Bearded Dragon
HappyDragons is a community platform composed of reptile pet owners, breeders, and enthusiasts committed to the betterment of reptile keeping through observational science. Together our staff, breeders, and customers are turning their shared passion into a framework for a better reptile industry. We have brought together some of the top talent from both the tech and reptile industries to create a unique team capable of bringing innovative tech solutions to the reptile hobby.
Based in New York City, New York
Our team members are passionate reptile enthusiasts who are excited to bring modern tech solutions and a greater sense of community to the reptile industry. We believe crowdsourcing technology is the key to unlocking new information and understanding how to better care for reptiles. The best way to promote and sustain learning and growth is by creating a community where reptile pet owners and breeders can come together and share their experiences.
Steve Bogda
CEO & Co-Founder
Ashwin Dayal
Lead Advisor & Co-Founder
Jenna Cunningham
Creative Director & Co-Founder
Katherine Contos
Lead Customer Liaison
Tomás Moreno-Johnson
Customer Liaison
Kevin Conway
Lead Enclosure Designer
HappyDragons has partnered with some of the leading experts in reptile husbandry, breeding and zookeeping. These experts have helped craft HappyDragons ethics and breeder standards to make sure they uphold the highest standard of care while being a fit for the reptile industry.
Mariah Healey
Reptile Care Director
Mariah is a reptile husbandry specialist and consultant with over a decade of experience. She is also the founder of ReptiFiles, an online resource for trustworthy reptile care information. Mariah has devoted herself to researching reptile husbandry and compiling her research into science-based care guides she has made available for free on ReptiFiles and HappyDragons.
Micha Petty
Community Director
Micha Petty is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, Louisiana Master Naturalist, and the founder of nonprofit organization L.E.A.R.N. (Louisiana Exotic Animal Resource Network). With over 25 years of experience in reptile husbandry, Micha is dedicated to Conservation Through Education, serving in key roles with several herpetological and conservation organizations. He received the Laszlo Award in 2018 for his impactful outreach and educational efforts.
Phillip Lietz
Breeding Director and Educator
Phillip is an experienced herpetoculturist who specializes in breeding Uromastyx and other arid species at Arid’s Only. Phillip has become a prominent and respected member of the reptile community, sharing everything he has learned about reptile care on his co-founded podcast, Project Herpetoculture.
Roy Arthur Blodgett
Breeding Director and Educator
Roy is a co-founder of the Project Herpetoculture Podcast and sole proprietor of Wellspring Herpetoculture. He keeps an eclectic array of reptiles with a focus on naturalistic, biotope husbandry. He’s constantly striving to progress his husbandry and encourage a broader range of natural behaviors in his animals.
Our panel of breeder advisors plays an important role in determining how we implement changes to evolve our standards as we discover new insights. HappyDragons is committed to listening and learning from breeders to find the best way we can serve reptiles and the community.
Arids Only
Learn More about Arids OnlyPhillip Lietz of Arids Only specializes in producing amazing, healthy, and vivacious Uromastyx. He takes the utmost care in producing animals with sound genetic, physical, and mental health.
Living Art by Frank Payne
Learn More about Living Art by Frank PayneFrank focuses on breeding several species of beautiful and highly sought after lizards such as electric blue geckos, carpet chameleons, and jeweled lacertas. Frank is also committed to customer education. When you purchase an animal from Living Art, you are also purchasing his experience, advice, and support throughout the life of the animal.
Ramsey's Reptiles
Learn More about Ramsey's ReptilesChad Ramsey of Ramsey's Reptiles focuses on providing the healthiest, hardiest and most genetically sound reptile breeders and pets available. Chad places the health and safety of his animals above all else and produces an astonishing array of beautifully colored lizards.
Sacred Geckos & Exotics
Learn More about Sacred Geckos & ExoticsSacred Geckos & Exotics is a two-person team of lifetime reptile owners with over 15 years of experience. Zachary and Joe Bill take care to breed animals with diverse genetics including high end tegus, leachianus geckos, gargoyle geckos & crested geckos.
Laura Roberts
Learn More about Laura RobertsLaura Roberts has over 35 years of animal handling experience, and more than a dozen years working with tegus. Laura has pioneered positive reinforcement training techniques and has been the progenitor of new morphs such as the anerytheristic red tegu.
Moonbeam Geckos
Learn More about Moonbeam GeckosMoonbeam Geckos is a family company run by Jungle John, a former zookeeper and zoo supervisor, his wife Susan, and their son Nick. Moonbeam Geckos raises captive-bred, organically-fed leopard geckos of many beautifully colored morphs. They have decades of expert experience bringing customers healthy, happy geckos.
Reptile Mountain
Learn More about Reptile MountainReptile Mountain is a small-batch captive reptile breeding program run by TC Houston, focused on the production of limited volume, high quality Australian Blue Tongue Skinks (Tiliqua ssp.) and other select uncommon species. TC’s commitment to perpetual welfare advancement and providing the best evidence-based care possible is at the center of his breeding program ethos.
Sunfish Exotics
Learn More about Sunfish ExoticsSunfish Exotics is a passion project owned and operated by Morgan Carpenter. They focus on raising leopard geckos, western hognoses, Leonis (variable) kingsnakes, and corn snakes. They keep each batch of hatchlings small so they can focus on providing every animal with the very best in care and husbandry.