NERD's Begninnings - It started with a hobby.

NERD began the same way that many reptile breeders often do. A hobbyist with a passion for reptiles just starts a personal collection of animals. As the personal collection grows and word of these amazing creatures spreads, the animals eventually begin to pay for themselves. And before you know it, you have one of the largest reptile breeders in the Northeast.

Kevin McCurley – Founder and Owner of NERD - is that NERD hobbiest. Kevin understands that to some people, snakes are strange. Many people find them to be a scary, creepy mystery. Unlike mammals, or even other reptiles, snakes don't have arms, legs or even eylids. Snakes can't blink so they seem to always be looking at you. Creepy right? “We don’t identify with them,” says McCurley. “They’re like a boogeyman for people.

A herp enthusiast since early childhood, Kevin initially focused breeding efforts Pituophis and other large colubrids. Over time, his collection grew as did his interest in pythons. He was particularly interested in those pythons with which fewer keepers were working with at the time, namely retics (thy are often thought to be too big & psycho!) and ball pythons. Over the past 14 years, that focus on retics and ball pythons has brought a myriad of color morphs and combinations to the NERD collection. Many of these morphs were the first to ever be bred, right here at the NERD facility.

THE NERD PHILOSOPHY

When it comes to the herp trade, our philosophy is simple. If we start out with quality animals and maintain them properly, we can offer an animal that makes acquiring a new reptile a very rewarding experience.

We strive to meet the customer’s needs and offer continued support. We want you to enjoy your reptiles as much as we enjoy ours and we go all out provide you with the very best animals available.

QUALITY, EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE

For the past two decades, the name NERD has become synonymous with quality animals & expert animal care. We know there are a lot of choices in the herp industry today and we strive to provide our customers with nothing but the best in both captive-bred and select, established imports for the discriminating keeper. We currently maintain a full-time staff of animal care specialists assigned to specific areas in the collection which best suit their herpetocultural skills.

Neither our keepers nor our resources are spread too thin when it comes to ensuring that each animal receives all the care it deserves! From the ball pythons in the baby rooms to the calico Retics and albino water monitors in their walk-in enclosures, each animal and collection carefully tended to, fed and cared for.

AWARENESS AND EDUCATION

Public education and awareness is just one of our objectives at NERD. Promoting awareness and conservation of habitat and various species on our planet is important to us. We offer educational lectures within our immediate area to schools, scout groups, churches, and universities.

As mankind continues to move forward under the myth that the earth is forever renewable, unknown numbers of plant and animal species are being lost before they are ever even discovered. Education and up-close-and-personal encounters can have the greatest impact and influence on changing people’s perspectives about the natural world and the creatures that inhabit it with us.

NERD’s educational lectures and animal encounters allow many to come face-to-face with animals they might never have the opportunity to see in person. If you'd like to book NERD for an educational experience, please call us at (603) 382-2772.

NERD CONTINUES ITS GROWTH

NERD grew in stages, first expanding to a 5,000sq ft breeding center and later into their current 14,000sq ft shop now home to both the NERD breeding facility and their retail pet store Zoo Creatures. NERD is located in the heart of New England in New Hampshire. While ball & reticulated python morphs remain a primary focus, the NERD collection also boasts a fine selection of monitors, green tree pythons, boa constrictors, rock iguanas, and “Wally” – the friendly resident 8′ alligator who stands guard in the basement.