The reptile expo, today up in White Plains, was pretty much par for the course or in other words was a good one. I only got there at about 1:15PM, instead of the more usual 0830, but that was fine by me. Late starts can be a good thing on some days. Once inside, I bypassed saying hello to some friends and went straight to the Slither & Swim tables where I said hi to Paul (the owner as far as I am aware) and I grabbed two 40 quart bags of cypress bedding before it sold out as it often does. Paid for that and promised him I would be back for something else later.
After getting the substrate, I headed over to the table of John H & Rich H who both had herps for sale. John was offering some really exceptional crested geckos and Rich was selling corn snakes and hognose (I think) but at that moment only Tim was there watching the table while they were at lunch. Tim had a nice selection of leopard geckos for sale. Vin R was set-up next to them and as usual he had his ball pythons, boas and I think some hognose snakes for sale. Being in the market for a female crested gecko, I looked over what John was offering. He was out to get some lunch when I got there but Tim pointed out that he mostly had males for sale but also had two females. Somehow I had missed the females when I had just looked - I must be getting old. I looked again, this time at both females and grabbed the larger one of them and put it under the table as sold to me. I'd pay John later.
I helped out at the table a bit until John and Rich got back from lunch, then I took a walk around the expo center to see what was there. Mostly the same old stuff from what I could see, nothing new or unusual enough to make it very exciting but it was still all good. I took several walks around the center today, trying to make sure not to miss anything as happens all to often when I am stuck helping out at the table more. I had nothing to sell today and no obligations to help out (although I did help out when needed) so I had more time than usual at the show.
I wound up getting just about everything I needed but not quite all of it. The two bags of substrate, a thousand 1/4" crickets (but forgot to get super-worms), a jar of tortoise pellets (the pellets are what I bought later on at Paul's table) and a nice piece of hollow cork bark for one of my gecko tanks. I got a really good deal on the gecko from John, quite a bit less than the asking price, but I still wound up spending more than I had planned on spending and that was because I bought the gecko. I am not complaining. Sooner or later she will breed with my male and start producing eggs. If I am lucky, selling some of the babies may help defray the costs of my reptile hobby/addiction.
I have to say that the place was pretty much packed when I got there and remained that way up until at least about 3:30, then it started to thin out markedly. Lots of folks were buying and that was a good thing. John said he sold a decent number of crested geckos, Rich a couple to a few snakes, Tim a few leopard geckos. It looked as if Vin R was doing okay, which he confirmed later, and most of the dealers around us also seemed to be doing well. One of the busiest vendors at these expos winds up being Slither & Swim, whose table was right across from us, they had a steady flow of customers during most of the time I was there. They don't sell any animals at the expo, only herp food, accessories, tanks and other herp equipment.
I don't think all of the crowd was there to buy. I am pretty sure that many folks attend just to see the reptiles and amphibians. There is a pretty decent variety of what is available in the herp trade there each time they hold the expo and that brings in those who just want to gawk. Mostly though, the attendees are indeed buyers or at least are shoppers. Whether they buy or not depends on what they are looking for, what is offered for sale, the prices and so on. As I said though, the dealers seemed to be doing well and a lot of folks were carrying purchases.
I did come across something else that interested me there but did not purchase any. The dealers right behind John's table had ribbed newts. Sub-adult, but sexable, pairs were going for $50.00. Not a bad price and they would have given me a discount making it $40 for a pair. I had to hold off but am pretty certain I will get a pair or maybe even four of five of them from those guys at the next expo. I want to have a tank already set up and seasoned before acquiring any of them.
I must say I had a good time there, I stayed until closing. Traffic was fair going there and pretty light going home, so that with a good show made for a good day all in all. Hope to see you at the next one. Speaking of the next one, there will be a Long Island Reptile Expo on Sunday October 19th at Huntington Hilton Hotel located at 598 Broad Hollow Rd. (Rt. 110) in Melville, NY 11747. It runs from 9AM until 3PM. You can find more info at this address: http://www.reptileexpo.com/lifirst.htm
All the best,
Glenn B
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