AUSTIN, Texas – Whether you’re looking for reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, birds, or some other unconventional animal, Zookeeper's Exotic Pets is likely to have what you're looking for.
But there’s one special mammal that’s not for sale, and her name is Sophia.
- Sloth lives at Exotic Pet Store
- People travel to see it in person
“I think it was, golly, between 15 and 20 years ago. This girl called us and said she had received a sloth from her father as a gift, and she was no longer interested in it. And so I went to her place to look at it and it was in a very small cage," said Daniel Keeper, owner of Zookeeper's Exotic Pets, which has been in Austin since 1988.
Keeper rescued Sophia, and ever since, she’s been the star of his store.
“We have a lot of people that come to see her," said Keeper. "The people who are enamored with sloths just love them, and we even had a marriage proposal in the sloth environment.”
The attention seems to have gotten to her head— Keeper likes to describe Sophia as a diva.
“When she’s hungry she’ll pick up her food bowl and carry it around to let us know that she, she wants some more grapes or whatever it is that she’s looking for. And sometimes she’ll throw her food bowl into the pond. And so that forces us to go in there and get it out and load it up with food for her," said Keeper, laughing.
Sophia draws onlookers from far and wide.
“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this would be a wonderful opportunity to see a real sloth up close,’" said Houstonite Tracy Bayarena. "She wasn’t moving a lot when we got there, but she saw us, and she came right out. I thought that was really neat.”
“She doesn’t enjoy being petted or to be picked up or to be messed with in any way. She likes to be fed and left alone. It looks like something you’d want to give a big hug to, but she’s not into that so we respect her wishes," said Keeper.
Sophia likes her space, but she makes an exception for one special friend.
“She has an iguana in there that she is best friends with," said Keeper.
Iguanas exude salt from their nostrils where it forms crystals and Sophia can often be seen almost cuddling with her friend, licking the salt off its face.
“The iguana seems to enjoy being licked on the face, and the sloth enjoys the salty treat," said Keeper.
“Oh I was so excited to see her, and she made eye contact and everything. I thought it was very exciting," said Bayarena.