ABOUT
My name is Jeremy Turgeon, and I've been an avid reptile keeper since the age of 5! Starting out with a Fire Bellied Toad, the reptile "bug" got me for life! Over the years I have kept nearly 100 species of reptiles/amphibians - and bred about 70% of those species along the way.
I was lucky enough to meet some great folks while I was getting started keeping reptiles, who really helped to keep me motivated be seeing just what was possible. Adam Harris (Harris In Wonderland Pets - Connecticut) was the first person who ever took me seriously when I said I wanted to work with reptiles, and invited me to his shop. Upon walking through those doors, my eyes immediate lit up, and I felt like a proverbial kid in a candy shop! The things I had only seen in books, or magazines were suddenly right in front of my face! Fast forward a few years, and I was lucky enough to meet Kevin McCurley (NERD) and not long after that, Brian Barczyk (BHB Reptiles & The Reptarium). These three guys became my mentors, and life long friends and really helped provide me with the information, and support I needed to be successful both as a keeper, and a breeder.
I started my original business, J and D Reptiles, when I was a freshman in high school. Unfortunately, J and D Reptiles closed its doors when I went away to college and it became incredibly obvious running a business remotely and trying to go to college was going to be impossible. After some downsizing, and refocusing moving back home after college, I started to rebuild my collection again. Thanks to Phil Goss (USARK) closing on an auction item I was bidding on with "SOLD, Thank you Brass Man!", the new name stuck! As a professional trumpet player - it just made sense!
In 2019 I took the role of Facility Manager at New England Reptile Distributors (NERD), and for the next 2 years I would work there, and expand upon the knowledge I had learned over the years, with daily interaction with more animals than I could imagine, and species not often seen in many private collections. During this time I was already gaining a decent sized collection, and being at one of the largest reptile breeding facilities in the country certainly didn't help me keep numbers low! I am eternally grateful for Kevin's continued mentorship and guidance throughout the years, and am grateful I can call him a friend. I left NERD in late 2021 to pursue my music career in North Carolina. While working as a professional musician, I am lucky enough to create my own schedule, and am still able to run Brass Man Reptiles with no limits!
Currently, my collection consists of multiple species - Amazon Tree Boas, Ball Pythons, Jungle Carpets, Bredl's Pythons, Borneo Short Tail Pythons, Various Colubrid species, and more. My main focus has always been producing quality captive bred animals for the pet trade, as well as other breeders, collectors, etc. My main focal point species has become Corallus - specifically C. hortulanus, or the Amazon Tree Boa. A stunningly beautiful species - they are often over looked because of their attitude, and their high import numbers which cause them to often fail in captivity. I have been working with a great group of animals to provide quality captive bred ATBs. Myself, along with a small, but mighty group of ATB lovers are very dedicated to bringing great captive bred animals to the pet trade.
Thanks so much for checking out my website, and reading a bit about me! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out! I'm always happy to talk animals whether you're a new keeper, or a life long reptile nerd like myself!