Inside the Critter Room: Ridgefield’s Own Reptile Rescue Side-Hustle

Meet Courtney Griffith, the local Starbucks manager dedicating her extra bedroom to over forty rescued lizards, spiders, and snakes—including an internet-famous legless lizard named Craig.

Let me make something entirely transparent right off the bat: I am terrified of snakes. My phobia dates straight back to my childhood, cemented forever by a hiking encounter with a massive rattlesnake that lunged up, ready to strike, shaking a tail with at least eleven buttons on it. So when the manager at the downtown Ridgefield Starbucks told me I absolutely had to meet a fellow manager named Courtney Griffith because she keeps more than forty reptiles and tarantulas in her house, my survival instincts said absolutely not. But my local curiosity won out.

I met up with Courtney this past Wednesday. She didn't just bring stories; she rolled right up to the Starbucks outdoor seating area with a wagon completely full of critters. And watching her work completely transformed my perspective. Courtney handles these snakes, geckos, and tarantulas with the fierce, protective love of a mother, and her natural gift for education is spectacular. She let curious kids hold her creatures, took photos with passersby, and managed the whole thing with zero pressure for those who were shaking in their boots. She even convinced me to pet Lilly, a leachianus gecko who was shockingly sweet and incredibly soft. Who knew?

From a Texas RV to a Ridgefield Critter Room

Courtney is a Texas native who rolled into Ridgefield about three years ago with her boyfriend in an RV. Her journey into the world of scale and silk started completely by accident on that cross-country road trip. Somewhere along the highway, she managed to spot a single jumping spider. How exactly one just stumbles across a jumping spider in the wild is beyond me, but she did. Then she found another.

By the time they officially unpacked their bags in southwest Washington, that curiosity blossomed into a rescue mission. Courtney started noticing a pattern of abandoned, neglected, or surrendered reptiles on Facebook Marketplace—pets people bought on a whim and no longer wanted. Driven by a deep compulsion to save them, she opened up her home. Today, her spare bedroom has been completely transformed into a full-scale "critter room," where she feeds, houses, and loves dozens of animals that otherwise had nowhere else to turn. While her boyfriend wasn't entirely sold on sharing a house with a small zoo initially, he has completely come around and is now fully supportive of Courtney and her fiercely loved brood.

Meet Craig: The Viral Menace

You cannot talk about Courtney’s critter room without talking about its undisputed, self-appointed sovereign: Craig. Craig is a legless lizard. Now, to the untrained, terrified eye, a legless lizard looks exactly like a snake, but Courtney will patiently explain the anatomical differences while Craig does what Craig does best: being an absolute problem child.

Craig has become a verified internet sensation, racking up well over a million views on Instagram because he is incredibly mouthy, sassy, and a total menace. See him in action below to understand exactly what we are dealing with:

To keep this entire squad happy and healthy, Courtney has leaned entirely into the lifestyle. She actually raises her own bugs—roaches and beetles—to supply their daily food, though she sheepishly admits she relies on an outside "rat guy" to handle the rest of the menu requirements.

Coming Soon: The Side Hustle Explodes

Courtney was clearly born for this, and her ultimate goal is to share that specialized passion directly with the Pacific Northwest. While she’s already tapped by local photographers for specialized shoots and has conducted fascinating nature talks in the past, she is currently in the process of building out an official business and website launch.

Think custom birthday parties, private education sessions, local events, or professional film appearances. She is already booking gigs informally for those looking to add some incredible educational flair (or some striking scales) to their next gathering.