First come questions about the snakes, tarantulas, geckos, animal and human remains,  fossils, bones and insects in the store. Next, visitors ask why he surrounds himself with such things.

"Everyone has their own definition of what's weird. Frankly, mine's pretty broad," said Cauble.  "What makes people odd is [often they] see beauty where others do not."

Cauble has a broad definition of beauty as well. Items for sale or lease are restricted neither by the store's name nor the owner's imagination. From the eerie underbites of a lineup of mounted piranhas ("we mostly sell those to lawyers," said Cauble)to a shrunken human head skin (there is no skull, so it is technically not a "head," he explains), The Bone Room is home to an odd mix of creatures, both living and dead. One of the store's longest residents is a 12-foot, 80-pound albino Burmese Python who gets out frequently for lecture tours, photo shoots, and conjugal visits. The large, white snake with pale yellow and beige markings has sired some four dozen offspring, half of which are also albino.

The main restrictions on merchandise are the law and Cauble's ability to find suppliers. "There are no traditional sources," said Cauble.

"I have objects I want to learn about," and by having them in the store rather than in a book "you learn it on a different level, it stimulates you," he said.

Indeed, the Bone Room stimulates the six senses, the five of physical sensation and the sense of wonder that Cauble thinks most adults have lost. "Many of the men don't want to ask questions, for fear they may be wrong," he said.

Cauble, however, regards the unknown quite differently. "I just like to start businesses so I can learn things. I try to make money too, but it never seems like that's my top criteria." Running a small business, Cauble adds, "becomes a large part of your social life, whether you like it or not" so it should be something the owner cares about, rather than just a means to make money.

Cauble earned a Ph.D in chemistry from the University of Washington at Seattle and spent two years in the army before going to work at Lawrence Radiation Labs in 1970.  While he waited for approval of his security clearance, the company laid off everyone who had worked there one year or less.  "Basically, I worked there two days."

After his first love, rocket science, became a "dead field" Cauble turned to his second love, animals, and opened the East Bay Vivarium in 1970.  "I never met an animal I didn't like."

Although it did not seem like the most practical decision at the time, Cauble thinks it was for the best.  "People live longer...things are changing so fast, it's good to be flexible and able to change careers."

That philosophy led Cauble to switch from snakes to insects, bones and fossils so he could learn about those subjects. The Bone Room began as a room in the vivarium, where he bred and sold snakes. With his focus reversed, Cauble houses the snakes in the back of The Bone Room.

"One of the best things about having a store with live animals is I get to go hunting for myself for [caterpillars] and get to be a kid again," said Cauble.

Cauble's girlfriend, Diana Mansfield, is writing a book about The Bone Room.  "One of the interesting things about the store is that people don't always know what's real or not," she said. "It becomes an interesting philosophical question."

Cauble thinks the interaction with nature, past and present, in his store is particularly important in the digital age. "There is a lot of concern about [people having] a connection to the TV and computers and other non-realities," he said.

As a result, Cauble's customers often express a desire to reestablish connections with nature. "Here you can get the real things, not just pictures."