Name: Will Thomas (AAL Selling animals as Pets Licence holder ANPETS/3956/25)

Position: Managing Director

Qualifications:

Master of Research (MRes) Natural Sciences - UWB 2009. (Research submission - Molecular Phylogeographic Origin Testing in the Tenerife gecko Tarentola delalandii)., Distinction Attained, Winner of the Chuck Hollingworth award for best written thesis.

Bachelor of Science (Bsc, Hons) Zoology with Marine Zoology - UWB 2008. (Research submission – Investigating the effect of incubation temperature on hatchling fitness and morphology in the Mourning Gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris).  Research project part funded by the British Herpetological Society.

Bio:

Will has worked in and around the reptile trade for over 20 years, previously having worked in a couple of specialist stores in his teens and while at university. He has completed work placements at Zoos, supplied animals for film and TV work, and acted as a consultant to the BBC Natural History Unit. He Co-Founded the now highly esteemed Bangor University Herpetological Society and has given many educational talks and seminars at schools, universities, and charitable groups. Will was a guest speaker at the British Herpetological Symposium at Drayton Manor Zoo in 2017 discussing the commercial captive breeding of reptiles in an ethical manner. In both 2017, and again in 2024, he returned to Bangor University to deliver talks to the Herpetological society, firstly on the commercial breeding of reptiles, and more recently on field herping expeditions in Madagascar.

Aside from looking after and breeding reptiles in captivity, Will has a keen interest in seeing and photographing them in the wild. He has taken part in numerous UK reptile and amphibian monitoring projects and in 2009 Will took part in tracking the spread of invasive Anole species in the Caribbean. In 2014, he fulfilled a childhood dream of travelling to Indonesia to visit Komodo National Park. Here he was able to get up close and personal with Komodo dragons in their natural habitat. In 2019, he travelled to the cloud forests of Ecuador in a search for Pinocchio anoles, and then on to the Galapagos to seek out the marine iguanas, and wild giant tortoises. In 2022, he ventured to Southern India in search of critically endangered amphibians. Although he failed to find Galaxy frogs, he did find critically endangered Anamalai Flying Frogs, and the near extinct resplendent reed frog, which has an estimated population of less than 300 individuals left.  In autumn 2024 he ventured to northern Borneo in search of various monitor lizards, vipers, and cobras. Unfortunately, the elusive King Cobra was not encountered. His real passion though is Madagascar, having now made several trips to various regions of Madagascar to collect field data for wild chameleons and Leaf Tailed Geckos (Uroplatus). This data is invaluable to help improve captive care practices. This enables evidence based tweaks to care practices that ultimately further improve success rates with Global Geckos largest singular breeding project, that of the panther chameleons. He is next travelling to Madagascar to continue this work in late spring 2025.

Name: Paul Wiley

Position: Retail Manager

Qualifications: NVQ Animal Care, National Diploma Animal Management

Bio:

Paul has been keeping reptiles and amphibians for nearly 40 years having started age 10 with some Sudan Plated Lizards. Over the years Paul has kept and bred countless different species including everything from Iguanas back in the early 90’s through to the first UK breeding of Toad Headed Agamas in 2015. Paul has also been directly involved in the pet trade industry for over 30 years. Prior to joining the team here at Global Geckos, Paul had been the Livestock Manager for the UK’s longest running reptile wholesaler for over a decade. What Paul doesn’t know about keeping reptiles and amphibians alongside the advancements within the industry probably isn’t worth knowing.

Having been a part of the reptile keeping industry for most of his life he has always been a strong advocate of naturalistic rather than the artificial and minimalistic enclosures favoured by some. Making the transition from wholesale back to retail was prompted in part by having found a store which maintains the high moral and ethical standards that he too believes in. Paul's specific interests are diverse, but he has an exceptional knowledge of vivarium plants along with an extensive knowledge of popular pet invertebrates, he aims to be able to pass on the wealth of knowledge direct to hobbyists from within the retail environment. Some of his preferred reptile species that in decades past, were once a mainstay of the industry are now seeing a resurgence in popularity making his knowledge of these more unusual species invaluable. 

Name: Ben

Position: Lead Livestock Technician

Qualifications: Extended National Diploma Animal Management

Bio:

Ben has over 15 years’ experience in keeping and breeding reptiles. Quite some years ago he came to Global Geckos on a school work experience placement, and then again on numerous work placements while he completed his extended diploma at Merrist Wood College, where he was taught in part by another former staff member, Ed.

Ben started off working weekends, switching to fulltime back in late 2018 and he gradually become a more and more integral part of the team as his experience and confidence grew. He got to grips with the breeding facility during the 2019-2020 season and since 2021 he has taken a leading role in this department. Ben oversees almost all the in house snake breeding projects and takes a leading role on many of the lizard projects too. Over the years he’s kept and bred various geckos, agamids, and dwarf monitors at home, but his main personal passion is for Australian geckos of which he keeps and breeds various species outside of work. As a senior staff member with an outgoing demeanour, you will also often find Ben helping and advising customers or serving behind the till.

Name: Ben

Position: Livestock Technician

Qualifications: National Diploma in Animal Care

Bio:

Ben joined us at the end of 2021 having previously been a team leader at Pets at Home. He qualified in 2018 from BCA with an National Diploma in animal management. He has kept reptiles for many years and has had a diverse range at home that most reptile keepers can only dream of, this includes such rarities as Naultinus and Boyds Forest Dragons. Ben has a passion for Abronia and unusual skinks for which he has had great success breeding outside of work including multiple species of Australian Ergernia skinks. This is the quieter of the two Ben's who spends most of his time behind the scenes performing animal maintenance tasks and takes the lead in several key projects including our largest singular breeding project in the panther chameleon room. His diligence to animal care and wealth of practical experience makes him yet another invaluable team member.

Name: Jake

Position: Livestock Technician

Qualifications: National Diploma in Animal Care

Bio:

Jake joined us in 2022, initially part time but quickly went full time given his enthusiasm for the role. Jake is another former student from BCA where he received much of the same training and experience as Ben. Jake has kept reptiles and invertebrates for several years and has an ever growing collection at home. He keeps everything from frilled dragons and dwarf monitors, through to Uromastyx, horned lizards and Shield tailed Agama's which he has also successfully bred. He is particularly fond of unusual Asian Agamids and has been breeding Acanthosaura species in his spare time. He has kept a wide variety of invertebrates and takes charge of maintaining all the inverts in store alongside the reptiles. He is keen to learn and absorbs information like a sponge meaning he is making rapid progress with his all-round reptile knowledge. As well as his passion for animals, his natural desire to help and share this passion means he is progressively taking on more of a customer service role too.