Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This has been eating at me since I got Buddy. I got him at a show that was in Miami Florida-Repticon is the name. I e-mailed them to watch out for vendors that bring sick animals into the show ie. BUDDY. I told them that if they keep this type of people there that the public won't go to the shows and then they will not make money. If this show comes to your town "BEWARE". I am struggling to save Buddy's life.

Unfortunately, this happens all too often. I have even been at one of the NARB shows which are supposed to only have captive bred or "farm raised" animals to find very obvious wild caught Saharans, underweight, cold, and lethargic with people snapping them up for $50. They were beauties too, very intense red/orange. I must admit I was tempted, but figured percentage wise how many would be dead within a short amount of time. Misrepresentation and selling to newbies is what some dealers are looking to do. By the time you figure out that the animal is sickly, the vendors are long gone.
The other problem with reptiles from a sellers standpoint is that once the animal is sold, they have no idea of the husbandry the animal is being provided with. Stress is another killer of reptiles and I feel it certainly leads to their demise. The best information I can give you is to try to do your homework before going to a show. Ask around about a particular vendor, listen to what the sellers are telling people. Best of luck with Buddy, you are doing a great job. Hope he makes a full recovery, he is lucky to have you.

Pam

I do not see the need to type "long" in the subject line of my posts. I am sure that you are bright enough to notice that this is a long post when you bring it up and are fully capable of finding your 'back' key if your preference rests with short posts only.

I would like to share my personal opinion on reptile shows.

I have regularly attended a reptile show in Illinois for over 10 years. I have also had the opportunity to attend quite a few other reptile shows during the last 15+ years.
Here are my personal observations regarding reptile shows.

First, there are many legitimate breeders who offer fine quality animals at shows just as there are those breeders who offer inferior or sick animals at shows.
Some shows are better than others regarding the quality of venders and some even go as far as not allowing WC specimens.
Some shows require veterinarian inspection on all animals, some ‘say’ they require veterinarian inspections on all animals and some do not require veterinarian inspections at all.

In my opinion, a large portion of the responsibility of choosing an ‘apparently’ healthy animal lies with the buyer when purchasing from a show. It would be nice to say that it is solely the seller’s responsibility but we do not live in a perfect world. When I purchased a used car for my son, I did not rely on the used car salesperson’s statement that the car was in perfect running order- I did research ahead of time on the type of vehicle and had an inspection done prior to sealing the deal.

Is it reasonable to expect a buyer to have a vet inspection done ‘prior’ to purchasing every animal? No.

But…..

A buyer can choose to attend shows where health inspections are mandated. A buyer can speak with the person running the show to determine how inspections are being enforced. A buyer can easily walk away from a skinny uromastyx that is being sold for $40. A buyer can look around at the health and conditions of the animals being offered by a seller and sometimes get a feel for the care and overall health of the animals. A buyer can talk to other vendors, show employees, and other hobbyist at the show to inquire into the reputation of a specific vendor. A buyer can do the research prior to attending a show to know enough about the specific animal they want to purchase so that they have a feel on what a healthy animal should look like and the signs of an unhealthy animal. A buyer can resist impulse purchases.

The reptile show mentioned in this post appears to be relatively new with holding this type of convention. I noticed that their intent (not certain if it was accomplished) was to offer veterinarian assistance to anyone that wanted to have an animal inspected prior to purchase. In my opinion, this is a terrific service and one that I would certainly have taken advantage of had I decided to purchase a reptile from the show. If the vendor would not allow an inspection prior to purchase, I would walk away from purchasing the animal and look at another vendor.

I also feel that it is the responsibility of the buyer to report specific vendors who are offering unhealthy animals. I think that this needs to be done at the time of the show so that the animals can be inspected by those putting on the show. Again, if you do not know enough to tell an ‘apparently’ healthy animal from a sick one- you shouldn’t be purchasing anything. FYI: Not all conditions and illnesses are apparent nor can all conditions or illnesses be caught even with an on sight vet inspection and that is why I am using the term ‘apparently’. No one is expected to determine the complete health of an animal at a show but there are certainly those animals where the health condition is apparent enough to walk away.

I do not feel that a show should necessarily be blasted and/or boycotted because one or two people ended up with an unhealthy animal. This could be limited to just a few animals or one vendor not necessarily a ‘bad’ show.

Keep in mind that in my 10+ years of attending the reptile show in Illinois, I purchased two uromastyx and have passsed on hundreds. In my opinion WC uromastyx do not do well at shows and I would prefer to purchase from a reputable breeder.

Regarding any animal at any show- I only purchase from vendors that I know something about. I also know enough about the species of animal I am selecting to tell an apparently sick animal from a healthy one. I ask questions of the vendor such as diet, time in captivity, medications, vet checks, how many years of experience they have had keeping the species, how long they have been in business…. I also look at all of the animals being sold by that vendor not just the one I want to purchase. I do not look for the best price- I look for the best animal and thus have passed on thousands of reptiles and animals while choosing a very select few.

While I do not expect everyone’s show purchasing habits to be as conservative as my own, I do think that we have a fundamental amount of responsibility as hobbyist.

In my opinion, the inferior vendors do well for two reasons. First, there are those that do not know enough about the type of animal they are purchasing to make an educated informed selection choice. I have witnessed this type of person quickly grab a $40 emaciated uromastyx from a table that had 10 others that looked just like it. In my opinion, impulse, price and ignorance seem to dictate the sale with this type of buyer.

Then there are those that see a sick pathetic animal (with ten others sitting next to it) and decide to save it. While I can certainly understand this (I used to be one of these people many years ago), I can’t help but wonder how much this enables these inferior vendors? If no one purchased these animals a large percentage of them would probably die in the vendors care. The vendor would not financially be able to continue the vicious cycle very long if he/she were losing money on dying reptiles. Instead, we jump at purchasing these sick animals, the vendors makes his/her money and the following month is back with 11 more sick reptiles knowing that some one will surely buy them. These people need to be reported immediately to the people running the show. If this vendor should continue offering unhealthy animals and the show does not take action then give a call to the local ASPCA or similar organization.

I say we as buyers have the responsibility to NOT purchase sick unhealthy animals, report those that sell them immediately to those in charge of the show, do not do any type of business with vendors that continue to offer unhealthy animals, show loyalty to those that run a high quality show and boycott those that repeatedly have a large percentage of inferior vendors and are not willing to improve upon the show after numerous complaints.

Just my opinion….

these guidelines should be followed in any situation where you will be purchasing an animal. I know I will when I get my next reptile (which probably won't be for a long time). I'd like to get a monitor of some sort when I move out, as well as a ball python (I've always wanted one)....though new york is planning on banning them by next year....which reminds me, I'll post another post with this later, and all of the information, but we new yorkers need as much help as possible to keep this bill from becoming a law, because if it happens here, other states that don't already have these laws in place will follow.

I'm glad I read the whole post though.

Wow Deb , great post ( isaw that it was long but i read it )!!

hope all is well!