Only at Corbin’s Exotic Pets can you marvel at an American Albino Alligator and an Albino Burmese Python and go home with a Bearded Dragon … or a goldfish, depending on your taste. The unique pet store in Marengo — the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Jennifer and Mark Corbin — recently became a lot more accommodating to man and beast when it doubled in size to 18,000 square feet.
“We moved our dogs, cats, birds and small animals to the new side and made a number of additions, including a 500-square-foot pond, reptile displays, an expanded fish room with larger tank displays, and basically enlarged every section we previously had,” Jennifer Corbin said.
The addition also includes a separate multi-use room for birthday parties, school events and as a classroom for seminars, she said, which include educational sessions on topics like tetra ponds, reef keeping and snake care.
‘Big Attraction’
Visitors come from as far as Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana, Corbin said. “This is a big attraction you can’t find everywhere,” she said. “We have pretty much any animal and probably the most reptiles in McHenry County.”
Corbin believes her store is a cut above the big boxes as a family owned and operated shop that includes animal experts who administer special care to the animals.
“Definitely our live stock [of pets] differentiates us — and we’re always adding to it,” Corbin says. “Also, our employees are knowledgeable, which is a big component.”
Buyers also have the peace of mind that Corbin’s conducts most of its breeding in-house and gives special attention to the pets.
“They get fresh vegetables and meat daily — lizards enjoy omelets on Thursday,” Corbin explained. “We socialize them and they’re taken around the store to meet visitors. They seem very happy.”
It’s a Jungle Out There
Walking into Corbin’s Exotic Pets is like entering a menagerie. Giant lizards, 80-pound tortoises, baby green-winged Macaws, hedgehogs and flying “pocket pets” are just some of what customers will get a glimpse of at the shop.
“A lot of people don’t expect what they get when they come to our store,” Corbin told McHenry County Living last autumn. “We pretty much have animals everywhere in the store. If people are lucky, they’ll be able to handle a snake when they’re here. A lot of people who are deathly afraid of snakes handle them and love them.”
Animal Instinct
Opening the shop two years ago was a natural move for the couple, who previously bred reptiles in their home for years. “We started breeding more and more reptiles, and it started escalating,” Corbin said. “We were up to 30 snakes [at home]. It kind of scared people.”
Corbin’s breeds most of the animals it sells, including hamsters, parakeets, hedgehogs, reptiles and green-winged Macaws.
Many of these fascinating creatures come with lots of instructions and require special care. Corbin’s won’t sell any pet “without us first providing an education about handling their animal,” Corbin said.
With 120 different reptile cages designed for different species, there’s much to learn about how each grows, what it eats and how and if to handle it.
For example, “You have to be aware at the time of purchase how big the snake will get,” she said.
One customer dedicated an entire room for a 6-foot lizard. Even owning a little feathered friend should be given much consideration, she said. “Birds may be cute and fun to play with, but they’re loud,” she said.
Every animal has a different temperament, too, Corbin added. “There are some animals that are tamer than others,” she said. “Then there are some animals that are pretty much a display animal and you don’t want to handle them too much.”
>> Corbin's is located at 212 Lindow Lane, Suite B, (off Rt. 20) in Marengo. For more, call 815-568-8300 or visit www.corbinspets.com.
