Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How was it?

Buy anything?

Any interesting pics to show of the snakes or the show itself?

Was their a decent selection of 2011 babies avliable yet?
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www.Bluerosy.com

How was it?

I went Sat., It was the largest amount of people I have seen at the Tampa show since 2009. Real busy, but after talking to some of the vendors not alot of sales but better than the last few for sure.

Buy anything?

Nope, just some rodents. Not much of a selection for mexican kings or milk species. Mostly L.getula,corns, and ofcourse the famous BP's and Leopard Geckos.

Any interesting pics to show of the snakes or the show itself?

No Pics, not much there to really spark a major picture taking show

Was their a decent selection of 2011 babies avliable yet?

Not yet, it wasn't filled there was a few that had some nice selection but mostly 2010 leftovers.....I talked to a few guys and they actually had to purchase some 2010's to have some selection on their table....

Overall good show though, it was hot inside because the front doors were always open with people coming in....

I was shocked that Scientology had a booth doing free stress tests! Lmao about that one.....
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Jimmy Tintle

Yep; went to pick up a frozen rodent order. I've been to 5 or 6 Tampa shows over the past 3 years. This was the worst one yet.

The room seemed to be about 3/4 full of vendors. A walk around showed 5-10 "vendors" selling crap (i.e. non-reptile related junk). There was the christian scientist free "stress test" area, a fruit tree table, an arts and crafts table, etc...

Usually the place is at least packed with the latest boa or ball morphs but not even too many of those this time. I was very disappointed. Another show like that and I doubt I'll waste my money. I could go to a flea market for free if I want to see that crap!

There were several 2011 corns and some balls but that's about it. I didn't see many Kings at all and even less Milks. There were probably enough leopard geckos for everybody in Hillsborough County though!

I could go to a flea market for free if I want to see that crap!

Maybe because it was a Repticon show? I remember a good show in Tampa later in the year. I think it was in sept/Oct.? Don't know who it was run by though.

It seems that most of the shows in the southeast today are a traveling circus type of an event. Run by the same promoters and moving from state to state. I stay away from those shows.
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www.Bluerosy.com

They used to have the Florida International Reptile Show every year about a month after Orlando (now Daytona, of course). It was actually a pretty good show, but was sold off, then discontinued.

Different versions of Tampa shows have since cropped up, and there are now shows in nearby cities like Bradenton, Sarasota, and Orlando. None of these shows are really big enough to attract many vendors from out of state, so you end up with 10 mediocre shows instead of 1 good show. They cater more to people off the street rather than serious hobbyists.

I use to love that show. It was the best one in florida after Orlando.
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Gerard
www.livebaitclip.com

GONE FISHING!!!

"They cater more to people off the street rather than serious hobbyists"

Yeah, I need to find more dedicated shows that have a wider selection of these..

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

It seems they always schedule these shows too early or too late! Don't they know when most reptiles hatch? I always try to make the later ones, but then some breeders won't hold on to their babies and wholesale them off.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
Jorge Sierra

My Site > www.Sierrasnakes.com

Nm

It seems they always schedule these shows too early or too late! Don't they know when most reptiles hatch?

That is because nobody wants to schedule a show the same time as Daytona. Even the shows that are a few weeks away, people want to save their money for Daytona.

What do you guys think of someone starting a show the same weekend as daytona?.. but in a different part of the country? Like Texas, AZ, Calif, Wisconsin, or maybe even FLORIDA?

I wish someone would have the balls to try a show in August. May be a total fail however.
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www.Bluerosy.com

i'd love it if there was a bay area/northern california show in august.

we have our first show in san jose this weekend, and then nothing until the end of october in sacramento.

There's a smallish one in August in OKC that I'm going to this year. I'd love a significant show somewhere more in the southwest region; the coast are both covered, Chicago and Houston have major shows too...give us some love show people!
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.

Thing is the monthly shows seem to wane because they only draw the same vendors and local people ecvery month. And they get burned out. So what is needed is a yearly show ,like Daytona , but back in orlando during the same weekened as Daytona.

No wait.. somebody already tried that already. ..and everyone went to Daytona. I think it was like 10 years ago. Anyone remeber the promoter? Man he had some big balls to try and pull that one off.
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www.Bluerosy.com

Yeah, that was Tom Carlton of Cypress Creek Reptiles, same guy that bought up the Florida International Reptile Show in Tampa. I was part of the show staff there. That little Orlando show was only about 10-15 minutes from the big National Reptile Breeders Expo. It was actually very well attended. We brought fliers promoting that little show and dropped them all over the NRBE and the adjacent hotels.

Yeah, I think monthly shows are mostly a bad idea. I'd expect quarterly at most, and maybe just 2x/year is what would be sustainable even for decent sized metro areas. I don't really need to go pay an admission fee to see the same 10-20 vendors every 2 months you know? The internet put the kibosh on that.
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.