New Business Profile: Split Tongue Exotics

(Editor’s Note: This is one in a series of stories profiling some of the newer businesses in Concordia)

Make no mistake about it, Split Tongue Exotics is a pet store.
The name, though certainly eye-catching on a marquee, has led to some confusion.
"I get a lot of comments about the name," said Keenya Tyler, owner of the store. "Split tongue is actually a reptile term. But I've had people tell me they thought we were a tattoo parlor." She then added with a smile, "Some people even wondered if we were a porn shop!"
Misconceptions aside, once you step inside Split Tongue Exotics, it looks and sounds like a pet store. The 'Exotics' part of the name is what separates the store from others.
Exotic pets include a wide variety of animals: birds, rodents (hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, chinchillas, rats, mice), rabbits, ferrets, reptiles (snakes, lizards, turtles, tortoises), amphibians (frogs, toads), sugar gliders (marsupials), hedgehogs, potbellied pigs, and even spiders.
"We offer live exotic pets, supplies, and feeders for most commonly-owned exotic pets in north central Kansas and surrounding areas," Tyler said.
Tyler's love for exotic animals began, of all places, at a wrestling tournament. "We were at a wrestling tournament in Manhattan in 2017, and Reptile World had a booth set up. I bought my first snake there. I Googled how to take care of it, and pretty soon I wanted a few more, and then more, and then I guess it just kind of became an obsession."
Tyler began breeding her own rats to feed the snakes. Then she added more species of exotic animals. "I did a little event at the Fairgrounds, and I conducted a kind of informal poll. I was amazed at the number of people who wanted a pet shop in town, and so the idea kind of grew from there."
Tyler, who spent eight years as a corrections officer at the Cloud County Jail, opened her store in Concordia on October 1, 2018. They moved to their current location at the corner of Sixth Street and Broadway on December 1, 2020.
"I think people are really surprised at how big our store here is, and how much inventory we have. Sometimes people come in just to look around, which is great, because word-of-mouth advertising has been really good for our business."
The moment you walk through the door, you know you're in a pet store. Birds are chirping, a lemur and other exotics are making their oddly enchanting sounds, and a blue macaw caws up a storm, demanding that you come over to his cage so he can have a look at you.
Split Tongue Exotics has over 30 different species in-store, including lots of "pocket pets": hamsters, guinea pigs, birds, and the ever-popular sugar glider.
According to Websters, a sugar glider is 'a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass.' The name derives from the animal's love of sugary foods like sap and nectar, and its ability to glide through the air, much like a flying squirrel.
Snakes are a big seller for the store, and Tyler believes the quality of her species is a big reason why. "We breed our own bull pythons and boa constrictors, and that part of the business has really picked up in the last year. We have over 400 pythons in the store, and probably about 30 boas."
Tyler's store also carries a wide variety of food for all sorts of animals. This includes live feeder bugs like mealworms and crickets. "We're not just a reptile store. We have birds and small animals and all their supplies. We have a much larger selection than a chain store might have. Not every store carries food for primates, monkeys, and even skunks, but we have it."
Tyler breeds her own snakes, and plans to begin breeding lizards soon. "A lot of times, when you buy from the big breeders or the chain stores, you just don't know what kind of condition the animal or reptile is going to be in."
Tyler says they are currently building a website for the store, but customers and the curious can follow their Facebook page to see what new animals and supplies have come in.
Split Tongue Exotics is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-thru-Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The store is closed Sundays and Mondays. Their phone number is 785-262-4391.