Gary Bagnall

​Gary has spent a lifetime in the pet industry, beginning at just 11 years old working in a local pet shop and co-founding what would become the Orange County Aquarium Society as a teenager. By 18, he was working in the tropical fish wholesale trade before launching his own reptile import/export business, California Zoological Supply.

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That venture ultimately led to the creation of Zoo Med Laboratories (A GOLD SPONSOR!), now a global leader with over 1,500 products across reptiles, fish, birds, and more. Among his many accomplishments, Gary pioneered the first UVB lighting solution to combat metabolic bone disease in reptiles—now standard in zoos and aquariums worldwide. In 2021, he received the World Pet Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Despite his success in reptiles, Gary remains a fish hobbyist at heart, even recently achieving the difficult breeding of Panda Uarus. Today, he is focused on his latest passion project: the Museum of Aquarium & Pet History, with plans for a physical location by 2027.