How 'Lizard King' Built Reptile Empire Selling Geckos

Shortly after graduating from high school, Mr Brian Butler started loading trucks at a UPS freight facility in Denver. Working nights for the next 16 years, he sometimes found himself so strapped for cash that he had to choose between buying groceries and paying his mortgage.

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NEW YORK - Shortly after graduating from high school, Mr Brian Butler started loading trucks at a UPS freight facility in Denver. Working nights for the next 16 years, he sometimes found himself so strapped for cash that he had to choose between buying groceries and paying his mortgage.

Today, he has a US$350,000 (S$450,000) pad overlooking the Caribbean, two homes in Denver and a six-figure stock portfolio.

The source of his wealth? Crested geckos, docile creatures that resemble diminutive cartoon dragons.

"I bought a condo in Belize," the 37-year-old says. "Every time I visit, I think to myself, 'I sell lizards on the internet. How the hell did I end up here?'"

He ended up there by selling a lot of lizards, for a lot of money. Five of his "designer" geckos, with unusual black-and-white markings, have sold for more than US$50,000 apiece, and even those with less striking patterns typically fetch US$300.

Mr Butler, who left his job at the American multinational shipping and logistics company in 2022 to focus full time on geckos, says his business pulls in US$600,000 a year with just three part-time workers.

His prosperity has been helped by soaring interest in cold-blooded pets. Some four million US households own reptiles and amphibians, and the market for the pets' food and supplies hit about US$800 million in 2024, up 60 per cent from 2019, American researcher Freedonia Group says.