall they are very easy to care for. We have been keeping Leucistic Texas and Black Rat Snakes in our collection since 2014.
Blue-Tongued Skinks
If you are looking for a larger lizard in your collection, you can’t go wrong with a Blue-Tongued Skink. These large-bodied animals are very docile and not difficult to care for. We started working with Blue-Tongued Skinks in 2019 and work with the following bloodlines from some of the best breeders: Magma, Red, Sunrise, Red x Sunrise, Dark Project, Swedish Bloodline and Classic.
Our Humble Beginning…
My name is Steve Sykes, owner of Geckos Etc. I have always had a love for reptiles and amphibians. Here is my story:
I grew up in Holmdel, New Jersey, and from an early age I was always busy exploring nature and catching reptiles, amphibians, and insects. I received my first reptile pets, three-toed box turtles, when I was four. I accumulated quite a menagerie during my childhood, including numerous species of turtles, lizards, snakes, and amphibians, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, chinchillas, gerbils, pigeons, and hundreds of gallons of fish tanks. From an early age I was always interested in “propagating” my pets, and started breeding rabbits, gerbils, chinchillas, and numerous fish species, but reptiles were always my favorite pets.
My interest in animals continued into my college years at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where I focused my studies on ecology and zoology. After graduating from Rutgers, I worked as an environmental consultant with endangered species in New Jersey before moving to California to start graduate school at the University of California, Santa Barbara. While in graduate school, I researched the ecology of the federally-endangered California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) in the vernal pool landscape.
During my time in college and graduate school, I slowly built Geckos Etc. out of my bedroom. I carefully selected the founding animals for our future projects from some of the best breeders in the country including Ron Tremper, Golden Gate Geckos, H.I.S.S, Albey Scholl, The Urban Gecko, and JMG Reptile to name a few. It took many years to build my collection through honing and strengthening the bloodlines. My focus has always been on creating healthy, high quality animals while also preserving bloodlines and genetic diversity.
Geckos Etc. is now an internationally recognized reptile business. I am, at times, shocked and humbled by how my small bedroom hobby has grown into its current position. We are proud to send our animals all over the world and spread the joy and excitement of reptiles to the next generation of keepers.
