The First Keepers of Crittara
Every Keeper has a story.
Some have spent decades breeding reptiles. Some dedicate their lives to conservation. Some own local exotic pet stores, while others spend their free time searching the wilds of Florida for the animals that call it home.
And one isn't even human.
As Crittara TCG gets closer to becoming a reality, we wanted to introduce the first group of Keepers to become part of the game.
One of the things that makes Crittara different is the connection between its fictional universe and the real exotic animal community. Many Keeper Cards are based on real people working with animals today, while the Knowledge Cards throughout the game contain real-world care and educational information about actual species.
These six Keepers represent the beginning.
Joe Canegallo - The First Keeper
Every collection has a first card, and every idea needs someone willing to believe in it before everyone else does.
For Crittara, that person was Joe Canegallo.
Joe was the very first person to agree to become one of the Keeper Cards in Crittara.
He is the owner of Treasure Coast Exotics and has spent more than 30 years as a reptile breeder and keeper in St. Lucie County, Florida.
Thirty years in the reptile world brings an incredible amount of hands on experience. It's knowledge built through years of keeping, breeding, observing, learning, and adapting alongside the animals themselves.
When Crittara was still just beginning to take shape, Joe was willing to become part of it.
No matter how many Keeper Cards eventually join the game, that makes Joe permanently part of Crittara's history.
The first Keeper.
Brian - Discount Pets & Supplies
Our next Keeper is Brian, owner of Discount Pets & Supplies.
Brian's mission is to provide pet owners with the products, services, and information they need to give their animals the best care possible. He believes that every pet deserves to be happy and healthy and has built his store around helping his customers make that happen.
But that description leaves out a pretty important detail about Brian.
He's one of the funniest dudes I've ever met.
Brian runs a clean, welcoming, and friendly pet store where people can come in, talk animals, learn something, and actually enjoy being there.
Local pet stores like his play an important role in the animal community. They're often where new keepers discover their first unusual animal, meet other enthusiasts, find the supplies they need, and start learning about species they may never have encountered before.
Brian represents that part of the exotic animal world, and we're glad to have him among the first Keepers of Crittara.
Joseph Sequoyeh Pace - Conservation in Action
Joseph Sequoyeh Pace is the lead Keeper at Iguanaland, the massive reptile zoo owned by Ty Parks.
Joseph represents another incredibly important part of the reptile world: conservation.
He's a leader with a genuine passion for reptiles and works closely with numerous endangered species. It's work he takes tremendous pride in, and for good reason.
One example is his work involving Cyclura pinguis, the critically endangered Anegada rock iguana native to the British Virgin Islands.
Animals like these are reminders that keeping reptiles can extend far beyond simply having an animal in an enclosure. Captive management, breeding, research, education, and conservation can all play roles in protecting species whose future in the wild is uncertain.
Joseph's hands on experience with rare and endangered reptiles makes him a perfect example of what a Keeper can represent both inside and outside the world of Crittara.
Gabriel Maldonado - Maldonado's Exotic Animals
Next is Gabriel Maldonado, owner of Maldonado's Exotic Animals.
Specializing in high-end sand boas and other small reptiles, Gabriel represents a younger generation of exotic animal keepers bringing their own knowledge and passion into the industry.
He's young, knowledgeable, and constantly interested in learning more about reptiles and other exotic animals.
But his interest in animals doesn't stop with those kept in captivity.
Gabriel is a Florida local and an avid adventure seeker who loves getting outside and searching for the wild critters hiding throughout the state.
Florida is an incredible place for someone obsessed with wildlife. From reptiles and amphibians to spiders, insects, fish, and countless other animals, you never really know what you're going to find.
For Gabriel, that's part of the fun.
He's a Keeper in captivity and an explorer in the wild, making him a natural addition to the first generation of Crittara Keepers.
Nick Spiller - Exotics Source & Creator of Crittara
And then there's me.
I'm Nick Spiller, owner of Exotics Source and creator of Crittara.
My involvement in the exotic animal industry really began in 2017, but my interest in reptiles goes back much further.
As a kid, I had an iguana named Pancho.
Years later, in 2017, I began breeding leopard geckos. What started there eventually introduced me to people who opened the door to an entirely different side of the exotic animal world.
I made new friends, built connections, learned from other keepers and breeders, and started working with species I never would have imagined keeping when I first started.
Over the years, that expanded into everything from veiled chameleons to red-eyed crocodile skinks from Papua New Guinea along with spiders, invertebrates, reptiles, and plenty of other strange creatures along the way.
And somehow, that road eventually led here.
Making a trading card game.
Crittara is something I'm incredibly passionate about because I wanted to combine several things I love into one project.
I wanted a game that was actually fun and strategic.
I wanted real animals to be represented.
I wanted players to be able to learn about those animals through Knowledge Cards containing real educational and care information.
And I wanted all of it surrounded by a massive fictional universe with its own history, characters, conflicts, mysteries, and lore.
The exotic animal industry introduced me to an entire world of animals and people I never knew existed.
With Crittara, I'm hoping to create something that gives a little bit of that feeling back.
Luap - The Outsider
And finally, we have Luap.
Read his name backwards.
If you know, you know.
Unlike the other Keepers you've just met, you won't find Luap running a reptile facility or wandering around Florida flipping logs.
Because Luap isn't human.
He is one of the very few remaining members of The Veil still living among humanity following the attack on Earth.
After being exiled by his own race, Luap was abandoned and left behind to suffer alongside the humans.
Understandably, humanity hasn't exactly welcomed him with open arms.
The scars left by The Veil run deep. To many humans, it doesn't matter that Luap was exiled. They see his face and see the species responsible for what happened to their way of life.
So Luap spends much of his existence alone.
And strangely enough, he has found something on Earth that fascinates him.
Tarantulas.
Luap has devoted much of his time to researching them.
To humans, they're ancient inhabitants of Earth.
To Luap, they're alien life.
Eight-legged terrestrial predators covered in sensory hairs, capable of producing silk and venom, growing through molts and surviving in environments across the planet.
Perhaps it's fitting that someone viewed as an alien by humanity became fascinated by creatures that seem so alien themselves.
Luap may not share the history of the other Keepers on this list.
But he is a Keeper nonetheless.
Six Keepers. One Beginning.
Joe Canegallo. Brian. Joseph Sequoyeh Pace. Gabriel Maldonado. Nick Spiller. Luap.
Six very different stories brought together inside one universe.
Joe represents decades of hands on reptile experience.
Brian represents the local pet stores and personalities that keep animal communities connected.
Joseph represents conservation and the people working directly with species whose futures depend on human intervention.
Gabriel represents a new generation of keepers whose fascination with animals extends from their collections into the wild.
I represent the path that eventually turned an obsession with exotic animals into the creation of Crittara itself.
And Luap represents something else entirely, the beginning of the fictional world surrounding all of it.
Together, we are the First Keepers of Crittara.
They won't be the last.
As Crittara grows, new Keepers will emerge. More real people from throughout the exotic animal community will become part of the game, and new fictional characters from the Crittara universe will join them.
Years from now, we hope there will be many.
But there will only ever be one first generation.
Welcome to the Keepers of Crittara.
