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

January was about the 4th show I've ever been to. The first I went to was the annual breeder show in August (it's August again this year). There were more vendors then, but in all the shows I've been to I don't recall seeing any adult corns - few adults of any types of snakes. It may be a bad time as you're probably getting the 'leftovers' from the previous breeding seasons or it could just be I wasn't paying that close of attention. I just wish the breeders would label all their snakes. I'm no expert so I don't know all there names and those that I do I've only seen pictures and don't know all the morphs.
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1.0 Ball Python
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1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

January shows kind of suck. I used to hit the one in Whiteplains, NY because I was going through show withdrawl.

What you find in January shows are the leftover young from the previous breeding season, and maybe a few holdbacks that are not turning out as the breeder hoped. Whatever import stuff is coming in at that time.

The biggest reason you probably didn't see alot of adult corns at the show was probably because most breeders have them in hibernation, preparing for the breeding season. Spring or early summer shows are usually the best. You will find tons of babies. If you are looking for a specific type of adult, get in touch with the breeders that attend the shows. I don't take adults to shows usually because they don't sell. I had three adult ball pythons and an adult honduran milksnake at the last show I went to and had to listen to people complain about the price on them. THey wanted the adults for the same price as babies or the same price as the WC adults around the corner.

The biggest thing is not to be too disappointed in your first show. Some shows are better than others, and some months are better than others. My favorite show in NY sometimes sucked, just depended on certain factors.

It would be my opinion that the reason the show wasnt that great, is because of the weather. It was really bad all through out KY, OH, IN, MI, IL, and MO. We had freezing rain and the roads were really bad! If you can make it to the one here in KY next month, you may find some interesting stuff. It usually is fairly decent and lots of snakes and lizards.

Dwight Good is almost always there, and he has a lot of stuff he had been holding back because they just werent big enough until now.

If your looking for adults, e-mail Dwight and see if he has anything he may be getting rid of. Im sure if he does, he would e-mail you a picture.

The only thing is, that most breeders this time of the year have the adults in brumation. So if you are looking for an adult, you may have to wait a couple of months for them to come out of brumation.

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1.0 Corn snake
1.0 Black rat snake
1.0 Albino Black rat snake
1.0 Everglades rat snake
0.1 Yellow rat snake
1.1 California king snake
1.0 Prairie king snake
0.1 Black king snake

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

I went to that show last year and i felt the same way. You have to research the shows if you can. Some are dumps while others kick ass. Chicago has 2 great shows and Daytona will take your breath away. Look to see where their held. If it is a VFW hall or some thing like that, dont get your hopes up. The only good thing about these little shows are some times you can find some insaine deals. I got a albino Labyrnth burm for $100.00 Ask around go to their web sites and plan road trips to the big ones. Thats my opinion but who cares what I think

I know that I, and a lot of people I know didn't go because of the weather. It's not a bad show through the fall months. It's not a great show either. It's got a bad rep. so a lot of the best breeders in the region skip it. Too bad. All it would take to make it a better show is if better breeders showed up. Catch 22.
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Martin Whalin

"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
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