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What's Repticon like? Anyone going in WI?

ArvadaLanee

ArvadaLanee

New member
I really want to go check out Repticon this year. I'm hoping my boyfriend will want to go, now that he just got his own snake. I'm a little worried though. I went to this awesome show in Texas called "Bird Mart," which actually had it's own mini-reptile section, and it was huge, and a ton of fun. My Aunt was actually a vender there, so we took turns watching the booth, and running around. My kids were all there, and there was enough to see to keep them entertained the whole time. A few vendors even let us hold or pet some birds, and reptiles up for sale. I ended up leaving with a parakeet, a pair of button quail, and a hamster my son won in a raffle, and almost left with a chameleon and a corn snake. My boyfriend's friend is really into birds, so when I saw that they were having a bird show here in WI, I talked them into going. It was way down near the IL border, and a long drive, but I told them all about "Bird Mart," and they thought it sounded fun. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was nothing like the show in Texas. It was very tiny, and there were no raffles, or games, or prizes, and most of the birds were ones we could have easily found in town. (It was mostly parakeets, and love birds.) We still had fun, but we had seen all there was to see in about 30 minutes. There were a few button quail there, which I had been excited to show my boyfriend, but they were in bad shape, having been kept together and plucked each other's feathers off. Most of the animals were wild and afraid, and couldn't be held. I felt bad, like everyone was a little disappointed in the trip. I hope my boyfriend doesn't hold that experience against me, and say he doesn't want to go to Repticon. I have never been to Repticon before, so I don't know what to expect. At least this time, it would only be about an hour or so of driving, so not nearly as far as the bird show. It looks like they have some presentations going on, and a raffle, and lots of vendors.
Is anyone else going? Has anyone ever been? Is it fun? Would it be entertaining for my 9 year old twins? Think anyone would let us hold any of the animals, or is that not something we should expect? What kinds of things do they have in the raffles? (If I win something instead of buying it, my boyfriend can't be mad!) Are the animals there usually healthy, and the vendors generally knowledgeable? Do you find cool things there, you wouldn't find at your local Petco, like cool homemade reptile hides, or maybe some good bargains, on wood or cool rock pieces? I have been experimenting with making my own stuff, so I would love to talk with people, and get their ideas and experiences. Personally, I think it would be cool to go, even if we just learn some new things. Let me know what you guys think, if you've ever been to one of these shows. I am going to try to talk my boyfriend into coming out with myself, and the kiddos, to check it out, and have some fun. Maybe we'll see some of you there! :)
 
Piggybacking on ArvadaLanee, I've never been to one of these, either. There is an event being held in Amhert NY (near Buffalo) on May 15, 2016 called Buffalo Niagara Reptile Expo. It's a one-day-only event that seems to have lot of Ben dors, but I have no idea of their quality. How big can it be being held in a hotel (Buffalo Niagara Marriott)?
Has anyone gone to this before? Any feedback on these? Are they good places to buy corns and supplies? I don't want to make a mistake at one of these....
 
Sorry, what I'm going to say isn't entirely helpful because shows, even put on by national groups like Repticon, vary so much by region.

Repticon generally has decent raffles and lots of info presentations. They tend to market themselves to the causal person, particularly families that want to be entertained, learn something, see animals and maybe hold them. That can make them a good show to visit as an attendee.
On the other hand, they are not always very nice to their vendors and the type of people they are geared towards attracting in the door, are often not serious buyers, which can hurt the vendors. The two local-ish Repticons to me had this issue, not one single vendor I talked to ever even broke even on vending at Repticon, so of course, most stopped vending there. The one in Idaho pulled out for good, after just 2 or 3 years and the one in Utah has either pulled out entirely or been reduced to a one day show. Neither of them were very good anyway but if you were within a reasonable driving distance, they could be fun and some good deals could be found.
Utah has a well established show that is going on it's 15th-16th? year and that one is very much worth the drive.

So, two things I'd look at to help judge a show, is how long have they been in a location? If they are fairly new, they are probably going to be smaller. Of course, it's possible for an old, established show to be in the dying stage too.
Then check out the vendor list if they have one, see how many are there and if it seems like enough to make it worthwhile. One thing though, sometimes the vendor lists don't have quite all of the vendors that might be there.
Another thing you can do is take the vendor list and look everyone on it up on the BOI, that should give at least a bit of peace of mind about the vendors.
For the most part, the vendors, especially the long term ones, are usually good. Though there are some bad apples out there.

Most vendors should be happy to answer questions for you and don't be afraid to ask lots of them about any animal that you are thinking of buying, if they are reluctant to answer questions about their animals, it might be best to pass.

Most are also willing to let you see and hold at least some of their animals, depending on the type of animal, how quick it is, how likely to bite or how easily stressed. If it's a busy show, the vendors are also probably going to be less willing to devote time and attention to you if you appear to just be a lookie-loo.
It's good manners to disinfect your hands before and after asking to hold an animal, most vendors will have alcohol disinfectant on their tables for you to use.
 
Oh it's fun. You get to walk around with all the other reptile nut jobs, instead of folks who say "Ugh, it's a snake. Why?" You get to see all kinds of cool reptiles. They have informational shows. Most folks let you hold and if not hold, see up close and personal. My husband walked around for a while and found a place to wait for me to ooh and ahh over every thing 3 or 4 times over. My kids and my grandkids love to go. You will have fun.
 
I looked up the vendor list, and there are only 5 vendors listed. Three of them are product vendors, one has a good guy listing on the BOI, but it looks like they deal mostly with lizards, and the last one I wasn't able to find any info on. I'm nervous now. I really want to go. I mean, I live in WI, where it's still cold and snowing out, and there's nothing to do. But I hope there are other vendors not listed, because I was really hoping to see some amazing snakes. I don't have anything against other reptiles. I love pretty much any animal, but I was hoping to see some stuff we wouldn't find at the local Petco. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised, because if we go there, and there isn't much to look at, my boyfriend will never take me to another animal show again.
 
Chances are good there'll be other vendors there that just aren't listed. Maybe they don't vend regularly or are newer businesses.
 
I'd suggest that if you want to go to a really good show that is worth the trip, come to Tinley NARBC in October. It is an awesome show with some top notch breeders and vendors. Sadly, it is in the southern suburbs of Chicago, so a little further for you than if it was on the north side of town. It's still worth the trip.

If you want something on the north side of the city that's fun, but without sales, Reptilefest is this weekend at Northeastern Illinois University. Definitely worth the drive down for the day. He's the website for that.

http://chicagoherp.wix.com/reptilefest

Sometimes not having the chance to buy is a good thing, lol. I'm going tomorrow :)
 
Maybe the one in October, but right now Chicago is just too far. We are a bit short on cash right now, and our cars both need work, again. I also need to get my bunny fixed. We had some unexpected expenses when we became temporary guardians of an 11 month old baby. (Such a cutie!) He's back home now, and it's all good, but we have to be really careful with money for a while. It was hard enough to convince my boyfriend that we should make the hour drive to the Waukesha Expo Center. But I was persistent. We all need to get out of the house. This snowy, cold weather is driving me nuts. Lol
 
I understand about expenses. I've been there this time four years ago. I just wanted to give you ideas and options.

I hear you on the weather. Will spring ever come? I sure hope so.
 
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