{"id":223920,"date":"2026-05-07T22:19:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T22:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/223920\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T22:19:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T22:19:35","slug":"manhattans-wildest-secret-kansas-state-collegian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/223920\/","title":{"rendered":"Manhattan\u2019s wildest secret – Kansas State Collegian"},"content":{"rendered":"

A small local business opened its doors on Edgewood Drive on Feb. 1, 2025, and it all started with a single Christmas gift. After receiving a tarantula in 2017 from her daughter, owner Amanda Vandruff and her husband began breeding the arachnids in late 2019. They secured a business license and began going to exhibitions just before the pandemic, eventually launching a website to ship their exotic inventory nationwide.<\/p>\n

After one year in business, Quality Business Awards recognized Eighth Element Exotics as the \u201cBest Pet Store in Manhattan, Kansas\u201d in 2026. Despite the success, many long-time reptile owners in the area still do not know about the store\u2019s presence in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still people that went to Reptile World for feeders that still don\u2019t know we\u2019re here,\u201d Vandruff said. \u201cSo we\u2019re still getting the word out that we\u2019re here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

On top of the struggle to get their name out, Eighth Element must compete with larger corporations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is hard to compete with Petco,\u201d Vandruff said. \u201cI\u2019ve had customers buy an animal from me, and they\u2019ll be like, \u2018Well, let\u2019s go get the supplies for it.\u2019 I tell my customers if I don\u2019t have it, I can probably get it, and I\u2019m willing to try to get it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Vandal, a boa constrictor, is shown at Eighth Element Exotics. (Erica Merz<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Corporations such as Petco and PetSmart have massive supply chains to keep pricing low, creating a hurdle for independent shops like Eighth Element.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPetco pricing, because it is corporate, and there\u2019s a lot of Petcos across the United States, they can buy in bulk, and have the pricing down cheaper,\u201d Vandruff said. \u201cSo that\u2019s the hardest part for a mom and pop shop.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While it is difficult to match corporate prices, Eighth Element Exotics offers a familial atmosphere, as Vandruff\u2019s family has been part of the business since the beginning. Outside, the storefront features custom illustrations painted by Vandruff\u2019s daughter, and when customers walk into the store, they will usually see her grandchildren running around as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the soft fur of a chinchilla or bunny to the striking appearance of Cassie the Macaw and Vandal the Boa Constrictor, even the animals at Eighth Element Exotics bring a familial energy to the store.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Vandruff, the shop is more than a retail space. It is a platform for community education.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we can do our community good,\u201d Vandruff said. \u201cWe were at the library for the Kansas Science Festival last weekend, and we did that last year also. And then last year we were also out at the lake for OK [Outdoor Kansas] Kids Day with a couple of animals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eighth Element Exotics may be small, but its footprint is growing. Through community outreach and educational classes, Vandruff is doing more than just selling exotics \u2014 she\u2019s building a new generation of animal lovers in Manhattan.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A small local business opened its doors on Edgewood Drive on Feb. 1, 2025, and it all started…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[18907,75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-223920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-businesses","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}