Kaysie
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So this weekend was the North American Reptile Breeder Conference and expo in Tinley Park (Chicago), Illinois. I was graciously offered free transportation from Jim Harding (of Michigan Herps fame) and his buddy Pete Wilson, and free tickets from Bob Ashley (the organizer, and owner of Eco Publishing). Since FREE is right in my price range, I thought I'd make the trip down.
As are many expos, NARBC ("narbeck") is dominated by ball pythons, crested geckos, reticulated pythons, and leopard geckos. You can't turn around without running into one (or more!). Comparison of prices was interesting though. Snakes that ran in the $12,000 range last year were down to $7,000 this year. Old-toy, new-toy syndrome, perhaps? The most expensive snake was the $30,000 'titanium' burmese python, bred by NERD, New England Reptile Distributors (I think). There was also a few venomous species on display, including one very pretty cobra.
Dart frogs were fairly prevalent, as were your normal whites frogs, the occasional cane toad, a leucistic snapping turtle, but only 2 species of salamander were found. Two tables carried Tylototriton shanjing. One table was offering w/c adults for $19.99 a pop, while the other was offering w/c adults for $29.99 a pop. I refrained from purchasing them. Although cute, I'd much rather have captive bred, and this is a species that is usually available.
The kicker was the trio of Triturus pygmaeus. A cute little species, with their bright green and pretty belly patterns. I was expecting a price on the trio of maybe $50. I asked the guy what he wanted... He came back with the astronomical sum of $250 for a trio of pygmy newts. I laughed him right out of the building.
I originally intended on only staying for a few hours, and heading home. But I got suckered into working the Michigan Society of Herpetologists booth, running the pond game, and then got suckered into staying until the Auction. Of course, the booth next to us had some REALLY cute snakes. I was looking into picking up a Rosy Boa, but didn't really find one that caught my interest. However, the booth next to us had a gorgeous little Kenyan sand boa. These guys are small, stout bodied, and rough all over. They're usually orangy-pink with black/brown splotches. And very personable. She had me from *tongue-flick*. She's only a year old, so she's about... 8 inches long. Cute little thing. And the price was right. So that's the only thing I brought home from NARBC.
So anyone in the area, it's worth the money to get in! Especially if you're into ball pythons or leopard geckos.
As are many expos, NARBC ("narbeck") is dominated by ball pythons, crested geckos, reticulated pythons, and leopard geckos. You can't turn around without running into one (or more!). Comparison of prices was interesting though. Snakes that ran in the $12,000 range last year were down to $7,000 this year. Old-toy, new-toy syndrome, perhaps? The most expensive snake was the $30,000 'titanium' burmese python, bred by NERD, New England Reptile Distributors (I think). There was also a few venomous species on display, including one very pretty cobra.
Dart frogs were fairly prevalent, as were your normal whites frogs, the occasional cane toad, a leucistic snapping turtle, but only 2 species of salamander were found. Two tables carried Tylototriton shanjing. One table was offering w/c adults for $19.99 a pop, while the other was offering w/c adults for $29.99 a pop. I refrained from purchasing them. Although cute, I'd much rather have captive bred, and this is a species that is usually available.
The kicker was the trio of Triturus pygmaeus. A cute little species, with their bright green and pretty belly patterns. I was expecting a price on the trio of maybe $50. I asked the guy what he wanted... He came back with the astronomical sum of $250 for a trio of pygmy newts. I laughed him right out of the building.
I originally intended on only staying for a few hours, and heading home. But I got suckered into working the Michigan Society of Herpetologists booth, running the pond game, and then got suckered into staying until the Auction. Of course, the booth next to us had some REALLY cute snakes. I was looking into picking up a Rosy Boa, but didn't really find one that caught my interest. However, the booth next to us had a gorgeous little Kenyan sand boa. These guys are small, stout bodied, and rough all over. They're usually orangy-pink with black/brown splotches. And very personable. She had me from *tongue-flick*. She's only a year old, so she's about... 8 inches long. Cute little thing. And the price was right. So that's the only thing I brought home from NARBC.
So anyone in the area, it's worth the money to get in! Especially if you're into ball pythons or leopard geckos.
But I'm afraid I'll have to go to Sweden to get some salamanders.. Do you got any pictures of the snake perhaps? Would love to see it^^