best and biggest reptile expo out there

[BrinnANDTorts]

Thats a Bucket List I could have used!

 

[Tom]

The friend that I'm going with says he brings back reptiles every year. Having moved animals internationally many times, I know its not easy, but he says that its not too hard for most things...

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

The friend that I'm going with says he brings back reptiles every year. Having moved animals internationally many times, I know its not easy, but he says that its not too hard for most things...

That sounds llike so much fun! !! When r u going

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

For years, the National Reptile Breeders Expo in Daytona (formerly Orlando) has been "THE" reptile show. It is still going strong, but I have personally noticed a slight decline in vendors, both in quality and numbers. Some attribute this to the increasing legislation in Florida against big snakes, so you no longer find vendors with retics, burms, or anacondas. Others surmise it is the steep vending price Wayne Hill charges. It could very well be a combination ot both. I can tell you that while it is certainly a larger show than any Repticon, or other localized expo, the NRBE is basically the same bread-n-butter stuff you'll see at any other show: tons of geckos, cornsnakes, kingsnakes, milksnakes, and ball pythons, with a generous helping of red-tailed boas, carpet pythons, and Asian colubrids. Then all of the typical wildcaught imported species fill in the cracks: monitors, tortoises, uromastyx, etc.

I still think it's a decent show, and if you happen to be in Florida in August, check it out. But I first went several years ago back when it was in Orlando, then my wife and I went back in 2008 and 2010. It is definitely not what it used to be.
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I have never been to the NARBC in Tinley Park, IL, but from everything I hear, it is slowly becoming everything the NRBE once was, if not already so. Illinois doesn't have near as many laws resticting keeping herps as FLorida does (although it appears that they're jumping on the bandwagon since this federal rule change!), so I believe the captive-bred to wildcaugh ratio is better. More species selection as well. It is certainly on my list to attend one of these years.

 

[cdmay]

For years, the National Reptile Breeders Expo in Daytona (formerly Orlando) has been "THE" reptile show. It is still going strong, but I have personally noticed a slight decline in vendors, both in quality and numbers. Some attribute this to the increasing legislation in Florida against big snakes, so you no longer find vendors with retics, burms, or anacondas. Others surmise it is the steep vending price Wayne Hill charges. It could very well be a combination ot both. I can tell you that while it is certainly a larger show than any Repticon, or other localized expo, the NRBE is basically the same bread-n-butter stuff you'll see at any other show: tons of geckos, cornsnakes, kingsnakes, milksnakes, and ball pythons, with a generous helping of red-tailed boas, carpet pythons, and Asian colubrids. Then all of the typical wildcaught imported species fill in the cracks: monitors, tortoises, uromastyx, etc.

I still think it's a decent show, and if you happen to be in Florida in August, check it out. But I first went several years ago back when it was in Orlando, then my wife and I went back in 2008 and 2010. It is definitely not what it used to be.
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Those are valid points for sure. Wayne Hill has alienated virtually all of the vendors in the past with his pompous (my opinion) attitude and many have responded by simply boycotting the event. Plus, it is much easier now to sell offspring via the Internet and avoid the expense of traveling across the country (or even the state) to sell those same animals. So the backlash of Wayne being arrogant is part of what has made the Expo smaller than it once was. Stiff enforcement and questionable interpretation of state laws by the Florida Wildlife Commission has also put many vendors off in recents years and now a number of them now choose not to bother.
But it is still a great weekend and a lot of folks attend just to socialize.

 

[jerm42991]

I go to NARBC in Tinley Park, IL every year. It is always a ton of fun and they always have a very good variety. It is mostly snakes and lizards but there was still a good amount of torts, you also never know what you may see, last year I saw not one, but two people walking around with a monkey on a leash.

What is nice about Tinley is that not only do they have all of the vendors but they also have a lot of talks where experts come in and give 30 min-hr presentations that you can go and listen to.