Reptile show let down.

[Andrew21]

I went to a couple shows in tulsa and okc last saturday. I didn't expect them to be very big, but was hoping they had what I needed. It turns out that they didn't have what I wanted, but that's not why it was a let down. (didn't really think they'd have them anyways) I was wanting a male blizzard corn snake and a female charcoal corn snake. I found one vendor that looked promising, I asked about a few of the snakes and she said they were granite. I didn't know what genes were in a granite, so I asked if she did. She had to call her husband and he told her it was charcoal and dilute. I was very close to buying one but I had to make sure they had those genes. I looked it up and granite was in fact anery and diffused, not charcoal and dilute. My point is, I now have trouble trusting the vendors. I wanted to tell her off a little bit, or at least correct her. Somebody probably bought a few of those "charcoals". Do you guys trust all the vendors at your shows? I guess I expected a lot smarter and trustworthy vendors.

[EverEvolvingExotics]

The more shows you go to, the more people you converse with, the more everything you have with reptiles the more you begin to know who to trust and who to be a bit weary of. It will come with time. Don't let this one incident turn you off from all vendors, many of them spend weeks preparing for these things non-stop and are incredibly knowledgeable about their animals. Some of my favorite times of the year are going to reptile shows and talking with the vendors about their creatures, picking their brains and such. I love me the smell of a reptile show in the mornin'.

[Andrew21]

I mean, all she had were leos and a few corns. It shouldn't be that hard to know the genetics. Next year when I breed and buy a table at a show, I'm gonna know almost everything that someone could ask about my animals. Oklahoma shows are small, and quite frankly none of the tables looked real professional.

[1nstinct]

it happens, i went to the LI show and ended up spending 2 hours talking to one vendor. we talked about projects, and what i was planning on breeding and what i wanted to produce in the future. and he was the one who told me to save up more money and get a killer bee copared to a bumble bee to breed to my pastel lesser for my killer queen bees. he said having a 3 gene(super pastel+ spider) male will also help a lot in the long run. and sure enough i didnt even know he was going to be at the white plains and he picked me out of the crowd and was like "hey tom" and i went over said hi, and he showed me the out come of some of the pairing he was telling me about. Some vendors are in it for the quick sale, other are more about meeting people and talking and if you buy an animal from them thats great.
the vendor who is willing to talk to you and just talk, instead of trying to sell you something is the kind of vendor/breeder i would like to be, and if you buy something hey then were both happy.

[Raptor]

I mean, all she had were leos and a few corns. It shouldn't be that hard to know the genetics. Next year when I breed and buy a table at a show, I'm gonna know almost everything that someone could ask about my animals. Oklahoma shows are small, and quite frankly none of the tables looked real professional.

It's Oklahoma. What do you expect, Daytona? Not going to happen.

http://www.corncalc.com/combos.jsp I would say that it'd be fairly hard to remember all those, admittedly, as breeders they should know what they're selling.

[Mike41793]

it happens, i went to the LI show and ended up spending 2 hours talking to one vendor. we talked about projects, and what i was planning on breeding and what i wanted to produce in the future. and he was the one who told me to save up more money and get a killer bee copared to a bumble bee to breed to my pastel lesser for my killer queen bees. he said having a 3 gene(super pastel+ spider) male will also help a lot in the long run. and sure enough i didnt even know he was going to be at the white plains and he picked me out of the crowd and was like "hey tom" and i went over said hi, and he showed me the out come of some of the pairing he was telling me about. Some vendors are in it for the quick sale, other are more about meeting people and talking and if you buy an animal from them thats great.
the vendor who is willing to talk to you and just talk, instead of trying to sell you something is the kind of vendor/breeder i would like to be, and if you buy something hey then were both happy.

Just curious, which vendor?

I too do the same thing lol. I feel like im hindering their selling sometimes by hogging them but ive helped sell some snakes too probably by convincing people to buy from them bc theyre a good breeder. It probably balances out haha. Half the fun is going and talking to people!

OP i suggest finding a breeder you can trust, not all are of the same quality. Same way not all snakes are the same quality.

[Andrew21]

It's Oklahoma. What do you expect, Daytona? Not going to happen.

http://www.corncalc.com/combos.jsp I would say that it'd be fairly hard to remember all those, admittedly, as breeders they should know what they're selling.

I realize that all those morphs would get confusing, but she only had anerys, granites, amels, and stripes. I don't think that'd be to hard to remember.

[Dracoluna]

Having bred corns for years, even I get confused sometimes but I think it's important to know what your own stock is. I would have had to look up granite but I can tell you what's in every last snake I own, right down to hets. That goes for the babies as well. Like others have said, some vendors are great and others, not so much. Find good breeders to connect with and build your network from there. Also, a rule that I always follow is when I go to a show for something specific, I research it if I don't already know about it. That way, not only can I identify the animal I want but whether or not the vendor is knowledgeable. Granted I know what I like when I see it but when it comes to breeding stock, I need to know if the genetics that animal is carrying are what they are stating. Unfortunately with hets in corns, you're going to have to put a little faith in the breeder.

My first two corns were a normal girl (het for amel and anery) and then a blizzard (charcoal/amel) boy. The breeder of the girl told me exactly what she carried. My boy's breeder said she was amel, anery, and 'patternless'. Thought I'd be getting snows until I talked to some who knew what they were doing and we figured out that Flurry is either a blizzard or a whiteout (charcoal/amel/diffused). Either way, you live and learn. I learned not to go back to that particular breeder and have since met many great breeders who've helped along the way. If you're one of those who can talk knowledgeably about your animals and are willing to take the time with people, you'll have a larger network, better reputation, and more customers. That's what it comes down to and from what you've posted, it looks like you're well on your way to that.

[Andrew21]

I'm realy young to be vending my own table, so I'm just hoping that when people see how knowledgable I am about the animals I sell, they'll see me a little bit more professional. And there were other snakes on my list, and ironically enough, charcoals were they only ones that I didn't know what the hatchling form looked like. The ok shows are so small that there really aren't any big time breeders to get connected with. Which i guess isn't neccesarily bad. It might turn out to be like a little community of small time breeders sharing their knowledge. I can't wait to vend a table next year!

[Tfpets]

A lack of knowledge by a vendor COULD work to your advantage if you know your stuff! They COULD be selling some rare/pricey genetics without knowing it! Not all vendors are the breeder of the animals they are selling. I have seen it happen! My wife got her Tiger Fire something or other beardies (sorry I don't know beardies genetics) from a vendor who was just trying to move them because he got them as part of a trade. My wife got the 2 of them for $30 ($15 each)! Apparently these particular beardies could be worth $150+ each!