Why Does ReptiFiles Use Affiliate Links?

I have a dream.

My dream is to one day be able to run ReptiFiles as my full-time job. To be able to devote 40+ hours/week to researching reptile husbandry. To be able to travel to reptile expos around the country to hand out care sheets and educate people on how to care for their new pets. To be able to actually travel to these animals’ natural habitats and make observations that will enable more accurate husbandry.

Contrary to what you may think, ReptiFiles is a one-woman show. And it takes a lot of work and resources to maintain ReptiFiles. Here’s a short list to give you an idea of just how much:

  • Caring for the research animals in my collection
  • Maintaining the website’s basic infrastructure
  • Writing articles
  • Testing new products
  • Researching, writing, and formatting care guides
  • Keeping existing care guides up to date
  • Updating old blog posts
  • Participating in forums
  • Networking with other reptile experts and prominent industry people
  • Answering emails and social media messages
  • Marketing — so. much. marketing.

Sponsors and Affiliates

In order for my dream to become reality, I need $. Enough to replace my current income, cover ReptiFiles’ current overhead, and cover larger goals such as travel. So, ReptiFiles has sponsors and affiliate relationships.

What this means:

ReptiFiles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, which is an affiliate advertising program designed to enable websites to earn advertising fees by linking to products listed on Amazon.com. Amazon offers us a small commission on products that we sell via affiliate links, this commission comes at no additional cost to you. Isn’t that awesome? 

If ReptiFiles links to an Amazon product (with a special code for affiliates embedded in that link), and you place that item in your shopping cart through the same link within 24 hours of clicking, we get a small percentage of the sale. Affiliate links are not “pay per click.” But if you buy other products on Amazon during the same shopping session, we get a little commission on that sale, too. 

Legally I’m unable to say anything more about ReptiFiles’ affiliate relationship with Amazon — just trust me on this one: This is a good thing and I’m not trying to scam you.

Aside from being an Amazon affiliate, ReptiFiles also participates in affiliate programs for the following:

  • Zen Habitats
  • Custom Reptile Habitats
  • Reptilinks
  • Ovipost
  • Chewy
  • Toad Ranch Cages
  • Kages

The terms and conditions for clicking these links or participating in these services are similar, but frankly speaking, ReptiFiles gets a much better commission when you purchase from these sites than when you purchase from Amazon. In some cases the associated cookie placed on your browser may last up to 30 days.

Finally, ReptiFiles also offers paid links for Dubia.com and ReptileSupply.com. These are two well-established reptile product and feeder insect distributors that I trust.

What it doesn’t mean:

ReptiFiles will never recommend a product that I would not use personally. The products ReptiFiles links to are products that I know, trust, and would recommend even if I wouldn’t make any money on the sale. In fact, there are many products recommended on ReptiFiles that are not paid or affiliate links, but I recommend them anyway because they’re superior products that I trust. Your trust is very important to me!

ReptiFiles will never waste your money. Some of the products recommended on ReptiFiles are expensive. And the sum total of the supplies listed in the Shopping Lists can also get expensive. This is not because I want to sap you dry and make you spend money unnecessarily. This is because it’s not cheap to practice optimal husbandry, and when it comes to reptile supplies, you get what you pay for. Less expensive shopping lists and reptile “kits” cut corners on welfare and end up costing you more in the long run, whether on vet bills or replacement supplies.

So what does ReptiFiles do with these earnings?

At the moment, ReptiFiles is my part-time job (yay, milestone!), which means that a portion of its earnings go into my pocket as a salary. My finances and ReptiFiles’ finances are kept in separate bank accounts, so I never use ReptiFiles funds for personal expenses.

What do I do with the rest? ReptiFiles funds are used 100% for furthering my research, maintaining the site, and helping ReptiFiles advocate for a higher standard of reptile care.

How can YOU support ReptiFiles?

If I was able to make ReptiFiles my full-time gig, imagine what I could do with all that time! Instead of 2-3 new care manuals per year, I could produce a new one every month. I could expand into producing videos for YouTube and even start publishing print versions of ReptiFiles care guides. Imagine the people we could reach and the reptiles we could help!

Here’s how YOU can help make this happen:

  • Purchase your reptile supplies through the links in ReptiFiles’ shopping lists and under our Helpful Links tab.
  • If you have a reptile-related website, link to ReptiFiles.com somewhere on your site (but only where relevant, please!).
  • Share ReptiFiles articles and care guides with your friends and family.
  • Become a ReptiFiles patron.
  • If you’re a reptile business owner, consider becoming one of my sponsors!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!