Since I have not kept up with the links on this page, many of them are now dead, there is still some information on here as to where we got the collection of plants and animals that we have, however you may need to do a quick search to find the current site for the different organizations. Sorry about this I will try to update everything soon.
Links
Organizations and Societies
Ontario Herpetological Society - The largest society devoted to reptiles and amphibians in Ontario. You can meet many new friends here with similar interests to yours.
Ontario Turtle and Tortoise Society - Although most of the members here are also members of the Ontario Herpetological Society, it is a group of people devoted to Tortoises and their care and their newsletter is also focused on Turtle and Tortoise issues. They also have a connection service where people with single individuals of a species can find other people with the same species so that their turtles or Tortoises can get together.
Southern Ontario Orchid Society - A collection of wonderful and helpful people all with a passion for Orchids. There are monthly meetings and plant sales, which usually involve a guest speaker of some sort. This is a great way to find people to talk to about your plants.
Ontario Daylily Society - Although still a young society, Daylilies are starting to catch on here in Ontario and in Canada, so the society will probably reflect that as momentum grows. There are some wonderful Daylily enthusiasts to meet with here in Ontario.
Canadian Iris Society - The only large Canadian society for Iris that I know of. Iris' have a great following here in Canada, and it is always great to meet local people with the same interests, to talk and swap with.
American Orchid Society - THE Society for Orchids. Membership gives you a subscription to Orchids, the monthly bulletin, this is a wonderful, glossy magazine with lots of photos. Often there are articles on the culture of different Orchid species, although there are fewer of these articles then there was about 5 years ago. It is still a good society and a good web site for Orchid information.
American Hemerocallis Society - This is the largest society for Daylily enthusiasts, it only has a quarterly bulletin and I always wish that there were more pictures, but the information is quite good. You also are divided into sections, and you also receive a bulletin from your region. The regional bulletins are nice because you get info on what grows well in your area and you also find out about current events.
American Iris Society - The American Iris Society covers the genus Iris, so there is information published on species Iris, Beaded Iris (of course), and on the cultivars of the other popular Iris' like the Japanese and Siberians. There is a quarterly bulletin published for your membership which has articles on all different aspects on Iris care and breeding. This is a great way to keep up with the new releases from the Iris breeders of all sorts.
Tortoise Trust - This is an organization of people all passionate about Turtles and Tortoises. The site has information on the care of the more common tortoises, and there is also a Tortoise Trust e-mail discussion group for the exchange of information about their care and breeding. There is a wealth of knowledgeable people in this group which are happy to answer questions and help out in any way.
Veterinarians
Ontario Veterinary College: Wild Bird Clinic - This is probably the best place to take your exotic animals to in Ontario. It is of course a teaching hospital, but you have a collection of some of the most knowledgeable people in veterinary medicine and surgery all in one place. The Wild Bird Clinic is where we take all of our sick animals.
Herp Suppliers
Below is a list of people and places that we have obtained animals from. All of which we have had good experiences with.
Local Suppliers
Menagerie Pet Shop. This is a nice little store in Toronto. They have good animals which they take excellent care of. Phone number - (416) 921-4966
Port Credit Pet Center. Located in Port Credit (Mississauga) this is a great store, owner Grant Crossman brings in all kinds of different herps. If you are looking for something not of the ordinary, Port Credit is the place to go.
Reptilia. They strongly believe in the selling of captive bread animals, therefore most of the animals available here are just that. They have nice clean setups, only they definitely lean toward reptiles (but they often have a few Dendrobates available). They are a group of proactive educators, giving talks about reptiles and amphibians all over Ontario. They will also give educational tours of the store.
Miscellaneous Herp Links
If you are looking for pictures of the colour morphs for D. auratus visit the collection of photos at the D. auratus colour morph guide, there are two pages of pictures so also look at the pictures of D. auratus on page two of the guide. Unfortunately there is no information on the different morphs at all, but if you are looking for a picture to describe what you want, drop by these two pages.
Plant Suppliers
We get our plants from several different places:
Seed Suppliers
Park Seed Co. - This is one of the best suppliers of seeds. They have a great selection, and deliver year-round.
Thompson and Morgan - This is a British company which has a distribution center in the states. This is easily the best place to find seeds for that unusual plant that you have been looking for. It is more expensive than Park Seed Co. but the selection of plants is tremendous.
Thompson & Morgan, P.O. Box 1308, Jackson, NJ, 08527-0308
Iris Suppliers
McMillen's Iris Garden - The largest selection of Iris here in Canada, all are grown by the McMillans in Norwich On. and are great quality. They have both new hybrids and many of the old standards which have proven to perform well. In addition to the full selection of Bearded Iris from Miniature Dwarf Bearded (MDB) to the tallest of the Tall Bearded (TB) they also have a nice collection of Siberian Iris as well as some Daylilies. There is nothing like a visit to McMillan's place in June to see the Rainbow of colours laid out in fields of blooming Iris. Gloria, Jim and Dan are all really friendly and helpful people.
McMillan's Iris Garden, R.R. #1 Norwich, On, N0J 1P0, (519) 468-6508
Questions?
Craig Urekar
