Call of the South

"Terrariums in Portugal and Spain are growing faster than aquariums", enthusiastically states Felipe Carioca, general manager of the Portuguese aquarium and terrarium company Aquapor. In his opinion, the terrarium sector is interesting for the speciality pet trade "because there is no competition from the supermarkets, yet". And although terrarium products in Spain and Portugal are still far from attaining the same quality standard as aquatics products, according to Carioca, high-quality accessories of the kind available on the international market for some years are becoming more widespread even in Southern European countries.The terrarium boom started in the USA, where lizards, snakes and spiders have long since attained the status of generally accepted pets. In Europe, terrariums tended to be a rather underdeveloped segment for a long time, with a comparatively small number of products. Terrarium products were supplied almost exclusively by companies like Tetra, Sera and JBL, which focus mainly on the aquatics sector and have included such products to round off their range.Zoo Zajac in Duisburg: showing that terrariums can be presented in an exciting way.The Californian company Zoo Med, which is the global market leader in the terrarium segment with a complete range of over 700 products, has long been the only name worth knowing for terrarium enthusiasts. Rik van Tiggel, who is responsible for sales and education at Zoo Med Europe and is based in Mechelen, Belgium, continues to see great potential for terrariums in Europe. The company's main customers in Europe include Germany, the UK, the Benelux states and France, countries in which terrariums have long since ceased to be the preserve of specialists and freaks and now enjoy increasing popularity in the average family household. There are various reasons for this: with properly functioning technical accessories terrarium pets can be kept without the need for constant care. This appeals above all to people who are on the move a lot and spend much of their time outside their own four walls. And not only are snakes and lizards easy to look after - they make little mess compared with birds or small animals. Like ornamental fish they are also attractive to look atand are extremely interesting creatures.Hagen too has recognised the not insignificant potential of the terrarium segment. The Canadian company has brought out a range of its own terrarium products under the "Exoterra" family brand, which is being…