Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just made it to my first ever herp show yesterday. The thing is I wasn't overly impressed. Is January a bad time to hit a herp show in Indiana? I can see why it might not be the best time but am I right? I know corns are not "in season" but I thought I would see atleast some adults or '02s or something. I saw 3. That was it. There was a bad storm coming in(for Indiana anyway) so this may have had an effect. I did get what I needed which was frozen mice from Brian of Midwest Reptiles and Rodents but maybe I was just expecting too much. Did anybody else go and should I expect better shows in the summer? I'm not trying to say it sucked but I was expecting a killer time.

JC

if you went to the reptile show in indinapolis it is more of a swap then a show. I have been to the show and picked up a california kingsnake for my son. It is not what you typically see and when you go to a big show like the one in tinley park you'll be blown away. There are many different sized shows and swaps. Some have major breeders and speakers and others just som local breeders and hobbyist like ourselves just selling some offspring.
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1.1 Leos
1.1 Corn snakes (1 Lav & 1 Ghost)
0.1 Banan California King
0.0.1 Childrens python
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow boa
1.0 Rat (as pet not food)
1.0 Cat
"whats with you and all those dang reptiles?"

Could you suggest some big herp shows around the 14th of Feb.? Somewhere on the east cost within 4 hrs of charleston or Richmond if you don't know where charleston is. Thats my birthday weekend so I can probably convince them to drive me somewhere.

there arent really any big shows in Indiana around that time but there is another show in valpraisa(sp) feb. 28th I havent been to the show but i have heard it was ok. Thes biggest show in the illinois indiana are is the the show in Tinley park the NRBC show its huge. Nut they usally have it around Oct.
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1.1 Leos
1.1 Corn snakes (1 Lav & 1 Ghost)
0.1 Banan California King
0.0.1 Childrens python
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow boa
1.0 Rat (as pet not food)
1.0 Cat
"whats with you and all those dang reptiles?"

I was there too. As a matter of fact, I was the first person in the parking lot at 15 minutes till it opened and there were no other cars, (accept the vendors).

I have been going for years. I drive almost 3 hours from Central Illinois about every other month.

Don't judge the show on this past weekend. The ice storm and the fact that corns are just now starting to breed, is the reason you saw only the three. I saw them too. I drove the 3 hours to hopefully buy some yearlings or older corns. I saw the male hypo and the pair of rather small corn adults, and it wasn't very much. BUT, I will be there in March and April beause I know what a difference it is.

First of all, at about 30 minutes till it opens, there will be a line, all the way back into the parking lot. You can hardly move through the building by 1 pm.

We get so much out of the show that we always take a lunch break and head back in.

I found a great pair of rough scale boas. So, it was worth the trip for me. But the thing I should point out is that I know for a fact that several vendors were not able to make it. Weather or whatever. Because I buy form them all the time. I was bummed but I understand this happens.

As someone else already mentioned, the Tinley Park show is top notch. But it's an annual show. You can't compair. My wife and I usually get a room at the hotel and spend two days there. And we still don't see it all. But comparing the Indy show to the Tinley park show is like compairing your local county fair to Disney Land. Both are fun, but they are different.

I hope you give Indy another chance. It has almost doubled in size since I started going. And it is so clean.

See ya,
Troy

im from central illinois to what part are you from. I live in the Mattoon Charleston area. I go to the Indianapolis show to. They do have some good deals there. But some of the vendors are shady so if you know what your looking for its ok.
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1.1 Leos
1.1 Corn snakes (1 Lav & 1 Ghost)
0.1 Banan California King
0.0.1 Childrens python
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow boa
1.0 Rat (as pet not food)
1.0 Cat
"whats with you and all those dang reptiles?"

I live in big ol' Farmer City. It's almost to Bloomington on I-74.

As for the common show with more corns. I have found the St. Louis (Bridgton) show good. For the avarage show that is. It's about the size of the Indy show but a little nicer in my opinion.

There is a college there in St. Louis that breeds corns as part of their studies. They sell off a lot of corns at a very low price. They don't always setup at the show. I think he told me they are there most ofthe year though. I was there in October and they had about 8 adults, and more yearlings that I cared to count. Plus there were several other vendors who had great corns. We bought several.

You can find the schedule in the "Events" section of the this site. They are every other month.

Troy

I agree with Artfan1.
I live in Columbus Ohio. Our reptile show has more selection of animals,especially juveniles, in the spring and summer. Also you can get different vendors from one show to another. So for example while this show might have more
lizards and less snakes,the next show will have baby snakes all over the place. Try your local show again in the spring you should see a big difference in a choice of corns.
The large reptile expo in Tinley Park Ill. is in October. I went for the first time this year, definitely worth it.

I live in WV not Indiana it's our capital so I figured it was the best bet for where someone would know though I live in the southern tip of WV. Anyway are there any big Herp shows on the east coast around this time?

As far as I know there are no big reptile expos going on right now. Check the Classified expo or events section of the Reptiles magazine.Besides the big Chicago (Tinley Park)
reptile expo,the same people(NARBC)who set that up have an expo in November near Philadelphia PA.
NARBC does have a website.

you found rough scales? Good. I'll be looking for some this spring. I'm hoping Jason Hess (jasonsjungles) will have some. But if he doesn't at least there's hope that someone else might.

Question for you...I've only bought once at the show and it was a Kenyan Sand Boa I had bought online from Jason. I was very pleased that he keeps records (which he gives to you) of each individual snakes history (parentage, weight, eating, shedding, etc). Is this a rarity with breeders at the Indiana show?

I've been to 4 Indy shows. The first was the breeders expo.I just wish they'd all identify the species with labels.
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My Album

1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

Yes, rough scales. I went there hoping to find some yearling corns. But as the originator of this post mentioned, it was not a good show for corns.

But, I know for a fact that Tim Koppenhofer of Special K was unable to attend because of personal family issues this weekend. He actually had several yearling corns that I talked to him about. So, something as simple as a vendor not making the show can affect how one person sees it. If you were looking for many other things, you would have been in luck. The Indy show is so clean and there is a men's and ladie's room in the building. And they usually have a food vendor there. Like a weenie wagon with other stuff too.

And as always, we stocked up on our F/T feeders, crix, vits, and talked to some great people.

This spring will be great I am sure. I have watched this show grow just in the past few years. But I highly recommend EVERYONE that can, go to the Tinley park show. (Again, not comparing them.) But the Tinley Park show has huge amounts of corns. Well, it has huge amounts of everything.

As for Jason, well, I think you hit the nail on the head. Jason is a first class guy. Very nice and has great stuff. I am sorry to inform you but not all are like that. He pays attention to detail. Just five minutes talking to him and you will know that. He knows his snakes and he makes some great racks too. Some vendors sell animals that they don't even know the age of. They are distributors I guess. And that's fine. I mean, you need them too. But as for me, I buy from people who know what they are selling and ask a fare price. Even if that price is higher, to me the history of the animal and the quality still makes it a fare price.

Good luck and hope to run into you all at the Indy show sometime, or St. Louis, or Tinley Park or...
Troy

I'd rather pay more money for a snake that I feel is coming from a very knowledgable and caring breeder. For some reason I really like the idea of knowing the date of birth of my pets. And the record keeping Jason gives you is great. I just wish he breed all the other species I want to get because then I'll know I'm getting well cared for snakes.

I've been looking for a bigger show to attend (not too far from home). I might have to check out the Tinley show. I've been a little curious though - if I buy something, how do I best transport it home?

Here's a pic of my Kenyan from Jason.

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My Album

1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

I can't seem to find it on Kingsnake's event list - unless I'm missing it.
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My Album

1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

;
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My Album

1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"