First Reptile Show

Status
Not open for further replies.

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Tomorrow is the first of 4 reptile shows on our schedule over the next few months.
I've watched all the vids on what to expect, how to prepare, and more vids people shot while attending.

We don't expect to be buying anything--not ready yet, but we'll be meeting/checking out breeders, dealers, and other local herpers, collecting business cards for further research, etc. Already got a checklist of all the vendors (usually available on a show's website). I think we've covered everything, but... :dontknow:
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
fbdde91abe2d23eeae3048b3c0f09a98f6bacf22caad5633400f1e7474adb121.jpg


Google "reptile show memes" I can go on for hours LOL!

-Brandon
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
I have. :lol:

Something supply-wise...maybe, but nothing live; I'm not ready yet.
Although, if I found a good deal on a T5 fixture with a mirrored reflector...

I also have 2-3 more of these coming up by November. Some will have the same vendors; others will have some vendors local to the shows' locales.
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":17tnhnvk said:
Who is on your short list of breeders you're looking into?
Geez dude, we just got back from the first show! :lol:

The show was--I think--better than expected. I checked off every vendor on the list that we saw/met (only 3 or 4 no-shows, but also 3 or 4 who weren't on the "official" list, so that evened out), and got business cards from most. I was surprised at the number of vendors who didn't have business cards! :shock: ...just excuses for why they didn't.

[Mini-Rant]As a previous small business owner myself, not having the most basic form of advertising/marketing/publicity was... mind-boggling--really threw me. I mean... you can get 500 cards for less than $10 or print them on any home printer, but I digress... [/Mini-Rant]

I graded each vendor with a + (impressed by/would do business with), - (not impressed/probably not do business with) or nothing/neutral (undecided). Totals: 3+, 1-, 20 neutrals. A few we didn't bother with, like if they only did snakes (not that there's anything wrong with that--we're just not into snakes, so we just looked quickly, smiled, thanked them, and moved along... ). Everyone was very nice except the one minus. Aside from being excessively rude when I mentioned I couldn't find any contact info for his business, there was this:
full

Yup, that's a live adult beardie crammed into a take-out salad container--ostensibly for 7-8 hrs or more. I get it with smaller stuff like geckos (who can at least move around), but this just didn't seem... appropriate. Every other vendor who had beardies had them in large tanks or tubs.

Anyhoo, I did wind up buying something. Not the aforementioned lighting fixture (nobody matched/beat online prices), but a nice cork round--24" long x 5-7" wide, and big enough for a beardie to hide in, with 3 access points. The fellow was extremely nice, and like a couple of other vendors, was selling cork rounds by the pound. 3.5lbs.--$30. Other vendors were selling the same size rounds for up to $100, so we didn't feel bad about it.

Do I need to bake this thing or something? :study:

Still looking forward to meeting some other vendors at the next shows (like Dachiu and others) before compiling the "Short List" 8)

[EDIT] The cork round is 24" long--not 20" as I originally mistyped.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Who was it that you didn't like? Or were they just a local?

You are a mad man, first reptile show and you didn't buy a lizard! :mrgreen:
There is a reason I don't go to them...

-Brandon
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yup, that's a live adult beardie crammed into a take-out salad container--ostensibly for 7-8 hrs or more.

Pathetic!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Breeder should not be breeding!
Karrie
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
KarrieRee":1orupek0 said:
Yup, that's a live adult beardie crammed into a take-out salad container--ostensibly for 7-8 hrs or more.

Pathetic!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Breeder should not be breeding!
Karrie
Give us the name! :protest: :protest: :protest:
Lol

-Brandon
 

HippieLizards

Gray-bearded Member
Beardie name(s)
Daisy, Loki, Rocket, Phoenix, Mulder & Scully. Non beardie pets: Stan (Leo) Cayde (Hognose) Tillery (cat)
Reptile shows are great! I go to my local ones every time they come, it's a blast! The only problem is that there's always a 50/50 chance I might come home with another animal though. :lol:

But I'm rather curious, but was the name of the vendor who had that poor Beardie in the takeout container CCSB/KickFlip reptiles by any chance? Because I've dealt with a vendor like that before, Had beardies in horrible conditions and they had a big beardie that looked half dead crammed into a 6"x6"x4"T plastic spinach container, and we're talking a 17" dragon stuffed into that. Looked exactly like that one pictured. And Almost every other vendors had their beardies in giant bins or sometimes the really good ones had them in full blown tanks with setups.

Long story short I rescued the dragon and he had a LOT of health issues. And he was a amazing beardie but he had to Be put down no less than 6 months later due to severe kidney failure. But seriously. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM! :x

I hope that poor dragon finds a responsible home. :(

View media item 60816 This was Thor a week after rescuing him, you can see how scarred up and skinny he was. (And I can confirm he was not like that when he was surrendered to the vendors).

(Edit: I wish I could find the photo I had of him from when I first saw Thor in the container. I know I have a picture of It somewhere.)
 

ComicBookMama

Sub-Adult Member
Wow, that's awful about the beardie in the salad container... I'd cry, probably, then blast the *****'s name all over the internet so that nobody does business with them if I can help it.

We've got a Reptile Expo coming to White Plains in two weeks; I'm up in the air about whether to go or not. Now that I've got Figment, there's no need to be looking for a dragon... and I'm calculating out the cost in gas and admission (probably $30-40, if I took my husband and son) and that kind of negates any savings I'd get on feeders or cage decor. But I wannnnt to go! LOL... I love shopping at those things, but it's so hard not to come home with a new friend.

Keep us posted on the other shows you go to!

~Chris
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
ComicBookMama":21ujookt said:
We've got a Reptile Expo coming to White Plains in two weeks; I'm up in the air about whether to go or not.
Oh... Quite a few of the vendors were buzzing about that show, encouraging us to go. It's way too far for us, but if it were closer, we would. We didn't look at going for savings (if we did, you're right--admission wiped much of that out.) We went for the experience--every hobby has it's shows, and we've gone to many over the years. Most are basically focused (flea) markets. Some prices are lower--some higher, depending on the vendor; that's a different subject. (I could digress... :roll: )

That show is (reputed to be) one of the big ones.

You need to go with discipline--and a list of prices, so you know if it's really a deal or not. It was easy for us not to bring back an animal--I just don't have the housing ready yet--but when November rolls around, if I don't, I'll be calling the breeders that make my "short list" the next day. :wink:
 

DorgEndo

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Devlyn
I feel you on not having a business card. That would tick me off hard. It is so easy and cheap to get them. Easy to get a nice design online printing or something like FedEx Office. Easy!

Cork bark, you should be able to bake it. I hear it stinks when baked, smell isn't toxic just unpleasant. I only handwashed a smaller piece cork bark myself.

Poor beardie, that is terrible :(
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
DorgEndo":1529lwob said:
I feel you on not having a business card. That would tick me off hard. It is so easy and cheap to get them. Easy to get a nice design online printing or something like FedEx Office. Easy!
Exactly. I'm not so much ticked off as incredulous. And if/when I ran out, I used to print some off on my printer; laser-perforated business cardstock is available pretty much anywhere/everywhere--even Alphabet-Mart. ANY book on starting a small business will tell you that it's your #1 form of advertising, image, PR, and contact information. I couldn't believe the excuses; these folks were telling me, "Look us up on...", "It's our first show", or writing down a bare phone # (no name or reference) on a (literal) scrap of paper... Cripes, if they were going to do that, they could have done it on any word-processor template, printed them off on paper and cut those up. Oops, there I go ranting again... Sorry. :oops:

How are you supposed to feel about doing business with someone that cavalier/indifferent?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,899
Messages
1,255,687
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom