africancichlidau
Almost Legendary
One advantage of the high prices commanded petshops is that few people are going to fork out a lot of money on a spur-of-the-moment purchase. As well as the price of the animal, the cage, with lights/heatsource/thermostat/timer etc is also quite high. Anyone that really really wants a reptile will research it and find a breeder, and only spend the money on all the accompnying equipment when they are reasonably sure they can keep the animal alive.
Sorry Hix, I don't completely agree with this as I have seen some pretty high priced "spur of the moment" sales take place. I don't mean just a few hundred on an animal or whatever, but with price tags getting up there into the few thousands bracket.