ABOUT US

In California during the winter of 1991 a friend introduced various species of reptiles to my husband and I. One of the many types we kept and studied during that time was the Inland Bearded Dragon (Pagona vittcap). At that time, they were hard to find but we managed to acquire seven babies, all of them the normal colored phase.

As our hobby progressed we bred the animals putting a classified ad in Reptile Magazine to sell the surplus. Even during the recession we continued building different environments for various species we were studying and keeping.

We owned a large 120 year old Dutch Row House which was rapidly becoming filled inside and out with enclosures suitable for the animals. Then a friend of ours took us on a short trip to Arizona to the beautiful little mining town of Bisbee.

This area is ideal for raising more arid species such as, the simple to keep, Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius). The recession had hit this area of Arizona deeply. Land and housing prices at an all time low. That is when the idea of Atomic Lizard Ranch came into being.

We then began to look for land along with a residence we could build upon to make a business, something out of the way with plenty of land to house the animals outside, yet close enough to Bisbee.

Around that time, it came to us that the arid and grassland species were the animals we enjoyed working with the most with the exception of some of the larger teids. The magnificent Red Tegus (Lubinambia refescans) and the Black & White Tegus (Lubinambis teguixin). We found a beautiful spot three miles from the Mexican border with clean water, open skies and incredible sunsets. Ideal for the two Dragons we love the most, the Rankins Dragon (Pagona brevis), sometimes still known as Henrii Lawsoni and the Inland Bearded Dragon.