NY Area Fall Reptile Expos

[Homebody]

[mistergreen]

I'll be at the one on October 1st. Just to look. (Hopefully just to look)

[Bogertophis]

I'll be at the one on October 1st. Just to look. (Hopefully just to look)

You're already caving!

[Homebody]

I'll be at the one on October 1st. Just to look. (Hopefully just to look)

I'm thinking about going to the one in White Plains next week.

[Homebody]

The vendor list for tomorrow's White Plains expo: https://www.reptileexpo.com/white-pl...r-list-sept10/.

[mistergreen]

Too far for me. And across the bridges of chaos.

[Homebody]

Too far for me. And across the bridges of chaos.

I understand. I considered going to Long Island, but then I asked Google. Google said:

[Homebody]

It's so easy when you go to these things to just focus on the animals. There are so many unusual and amazing ones. This time I made an effort to focus on the people. So, who should I see strolling around? No other than Emily and Ed from Snake Discovery. I found their Youtube channel when I was researching my first snake and I've followed them ever since. I can't imagine what they were doing there. This expo is not one of the bigger ones. No panel discussions or fundraising auctions. It's just a flea market. They weren't vending or filming that I could see. They're not even local. I decided not to approach them. All I could think to say was, "Big fan of the channel." and that didn't seem worth the risk of drawing attention to them. No one else seemed to notice them.

I'm not the most outgoing person, but it's pretty easy to start a conversation at an expo. Just look for someone carrying a deli cup and ask them what they got. The first such guy I spoke to was a guy with a pair of king snakes. He's a former boa breeder who got tired of dealing with those big boys and now breeds the smaller kings. He told me all about his breeding plans for his new pair. Can't say I'm terribly interested in king snake genetics, but his excitement was infectious, nevertheless.

I didn't see too many deli cups, so I decided to go look at the decor. I spoke with owner of Reptile Basics, Rich, for a while about thermostats and UVB lights. I got my RHP, heat tape and a snake hook from them and I've always been satisfied with the quality, so it was nice to meet the owner. I spoke to the ZooMed rep and another decor seller both of whom impressed me their honesty by telling me the items that I was looking at wouldn't be right for me. Unfortunately, I noticed that there was no one selling pvc enclosures. All the enclosures for sale were glass, either Exoterras or tanks. Seems a shame since those enclosures aren't great for many of the most popular species.

I'm always hesitant to speak with the breeders about their animals because, while I'm curious, I'm not going to buy, and I don't want to waste their time. Later, I convinced myself that it's o.k. to ask about animals that are high on my list of animals I'd get if just had the space. So, I spent a little while speaking with a couple chameleon breeders. I also don't hold many of the animals because I'm concerned about spreading something contagious and because, as I said, I don't want to waste the breeder's time. I did hold a viper boa for the first time and those keeled scales feel really neat. Mostly, though, I just get a kick out of watching other people hold the animals. The kids are cute, of course, but what's really special is seeing childlike joy in an adult.

Anyway, I had a great time. It was well worth the time and money. Sorry. No pictures this time. None of my photographers were available and I forgot my camera.

[Homebody]

Look! My little old local reptile expo got featured on Snake Discovery's YouTube channel. Not much about the show. Mostly just Emily and Ed doing touristy stuff, but it's still pretty cool.

[Bogertophis]

Hey that was a cool video, thanks! I've never been to N.Y. (nor really wanted to go- I'm just not into large crowds & traffic) & if I did go, all those good restaurants would probably do me in! I would love to go up in the "Freedom Tower"- World Trade Center- what an incredible VIEW! But I can totally do without the subways...& the smell. It's weird seeing rats running around, even by day, & going into an eatery where the door was open. Looks like the reptile show had plenty of great stuff, & Emily & Ed are so personable, they made good "tour guides".