first impressions of reptile expo - arlington, tx

[khanvict]

so i just got back from the reptile expo here in arlington, tx and came away disappointed with the lack of love for turtles/torts. the few tortoises that were there were a small batch of redfoots and maybe one baby sulcata or so but that was about all i saw. i asked one of the vendors if they had any russians (which is what i was looking for) and the man told me he had plenty at the shop but didn't bring any with him - nor did anyone else for that matter. i guess the more traditional looking tortoises like the russian may not be exotic or appealing enough to the crowd to sell, i don't know, maybe they will bring some tomorrow but i'm not going back.

for all other reptiles they had a good selection of snakes/lizards and all that but since i didn't show up for that reason it was pretty much a bore to me.

as for the setting itself, poorly situated. it was held in one room of a lodge with vendors along the wall and in the center. when i arrived it was a bit crowded so it made it difficult to maneuver the aisle without having to say excuse me every time you're not standing still. you don't need a giant convention center but a larger room/area wouldn't have hurt in this case. i was pretty much in and out of there in 15minutes and came away empty handed.

mr. munchkin will have to wait to get his new buddy/mate

 

[Yvonne G]

Sorry your visit wasn't satisfactory. Seems like a lot of the shows are that way. Turtles and tortoises are VERY popular, but they always take a back seat to the snakes and lizards.

Hang in there...I see a new Russian in your future (says she, looking into her crystal ball....)

 

[firework]

Trading turtles in North Carolina is illegal. I doubt if there will be any turtle at all in the Expo in September. I don't plan to keep more than one tortoise anyway, but would like to see and interact with them a bit.

 

[khanvict]

is there such a thing as a tortoise/turtle only exposition? if not, the breeders on these forums and others should collaborate & the ones that are close to each other should organize one in a major city and then perhaps it'll catch on. a whole room full of different types and sizes of tortoises would be so awesome to see.

EDIT: a minute after i posted this i go and look in the tortoise and reptile event section to see there are some tortoise specific events but they don't really seem like expos where you can purchase/adopt; more educational rather.

 

[Jacqui]

Not sure it was the case with this show (Arlington, TX), but many shows require the animals being sold to be captive born. With tortoises that would greatly limit the numbers and species available. Plus vendors have very little room, so only bring with them what they believe will sell. Face it, what is cuter and more likely to sell, a Russian or a baby Redfoot?

My experience is that with few exceptions, most shows are snake and lizards galore and a very few turtles and tortoises.

Still, even tho you didn't get what you went for (a Russian) didn't you enjoy seeing all the wonderful animals in all their vivid colors and patterns?

 

[Tom]

I guess it just depends on the show. Most of the ones around here feature lots of chelonians of all kinds.

 

[NealH]

I bought a leopard tortoise at the Arlington show two years ago and there were a lot of tortoises for sale back then. Since then, there have been fewer and fewer tortoise vendors with this one being an all time low since I've been going. I was there today, also hoping that there would be more tortoise vendors, but like you I was disappointed. They always hold it at that same place and it's always way too crowded--I don't know why they haven't gotten a clue and moved to a bigger venue. Maybe they get a good deal for the place. Anyway, we left with a Cal king for my daughter, so at least the kids were happy!
Neal

 

[matt41gb]

I live in Arlington and used to go to those all the time. They were better when they were at the "Knight's Inn" in North Arlington. I just don't go to them anymore. They never have tortoises other than baby sulcata, or leopard.

-Matt

 

[tglazie]

I live in San Antonio, and I can tell you tortoises have been on the decline at the Texas Reptile Expo here since 1999. I remember when I first went to the '99 show. There was a lady there with baby Turkish ibera, baby marginateds, baby Eastern Hermanns, baby leopards, and baby sulcatas. Everyone had sulcatas, everywhere you looked. People had a ton of leopards also. Red foots weren't as common back then, as I recall. Aquatic turtles were also very popular back then as well, with several tables carrying sliders of various kinds as well as any number of East Asian species (Reeves turtles, golden threads, etc.).

Nowadays, I see a few clutches of redfoots, a few of sulcatas, and two or three stars. That's it. And as for turtles. Spotteds. That's it. Certain species of wild caught tortoises don't show up on the market any longer, and unfortunately, when the wild supply stopped, it seems people just stopped breeding them locally, or those adults didn't translate into captive breeding groups. Everything has become much more expensive, average. I remember when Russians were first becoming popular in the late nineties, they usually ran around thirty dollars. Now, they can be three times this price, and the tortoises are smaller and just as sickly.

Maybe things are different in SoCal, but I haven't purchased a tortoise at the SA Expo in years. All of my stock comes from online purchases (usually from California or Florida) or local adoption. Not many folks in these parts are too interested in chelonia, unfortunately.

T.G.

 

[dmmj]

The pomona one usually has a good mix of species snakes and lizards are the most popular, but at the last pomona show I saw mata matas sulc pancakes redfoots russians leopard and many many more

 

[diabolicaldon]

Did you happen to catch the price for Sulcatas there?

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Did you happen to catch the price for Sulcatas there?

Didn't make it to this weekend's event, but at the previous one, a few mnths ago, babies the size of large walnuts were going fot $50, w/ orange-sized ones going for $75 and up.