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This past Sunday, I had decided that I wanted to check out this Reptile and Aquatics Expo that someone had talked about on a local Aquaria forum. So, I went looking it up and got the info.
Okay, well, first off, I was such in a rush to head out there that I was dumb enough to not remember if it was on Dixie or Dixon, and I spent probably half-an-hour driving around trying to find an expo that was not even on the road I was on. I ultimately called Christine and asked her for the address, and then almost immediately saw it when I got near it.
I have to say, for something titled a Reptile and Aquatics Expo, there was a considerable dearth of Aquatics. Like, none. I was extremely disappointed in the fact that there was one place tucked in the back that was selling exotic fish in plastic bags, and even then there was maybe 20 different koi-like fish. Probably looking at the vendor list should've given me a better idea of what was going to be there (and that one particular vendor wasn't even listed on that site)... thankfully the entrance fee was only $7. I would've been really upset if they charged more for what ended up being a market.
So I was extremely disappointed with that Expo. Won't go back unless they plan on having Aquatics there. Heck, I saw one of the guys that helped me out at Big Al's when I first got my new tank, but they were just selling glass tanks - no fish! That's bad representation right there. They've only just recently added snakes and lizards to their store, maybe a month ago.
There have been stories on the news lately of people buying geckos and lizards as "starter pets", and I guess that might explain why Big Al's started their section and this Expo were so focused on them. (And![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
catharsiscomic has some beautiful crested geckos, Biscotti is cute :) ) But I have a few qualms about this expo. Aside from quickly skittering by the tarantula and bug area (shudder!), I was dismayed to see that people were selling mice there. "Feeder" mice. It kinda turns my stomach to see them selling mice for food at the expo. I know that sometimes I feed my fish live food (bloodworms and brine shrimp being popular choices) but there's something about mice and rats - and nevermind the frozen ones, one company was selling them live, still squirming about and being "packaged" into containers through crude funnels - and I was thankful I hadn't eaten beforehand.
The other thing I have to say - I know that they're kinda tricky to transport and all that, and when you're in a local shop they've got a mini-environment for them to live in, but compared to the local shop, I felt like I was at a reptile bargain-bin or flea-market or something. All the geckos, frogs, lizards, even most of the snakes, they were all in small plastic containers with holes poked in the lid, like some kid captured them 20 minutes ago in their backyard. I felt so bad for all the geckos there, essentially sitting on a damp paper towel in a container that usually ships chinese food. I was glad to see some companies who had brought along glass cases and everything to house and display them properly. Even a container that was holding about 20 baby lizards was better since they were using a decent-sized container so they could skitter about and stretch their limbs.
I was actually so upset about the lack of fish at the show (with a side of disgust at the way they were keeping the reptiles at the show) that I drove halfway home and decided to stop at a PJ's Pets to wander their fish department. Must've been a quiet day as a lot of the workers were playing with various animals (a pair of ferrets, a beautiful rainbow parrot and a very fuzzy dog). Definitely made my day more bearable. :)
(Speaking of which, I managed to sell my fishtank. The couple who bought it were planning to use it for a snake, and after a while I've realized they took all the equipment for fish as well, so... eh, whatever. They got a great deal and I got to move my old tank, I hope they enjoy it. ^_^)
Okay, well, first off, I was such in a rush to head out there that I was dumb enough to not remember if it was on Dixie or Dixon, and I spent probably half-an-hour driving around trying to find an expo that was not even on the road I was on. I ultimately called Christine and asked her for the address, and then almost immediately saw it when I got near it.
I have to say, for something titled a Reptile and Aquatics Expo, there was a considerable dearth of Aquatics. Like, none. I was extremely disappointed in the fact that there was one place tucked in the back that was selling exotic fish in plastic bags, and even then there was maybe 20 different koi-like fish. Probably looking at the vendor list should've given me a better idea of what was going to be there (and that one particular vendor wasn't even listed on that site)... thankfully the entrance fee was only $7. I would've been really upset if they charged more for what ended up being a market.
So I was extremely disappointed with that Expo. Won't go back unless they plan on having Aquatics there. Heck, I saw one of the guys that helped me out at Big Al's when I first got my new tank, but they were just selling glass tanks - no fish! That's bad representation right there. They've only just recently added snakes and lizards to their store, maybe a month ago.
There have been stories on the news lately of people buying geckos and lizards as "starter pets", and I guess that might explain why Big Al's started their section and this Expo were so focused on them. (And
catharsiscomic has some beautiful crested geckos, Biscotti is cute :) ) But I have a few qualms about this expo. Aside from quickly skittering by the tarantula and bug area (shudder!), I was dismayed to see that people were selling mice there. "Feeder" mice. It kinda turns my stomach to see them selling mice for food at the expo. I know that sometimes I feed my fish live food (bloodworms and brine shrimp being popular choices) but there's something about mice and rats - and nevermind the frozen ones, one company was selling them live, still squirming about and being "packaged" into containers through crude funnels - and I was thankful I hadn't eaten beforehand.The other thing I have to say - I know that they're kinda tricky to transport and all that, and when you're in a local shop they've got a mini-environment for them to live in, but compared to the local shop, I felt like I was at a reptile bargain-bin or flea-market or something. All the geckos, frogs, lizards, even most of the snakes, they were all in small plastic containers with holes poked in the lid, like some kid captured them 20 minutes ago in their backyard. I felt so bad for all the geckos there, essentially sitting on a damp paper towel in a container that usually ships chinese food. I was glad to see some companies who had brought along glass cases and everything to house and display them properly. Even a container that was holding about 20 baby lizards was better since they were using a decent-sized container so they could skitter about and stretch their limbs.
I was actually so upset about the lack of fish at the show (with a side of disgust at the way they were keeping the reptiles at the show) that I drove halfway home and decided to stop at a PJ's Pets to wander their fish department. Must've been a quiet day as a lot of the workers were playing with various animals (a pair of ferrets, a beautiful rainbow parrot and a very fuzzy dog). Definitely made my day more bearable. :)
(Speaking of which, I managed to sell my fishtank. The couple who bought it were planning to use it for a snake, and after a while I've realized they took all the equipment for fish as well, so... eh, whatever. They got a great deal and I got to move my old tank, I hope they enjoy it. ^_^)