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The show where I got my new baby was very small - there were only three bloods in the whole place. After trying to resist the utter cute power of the little one I ended up buying, I spotted a juvie in a tank. Because I'm new to bloods, I thought it would be better for both me and the snake if it were relatively mild-tempered. "How much is this one?" I asked. "I'll take $50 off for *you*," replied the skinny, pimply guy behind the counter. Great, a sleazeball. So I asked him about its temper, and he said it was "fine" and proceeded to use a hook to remove the python from its tank. Yeah, very calm if it needs a hook, I thought. It was very thin - the whole spine stood out in sharp relief, and it was stone cold. "He's a little skinny," I said. "Oh, bloods are always like that." "So what's he like when he's warm?" "Oh, uh, he's fine." Right. Even as cold as he was, the poor thing was trying desperately to escape. Running my fingers over its spine, I found some scars, mostly like rodent bites. My friend noticed that it had retained eyecaps. The guy claimed he'd gotten the snake in a trade, and all he knew was that it was a Borneo. I politely told him that I'd keep looking. On the inside, I wanted to smack him for not caring better for the poor thing.

I've heard lots of horror stories about reptile shows and the conditions of the animals. What about you guys?

Since you went to the Birmingham show you more than likely encountered some of the same people that frequent the Ga show in November. And well basically there are a few respectable breeders that bring animals, mostly ball morphs and some gtp's, but thats it, most of them are "middle men" a couple I talked to seemed like they do actually care for the animals and are fair people but most of them... not so much, animals are too cold and packed together, dehydrated etc and their just looking to make a buck.. I always go just in case but there never seems to be many bloods anyways.. seems like most of the good breeders are up north our out west somewhere. There are some good shows that happen but I haven't heard of any in the southeast.
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

Guess it all depends on which show you go to. I went to the Houston show and had a really nice time. You don't see a lot of super star snakes at most of these shows, but that is due to most people won't spend that kind of money at your local shows. The Houston show was very clean, and I did see some great herpers that take great pride in their stuff. Hope you can get to a better show sometime and see how cool they can be. I love good reptile shows. Daytona, is still a dream for me, but watch out when I get there Someone needs to hire me to go to the Daytona show and sell their animals,,,, hint, hint.... greenman

I actually bought that blood just because I didn't want to see it go home with that idiot. I've got it set up in a rubbermaid and it has eaten for me. You were right about those scars and the retained eye caps. I wouldn't have gotten it, but I had enough money left over and I felt sorry for the poor thing. Yeah, that guy ... God, I wanted to just beat the hell out of him. I also got a supposed Jungle/Diamond cross from him. Dunno, looks like a pure Jungle to me. It is also doing well. I'll keep you guys posted on the blood though. He/she's doing fairly well, considering the rough life its no doubt had. I think the reason that he was using a hook is because it hisses when you go to pick it up, but has yet to offer to bite. Yeah, he told me that he got it in an internet trade for a RTB and got screwed because it came like that. He gave this whole sob story about how the guy said it was immaculate and came to him looking like that. I'm not pointing fingers, but I believe he didn't know how to take care of it in the first place. So I gave it a much better home than what it had. Still don't know the sex though, I'm going to get it probed this weekend.
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1.0 Ball Python
0.1 Leopard Gecko
0.1 Bearded Dragon
1.4 Corns (normal, snow, ghost, creamsicle)
1.0 BP
1.0 BRB
0.1 CRB
0.1 Central American Boa
0.0.1 Borneo STP
0.0.1 JCP/DP
1.0 IJCP
0.1 CCP

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he told me he couldn't provide appropriately sized rodents, so has been feeding it jumbo mice. This snake is pushing three feet. People really piss me off sometimes.
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1.0 Ball Python
0.1 Leopard Gecko
0.1 Bearded Dragon
1.4 Corns (normal, snow, ghost, creamsicle)
1.0 BP
1.0 BRB
0.1 CRB
0.1 Central American Boa
0.0.1 Borneo STP
0.0.1 JCP/DP
1.0 IJCP
0.1 CCP

Yeah, I've seen some pretty crappy things in the all of TWO shows I've gone to. Mostly people selling emaciated rock pythons to newbies for $12, stuff like that . . . One vendor was at least honest; he had a bunch of healthy-looking Burms selling for $100, and then the $50 ones labelled, "won't feed."

The thing that got me the most were the Pancake tortoises and the Bugeyed Texas ratsnakes. Now, correct me if I'm wrong (I may very well be wrong!! I'm not at all into chelonians!), but doesn't a smushed shell on a turtle mean that it has calcium deficiencies? And aren't the bug-eyes on the leuicistic rat snakes from inbreeding? Again, i could be wrong on those points, but it seemed iffy to me.

The one blood I looked at at the last show I went to wasn't in bad condition -- a little skinny maybe, but not too bad -- only thing was, the vendor was TERRIFIED of it! I asked if I could hold it and the nervous vendor called over his assistant to do the "dirty work.) This kid -- decently sized kid, college age male, you know, with some bite scars on his thumb from something much bigger than a blood -- pissed and moaned and finally picked up the little blood, who didn't seem that upset at all. When I was done looking at it he basically threw it back in its case, he was so afraid to have it in his hands.

So yeah, shows can be sketchy sometimes ...
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Kitt

I've seen some nasty stuff...most notably, the hatchling turtles...hundreds of them in a single Rubbermaid bin
and not just sliders either...softshells that had decided to start taking bites out of each other...and all of those caimans crowded together

I also once saw a tree boa that was star-gazing and very sickly-looking...IBD crossed my mind
*sighs*

and some of the vendors are just....foolish...like the guy who took out a pretty large cribo (correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they venemous?) and dangled it around his neck before putting it back in a tank with a loose-fitting lid...and absolutely nothing to weigh the lid down...now, that's a stupid thing to do with any snake...but a venemous? wtf?

...and the pancake tortoises....they're naturally flat and the shells are somewhat pliable so they can evade predators by crawling into tight spaces and inhaling, thus making the shell bulge and locking the tortoise in its hiding place
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.Owen.:.

"We don't even care as restless as we are. We feel the pull in the land of a thousand guilts. We poured cement, lamented and assured to the lights and towns below, faster than the speed of sound, faster than we thought we'd go beneath the sound of hope." ~The Smashing Pumpkins

"That Owen kid...man...he really loves that snake of his." ~Owen