[Watch] Forget Fur, This Café Lets You Hang Out With Scaly, Cold-Blooded, Slithering Creatures Instead
These reptiles are familiar with humans and are very friendly with customers.
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Animal cafés have become a norm in our society, where people are allowed to bring their pets or hang out with the resident creatures.
Yap Ming Yang may only be 21 but he is already “scale-deep” in the business, bringing a concept which to some may make the skin on the back of their necks crawl.
Located in Bandar Sunway, Yap runs an animal café but there are no furry four-legged cuddlies. Instead, it is a reptile café called Fangs by Dekõri which first opened its doors in December 2022.
There are many reptiles in the café, from snakes to lizards and even tarantulas (spiders). The most timid resident reptile that the café has is a turtle.
Fangs by Dekõri
This cafe is a prime example of how a hobby transformed into a career.
According to Yap, he has been interested in these animals from a young age and wanted to bring this idea and fascination to the general public.
….. I realised that it’s actually a very interesting hobby, a lot of like, let’s say relatives or friends, say you’ll be shocked, you’re keeping a snake at home so I wanted to bring this idea out to the general public because I’m very familiar with all these animals, how to keep them.
Yap Ming Yang
Yap started the business with the help of his dad who invested in it.
His vision of the café became a reality after he presented the idea to Malaysian dessert company Dekõri.
Remarkably, Yap was given complete control over Fangs’ interior design and the Dekõri crew was on board.
Reptiles In The Café
Yap said the resident animals are very easy to care for.
“Anyone who does any basic research into reptile care will understand that they are very low maintenance. They do not require so much and I’m keeping them perfectly fine. All of them have been here since I opened and they’ve been growing healthily.”- Yap Ming Yang
The process of taking care of them is even simpler than taking care of a dog or cat.
Anyone who does any basic research into reptile care will understand that they are very low maintenance. They do not require so much and I’m keeping them perfectly fine. All of them have been here since I opened and they’ve been growing healthily.
Yap Ming Yang
The process of taking care of them is even simpler than taking care of a dog or cat.
A snake will eat once every two weeks. And it’s actually better if you don’t control it. You can just leave it in the cage. It will do its own thing. And it will be more than happy living its whole life like that. So they’re actually very, very low-maintenance. The cleaning is also done once a week.
Yap Ming Yang
The reptiles are not poisonous so they appear friendly and do not consider humans as a threat.
Yap said that the reptiles in his café do not require a special licence as they are not poisonous.
Slithery Experience
Customers seem to enjoy being around the animals in the café. As far as we observed, most of the customers that come through the doors go straight to the animals and enjoy looking at them even before ordering their food.
Customers are allowed to hold the animals and spend time with them while having their food.
Yap told TRP that he has yet to receive a bad review since opening.
I have so far only gotten positive feedback from this because again it’s a very unique idea. This is the first time this has been done in Malaysia. There’s something new for everyone to enjoy.
Yap Ming Yang
While some people may have an aversion to scaly, cold-blooded animals, those who voluntarily step in would be people who are open to chilling out with reptiles.
So even some customers come back looking for them like they recognize them already. It’s like their own pet so they come back to check in on them.
Yap Ming Yang
The most famous reptile here is the Mexican Black Snake and Yap said that almost all the customers want to hold it.
Safety First
As for safety precautions, children are allowed to hold the animals under supervision, and customers who come with children are not allowed to bring the animals back to their table.
The customers are also not allowed to mix the animals, for instance, bringing a lizard and a snake to their table.
The workers at the café have been given basic training on how to handle the animals.
This café is more than an attraction as it also allows people to learn about these magnificent reptiles.
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