Gregg
Ancient Elder
Hi Guys and Gals. I thought I'd let you know about my impression of the North Bay Herpetological Bazaar in Petaluma.
The place was packed--literally--with vendors selling all sorts of stuff from Tarantulas to Poison Arrow frogs. There were no venomous snakes there, unless you count the False Water Cobra. Boas were everywhere. Kingsnakes dominated the arena. If you like Bearded Dragons, then that was a good place to shop.
However,
If you are a corn snake lover, like me, it was a disappointment. There were corns there, but the vendors selling them were not focused on selling corns. The corn snakes they offered were an addition to what the vendor had to sell and, more often than not, were from a single hatch produced by only one pair of adult corns.
There was this one guy who had a lot of corns on his table with names that, at first, were hard for me to understand, like: King Corn; Yellow Corn; and Brown Corn. His main sell item was Kingsnakes. He also had Everglades Rats there for sell as well. So, it was easy for someone like myself, who has corn snakes, to see that what he was selling were hybrids and intergrates. Few, if any, of his corns had the typical corn snake head pattern on them. So, I called him on it. I asked, "Do some of these have Everglades Rat in them?" He said, "No, they're all corn snakes out of the same hatch." I asked, "All of them?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Amazing!" And turned around and left his table. I told my wife, "I feel sorry for anyone who is new to corn snakes who buys from that guy. They might get a good snake, but they won't be getting a pure corn snake." For your information, the King Corn was a typical "Jungle Corn" type, as in, King snake x Corn snake.
So, Carol, produce! There is no competition there for anyone who is devoted to selling High Quality corn snakes--except maybe my son and I (tee hee)--but that won't be for a couple of years from now.
I did have one lucky break while there. Y'all won't believe it! I don't make a lot of money in my profession, so I was not going there to buy anything. I had only $27.00 dollars in my pocket, and, if fact, that was all I had to my name. Y'all know how it is. Anyway, the Petaluma Wildlife and Natural Science Museum had a table set up there and I and my son were looking at their material--we like wildlife. My wife comes up and asks for a dollar. Now, I have $26.00 dollars. She then comes up again, after a while, and asks for another dollar--she's a gambler and likes to play the scratchers. I have $25.00. I notice that the Petaluma W&NSM has one side of their table covered with deli-dishes filled with Red Tail Boas. A sign reads: "Give a $50.00 donation to the PW&NSM and receive a free boa." I joking ask, "I don't have $50.00. Would you take a $25.00 donation?" My wife comes up and asks for $5.00--she also likes to play the lotto. I ask the girl at the table, "$20.00?" The girl at the table says, "Sure, it's do-able." I said, "You're kidding!" She said she wasn't, so I told my son, "Quick, Pick one out before your mother gets back!"
James now has a new Red Tail Boa he's named "Arrowhead," because of the shape of it's head. Now, I have an even larger mouth to feed and butt to clean for the next 20 to 30 years. Who needs an burgler alarm system, when you've got an 8 to 10 foot boa constrictor laying around in the house? Careful where you step, Mate.
The place was packed--literally--with vendors selling all sorts of stuff from Tarantulas to Poison Arrow frogs. There were no venomous snakes there, unless you count the False Water Cobra. Boas were everywhere. Kingsnakes dominated the arena. If you like Bearded Dragons, then that was a good place to shop.
However,
If you are a corn snake lover, like me, it was a disappointment. There were corns there, but the vendors selling them were not focused on selling corns. The corn snakes they offered were an addition to what the vendor had to sell and, more often than not, were from a single hatch produced by only one pair of adult corns.
There was this one guy who had a lot of corns on his table with names that, at first, were hard for me to understand, like: King Corn; Yellow Corn; and Brown Corn. His main sell item was Kingsnakes. He also had Everglades Rats there for sell as well. So, it was easy for someone like myself, who has corn snakes, to see that what he was selling were hybrids and intergrates. Few, if any, of his corns had the typical corn snake head pattern on them. So, I called him on it. I asked, "Do some of these have Everglades Rat in them?" He said, "No, they're all corn snakes out of the same hatch." I asked, "All of them?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Amazing!" And turned around and left his table. I told my wife, "I feel sorry for anyone who is new to corn snakes who buys from that guy. They might get a good snake, but they won't be getting a pure corn snake." For your information, the King Corn was a typical "Jungle Corn" type, as in, King snake x Corn snake.
So, Carol, produce! There is no competition there for anyone who is devoted to selling High Quality corn snakes--except maybe my son and I (tee hee)--but that won't be for a couple of years from now.
I did have one lucky break while there. Y'all won't believe it! I don't make a lot of money in my profession, so I was not going there to buy anything. I had only $27.00 dollars in my pocket, and, if fact, that was all I had to my name. Y'all know how it is. Anyway, the Petaluma Wildlife and Natural Science Museum had a table set up there and I and my son were looking at their material--we like wildlife. My wife comes up and asks for a dollar. Now, I have $26.00 dollars. She then comes up again, after a while, and asks for another dollar--she's a gambler and likes to play the scratchers. I have $25.00. I notice that the Petaluma W&NSM has one side of their table covered with deli-dishes filled with Red Tail Boas. A sign reads: "Give a $50.00 donation to the PW&NSM and receive a free boa." I joking ask, "I don't have $50.00. Would you take a $25.00 donation?" My wife comes up and asks for $5.00--she also likes to play the lotto. I ask the girl at the table, "$20.00?" The girl at the table says, "Sure, it's do-able." I said, "You're kidding!" She said she wasn't, so I told my son, "Quick, Pick one out before your mother gets back!"
James now has a new Red Tail Boa he's named "Arrowhead," because of the shape of it's head. Now, I have an even larger mouth to feed and butt to clean for the next 20 to 30 years. Who needs an burgler alarm system, when you've got an 8 to 10 foot boa constrictor laying around in the house? Careful where you step, Mate.
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I bet you will really enjoy him.