who's going? what'cha gettin'?

all that jazz...

i'm going for emperor scorpions, a female mexican fireleg, and goliath birdeater spiderlings.

4/5/2006 10:24:34 PM

I'll probably go on the 7th just because i always go, probably won't buy anything though, although i'm supposed to be selling a frog to someone at the show. I'm going to Internation Amphibian Days up in baltimore on the 5th so that'll take all my money.

4/5/2006 10:44:06 PM

dammit, lauren. this is historically my thread.

im planning on actually vending this time, as long as the people planning on vending with me go through with it (knock on wood). ive got 1 person definitely wanting to split the table with me, and 1 more that is likely. looking for 1 more person to sell with us to lower the overall cost for each of us to vend. if we get 4 people, it's gonna be like $40 a piece to sell. but if you've just got some reptiles to sell, and you dont necessarily want to be at the table, let me know and i/we can try to sell your stuff for a fee of like $10 to $15. so of course, this isnt gonna be worth it if you have 1 $5 animal you're wanting to sell.

i need to make some money off this shit, BAD.

4/5/2006 11:14:55 PM

^muahahaha

4/5/2006 11:21:34 PM

^^ if you decide to vend next show lmk, i've got lots of Azureus, Imitator, GL lamasi, and pumilio tadpoles in the water right now. and i'm picking up 3 more pairs soon, as well as my auratus and leucomelas should be reaching sexual maturity soon.

4/6/2006 12:02:03 AM

^as in this show, or the fall show?

and dont talk to me about azureus...i want some of those sooooo fuckin bad, but i have near 0 amphibian keeping experience.

ill be gauging whether or not to vend at the fall show on my experience at this show. since im going to be selling off my most fecund species (the cresteds), i might not have the stock to make it worth getting another table. but that all depends on whether or not the adults are purchased (if im lucky, no one else at the show will be selling as many as i will, and i dont know whether or not they want to pay the price for quality adults...im not gonna get lowballed).

4/6/2006 12:17:06 AM

^ fall show, should have a few froglets for sale by then. If you don't vend the fall show i'll probably ask under the canopy farms if i can share some corner space. Just for you, here are some quick and crappy shots. Azureus are actually an excellent beginner frog, very hardy, excellent appetite, and very affordable now.
Dad (i think its the male, the female was hunkered down for the night)

Clutch laid yesterday

Clutch laid last week

Clutch laid almost 2 weeks ago

4/6/2006 2:20:43 AM

dont even try to get me started on something new when im broke as fuck.

4/6/2006 2:43:35 AM

hey thats the bittorrent froggy!

4/6/2006 7:48:45 AM

i've been counting it down for months!

since i finished building a new iguana cage for my boy Brooks.. i have an extra tank and complete setup waiting to be filled. (i really should just put it in the shed or sell it so i'm not tempted...) (plus a few other smaller setups in storage)

problem is that its huge
4 ft long x 2 ft tall and wide

i realllly want an egyptian uromastyx. i could even get a pair and they'd live comfortably in this setup. (they get freakin huge and generally have awesome temperments)
if i could find a healthy ornate i'd be happy too (but so expensive)
if you dont know what these things are check out http://www.urotopia.com/
i wish they'd be a vendor...

also considering maybe a rainbow boa. i've only kept ball pythons before but also loved how rainbow boas look and the ones i have handled were nice enough. I'm not sure how much more of a challenge one might be. anyone have experience with them?
only thing is my roommate isnt too keen on snakes but she should be ok (if one i tell her first) and keep latches on the tank lid.

i'm looking for a male bearded dragon to house with my 2 females. i have a hypo pastel female who should be about sexually mature. she's gorgeous.


anyone find a list of vendors for this years show?

4/6/2006 11:06:59 AM

http://www.gilaproductions.com/ral/ralmain.html

found the link
changed from previous years

4/6/2006 11:12:52 AM

^thats because the old organizer, tony cueto, practically ran the show into the ground. you've probably noticed the drop in number and quality of vendors in recent years...it's basically because of him and his lax method of organizing. ever notice how the website lists tons of vendors, but it never seems to be that way when you get to the show? that's just the way he does things, likes to list vendors who used to show up but no longer do. he'd also let the VIP's (who pay extra for early admission) in as much as 30 minutes late and still open to the general audience at the normal time. he still runs the rest of the shows here in the southeast, and he's really a dick to everyone.

alex russel is a much better organizer, and judging from the fall show in raleigh, he's already making big improvements. he's turning it into less of a spectacle and trying to turn it back into an actual reptile show. that means he's phasing out the circus/farm animal part, and i think the "get your picture taken with a lion" or whatever it was too. he also has drawings for prizes for VIP's as they wait in line, and actually lets people in on time (i've never once seen tony let VIPs in on time).

oh yea, and on the uromastyx topic...i remember seeing a vendor at the SC show (columbia) that dealt particularly with uromastyx. i dont remember what the vendor's name was though.

4/6/2006 12:01:31 PM

I'm skipping. Tired of reptiles and their fuzzies are always scared shitless.

4/6/2006 12:50:48 PM

^^ thanks for the info
i wasn't aware of all that

i've been to pretty much every NC show (fall and spring) here since 2000. (when i got my 1st iguana)

but i have noticed the changes over the years

I HATE it that they have large felids and primates. your common camel and zebra for a petting zoo is okay (i suppose) but to have a lion or tiger there is ridiculous. they can say its for awareness and education or raising money for such and such. but the fact is all these people are there looking at reptiles and other pocket pets for sale and they see a primate or tiger and think it might be cool to own as pet. (and in NC you can legally own such, as long as you can prove it was born here in the US (obtained legally))
/rant

but i do enjoy the funky chickens haha.


urotopia was supposed to be there in the fall but wasnt so i was very disappointed. grrr

i've seen uros there before but they're usually sickly, cold, and i assume full of parasites. i dont want a wild caught one. I did buy 2 a few yrs ago. but they both died within a week. they were eating like pigs and i had made an appt at the exotic vet but they didnt make it till then.
i paid nothing for them and really hoped i could turn em around. sigh

4/6/2006 5:32:04 PM

^ the uro market has really taken off recently too, 4 years ago you could find them at the show for nothing. people would come with several and wouldn't be able to give them away. Now everyone wants one. its weird how the reptile market works. always the flavor of the month/year.

4/6/2006 5:56:59 PM

hopefully the flavor of the year this year is crested geckos. it's been leos and ball pythons for too long. cresteds are really starting to break out.

anyhow, i just had an interview today, and once again its for a stupid travelling position, but a good one with a good company. if i get hired for it, chances are ill be selling off an even larger portion of my collection, which means most of my leaftails might have to go (i know, it's sad...my pride and joy). on the up side, ill finally have a real job, almost a year afer i graduated. on the down side, 3 years worth of breeding efforts may be out the window, along with my hopes of producing 2nd generation CB satanics.

4/6/2006 7:09:58 PM

I've been forbidden to get anything else, unless it can go in the tank I already have Too bad they don't have salt water fish there.

4/6/2006 9:25:19 PM

im clearing out some possible double het tangerine hondos, my 2 female durango mtn kings, my 04 male tarahumara king, a female western hognose, and maybe my Pituophis hybrid. way too many mouths to feed right now....

ill have oketee corns hopefully to sell in the fall, from the Striker Herps line, my female is fat with eggs...


too bad no one deals with locality gray bands at this show, i need to find a male, i think mine is declining in health

as far as pick up anything...um yeah we'll see...doubtful...but i always say that

hey matt, did you get my PM about the mice/pigmy/'head?

4/7/2006 12:20:13 PM

I need a male one of these,



potentially a heterozygous for hypo so i can produce some of these:

4/8/2006 4:11:20 PM

^Those are mighty pretty.

4/8/2006 5:51:47 PM

peyton, dont let anyone talk me into any trades at our table. and dont let me leave with anything other than the animals i didnt sell...cept for supplies of course.

i had some guy pm me about the leaftails i might be selling...i never heard back from him after i explained the prices though. sorry guys, but tdub lowballers arent gonna cut it for me if you're trying to get my leaftails.

4/8/2006 6:02:11 PM

off topic... but since peyton can't buy them. anybody want 2 mice setups? i'm getting rid of my snakes so i've got 2 10gallon tanks with tops, food bowls, waterbottles, any extra bedding a food i have. and my breeding quintet of mice. right now there are about 40 mice (mostly young) in each tank. after peyton clears me out coming next week it'll be 4 females and 1 male per tank plus whatever offspring. (many females are currently pregnant). i've had these tanks running for over a year and peyton can attest that i've produced at least 150-200 young that both my and his snakes have eaten. looking for 30 bucks a tank, but i'm flexible.

4/8/2006 6:27:38 PM

yeah i got ya mike, and the same for me goes too


off topic as well, with images like these, im gonna need to go ahead and discuss a table for the fall


gravid female oketee corn snake





East of Sanderson locality Gray Banded kingsnakes...and he has 2 more ladies waiting for him


it could be a very good year for me

4/8/2006 8:48:56 PM

i'm prolly gonna get a grey band if i can't find one b4 the show

4/9/2006 7:24:12 PM

I already have way too many birds or I would go to have a look-see.

4/9/2006 8:09:34 PM

bump for all

4/10/2006 10:44:59 PM

does anyone have a vip ticket i could buyoff of them

for some reason i cant buy one online .. shrug.

i'll give ya cash.

also i need someone to go with me and chaperone me so i dont take home too much.

4/11/2006 10:40:04 AM

i have a spare vip ticket. i just need the $10 i spent, since my fiance can no longer go.

4/11/2006 1:32:38 PM

haha, you should know none of us can chaperone you, we all have the same problems!

4/11/2006 5:16:23 PM

yeah, these shows are just pure encouragement.

i've dreamed about tarantulas every night for the last month.

4/11/2006 5:39:08 PM

i was planning on getting a grey band at the show, and i've always bought my supplies before hand and had the tank set up ready to go before i ever got the animal. i always go to the shows decide what i want, and try to prepare for it a week or so ahead of time before the next show. i was wandering if any of ya'll have bought supplies there such as substrate and that sort of stuff there, if so is there a big price dif between them and stores. like i said all i've ever bought there was animals so i didn't know. thanks

4/11/2006 5:56:55 PM

i've bought supplies there
look around and you can definitely find some good deals.


well i'm definitely getting a male beardie. i want a hypo pastel or snow pastel, or even a blood red.
i have a hypo pastel female with beautiful color so i want a male to go with her.

the picture doesnt do her justice

if Georgia Bearded Dragons is there i'll probably buy from them.

i'm also kinda looking for leopard lizards

a healthy egyptian uro (or pair) is high on my list. or an ornate but they're $$

or... i still have a chameleon setup. its small though. like 2 ft tall x 1 x 1
what do y'all suggest i put in there?
i had a carpet chameleon in there years ago


i should really convince my roommate to go - but she's fascinated by everything and she wont stop me... and she'll probably end up with a new pet too. (not a good chaperone).

[Edited on April 11, 2006 at 6:20 PM. Reason : pic]

4/11/2006 6:19:31 PM

listed vendors: http://www.gilaproductions.com/ral/exh.html

there will be at least 2 bearded dragon breeders:
http://dragons4you.net/
http://www.georgiabeardeddragons.com/page/page/757935.htm

4/11/2006 7:14:59 PM

Thanks for posting- I always try to go. That's where we got Spunky (our leopard gecko) and Shaemus- the man that rules the house- our ferret. I would like a bigger house for the Shamey and most of all, an incubator for Spunky and her man Leap so that we can have Geico er I mean Gecko babies

4/11/2006 8:47:36 PM

im not gonna hold anyone back from buying....SO BUY MY GECKOS!

anyway, what gunguy mentioned reminded me to go back to last year's thread and repost this:

Quote :

"so here's the rundown of responsible purchasing of animals at the show. 1) don't buy something you know nothing about simply because it looks cool. you could be getting into something that simply requires much more care than you are able to give it. you could also be looking at something you think looks cool, but is pretty much on its deathbed, but you dont know that because you havent done your research ahead of time. there are chances that what you buy is dehydrated or even possibly carrying a heavy parasite load. there is a chance you're buying something that has been handled by hundreds of people over a period of 2 days, and that opens the floodgates as far as possibility for running into problems. the key here: do your research and decide what you're looking for BEFORE the show. 2) talk to whomever you're buying from. ask them about the care, and if you've done your homework like i recommend, you'll be able to tell if this person has been caring for them correctly. you dont want to buy from someone who doesnt know what they're dealing with. 3) don't just buy late on sunday because prices are cheaper. getting to the show early on saturday helps your chances of getting an animal that isn't over-stressed from being flopped back and forth between peoples' hands, hands which have a great likelihood of picking up bad things from any other diseased animals that might be at the show. your chances are best to find what you're looking for bright and early on saturday. 4) dont buy an animal because you feel sorry for it. plain and simple. i hope no one is that stupid. 5) in the chance you get something that you know nothing about, make sure you know what it is (both common and scientific name). this way, once you get back you can google caresheets on the animal with relative ease. 6) preferably, if you know what you're going there to get, have an enclosure set up beforehand. those animals want to get out of those tiny deli containers even more than you want to get them out. 7) after you're done buying, take the stuff straight home. i havent checked the forecast, but ill bet as the day goes on it's gonna get hot and stuffy out there. just because you bought something that prefers heat over cold doesnt mean it will survive locked up in a car while you go back to look at stuff. 8) dont get in my way, that just pisses me off. if you arent gonna buy something at the table, please dont just stand there in front of it. there are people who are really serious about the animals they buy, and have to find the right table to find someone who actually has what they're looking for. 9) don't be afraid to tell little kids to watch out. i hate how 6 year olds are buying shit at the show, running around and whatnot, poking at animals they know nothing about. 10) don't buy something that you simply can't take care of. i know this is kinda redundant, but animal care is a daily thing. having over 30 geckos myself is a very stressful thing, but every day looking at what i've got and how well my collection is doing offsets the stress of daily care. granted some animals are much more tolerant of ignorance than others, i have been dealing with animals that simply cannot be overlooked even a single day for 2 years now. if you plan on taking vacation for a couple days/week/month/whatever, make sure you have a friend or at least someone you know who knows their shit to take care of your animals for you. 11) a good preventative measure, for those who can afford it, is to take your new scaly or slimy friend to the avian and exotic animal care vet. they actually will be there at the show, and the office is located on creedmoor rd. set up an appointment and take your animal to them, and they can run fecals to test for internal parasites, as well as do any other physical exam stuff. if you're really concerned about your animal(s), they're great people and hopefully will be able to help you out. http://www.avianandexotic.com/ KNOWLEDGE IS KEY im sure there are other concerns i left out...but most of it is common sense. there are very very very good resources online. for reptiles and amphibians, one of the best resources i have found is http://www.kingsnake.com. they have forums and subforums for just about any creepy crawly you can think of. there are caresheets there as well as forums where you can post questions and there is usually a good crowd of people eager to respond. hope i covered most of it. good luck with your purchases."

and gunguy, what kind of substrate are you looking to buy? they usually have reptibark, sand, coco husk and that sorta stuff, but if you're by any chance lookin to make a naturalistic enclosure, you can buy peat moss in bulk from lowes/home depot. costs only $5-10 for a bigass brick (and i DO mean big).

[Edited on April 11, 2006 at 11:28 PM. Reason : n]

4/11/2006 11:26:15 PM

I'd like to pick up some type of Dendrobates at the show, though I've never kept one before. I read somewhere above that an azureus is a good beginner species...any others (I really like D. reticulatus)?

Any resources on the conditions/equipment I will need, so I can determine if this is feasible or not?

4/12/2006 12:55:10 AM

^ well, guess that is my area to respond to.


Best beginner dendrobates are the following: D. auratus, D. leucomelas, D. tinctorius (which includes azureus in all honesty)

these three species are very hardy, attractive, and most of all relatively inexpensive. Before purchasing these frogs it would be best to setup a simple tank to house them in. For a simple setup i'd suggest visiting http://www.saurian.net or http://www.dendroboard.com both of which are excellent resources. general rule of thumb is 5 gal per frog, so keep pairs in 10gal or 4 or 5 in a 20. The auratus and the leucomelas are very good group frogs, however, tincs can be very territorial especially the females and its recommended to keep them in pairs. At this show i'd recommend purchasing either some leucs or some auratus (and i'd suggest buying them from under the canopy farms, the only other dart breeder who was scheduled for the show was simply natural dart frogs from florida but valentina has told me that they will now be unable to attend)

reticulatus are very nice frogs, but they can be very touchy as well. coupled with their extremely small size they are definitely not good beginner frogs (150 each is also a bad way to start out)

i currently keep D. auratus (blue and black, kahlua and cream, ancon hill morphs), D. leucomelas, D. tinctorius (including a breeding pair of azureus, alanis, weygoldt morphs), D. imitator, D. imitator intermedius, D. lamasi (GL panguana), D. pumilio (bribri, chirique, man creek, bastimentos, san christobal morphs), P. terribilis (mint), P. bicolor so if you have an questions feel free to pm me.

4/12/2006 2:33:39 AM

i demand pics of some azureus, just for the hell of it. and i just skimmed over that shit i just posted in reference to last year's show, and realized my collection has doubled in size in the past year.

4/12/2006 3:04:59 AM

bttt more critter talk

4/12/2006 5:33:31 PM

Anyone know how much I should be prepared to pay for these frogs?

4/12/2006 5:51:17 PM

^prices from a vendor currently listed:

http://www.edsflymeat.com/dart_frogs.htm

4/12/2006 5:54:44 PM

^ Dave's prices are lower at shows, but i don't know who is going to be running a booth for Ed's fly meat, they'll be at IAD. i'm assuming they'll just have jan at Under the canopy farms sell fruit fly cultures and media like they do every year.

^^ auratus, you'll pay between 25 and 35 a frog depending on morph. although you can get discounts with quantity pretty easily. they usually hook me up, but all i purchase from them anymore is bromeliads and tillsandia. leucs will probably run around 40-45 per frog again, in quantity you can probably get a discount. tincs will be anywhere from probably 35-65 a frog. This are all for relatively young frogs however, if you want to skip the froglet stage you can expect to pay around 45 for adult auratus, 65 or more for leucs, and probably 65-80 for tincs. sexed pairs can run around 100 for aurauts, about 130 or so for leucs, and 150 for tincs. a sexed pair of azureus would probably run about 250. i doubt there will be any thumbnail (reticulatus are included with the thumbnail frogs)/pumilio at the show, but these can get extremely expensive. cheapest pair of thumbnails you can probably find starts off at about 200 and goes up to about 900, pumilio can start off at 200-250 for a pair of MCs and run up to 1000 or more for a pair of blue jeans. If you look at some of the extremely rare frogs like histrionicus, granuliferous, speciosus, lehmanniit can run you 1000 a frog.

4/12/2006 7:22:22 PM

what are some other prices you've seen in the past, mainly snakes?

4/12/2006 7:34:43 PM

what kind of snake, i've seen balls go for 15 or so and it only goes up. seen quite a few snakes in the hundreds of $$. it all really depends on what ur looking for.

4/12/2006 7:38:36 PM

how do you make the frogs poisonous? can you play with them or does that kill them?

4/12/2006 8:20:21 PM

^ the frogs get their toxins from their wild diets (generally believed that they manufacture their toxins through chemicals gained by ingesting ants and beetles) they are definitely not hands on pets. the alure of dart frogs is creating nice setups that you can watch them live in. the level of parental care they exhibit is also fun to watch, as is their courting/mating practices (i have frog calls coming from my room all day long)

here are some more pics of my breeding pair of azureus that i took while they were hunting for you mike

^ male (in tincs you can tell by the widened toepads as well as a subtle body difference)


^female

4/12/2006 9:24:04 PM

matt...what kinda lights do you use, and how does your live moss do? ive probably asked you this before but i need to know again.

and are the characteristics you mentioned visible in young froglets, or does it develop more over time?

[Edited on April 13, 2006 at 2:59 AM. Reason : :]

4/13/2006 2:57:28 AM

bump. if anyone is looking to get tarantulas, let me know. i've got a couple i need to move.

4/13/2006 1:17:12 PM

^ hope you can find them a good home.

^^ mike, i use either cheap compact fluorescents or usually just shop lights. i like the sunshine bulbs, they are a full spectrum with about 5600k which gets the moss and plants growing well. The toepads way to sex tincs is something you can't really do until they are older. supposedly i have heard from some very experienced breeders that you can tilt a cup with a young tinc in it. it simulates breeding behavior, males will lift their heads while females will lower theirs

woohoo, i got my new imports today some pics in my gallery and then i have this video from about 2 minutes after i put them into their temporary viv. i'm hoping to get 2 pairs, and i have high hopes for these two.
http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=ve886x

[Edited on April 13, 2006 at 4:30 PM. Reason : .]

4/13/2006 4:27:00 PM

you're making me want to get some^

4/13/2006 4:52:28 PM