Hamburg Feb. 28th

[nevinm]

wow, you guys havent been around long enough. ive been going to that show for 10 years now. todays show would have been considered slow up till about 2 years ago. but then by the standereds of the past 2 years it was pretty bussy.

 

[DLS Reptile]

I have been going for about 10 years to but just cannot remember it being that busy.. It was great to meet some of you guys today. I really hope we can talk more often...

 

[BettaDragon]

I got to meet a few of you guys there and I had a blast. Thanks again, Nevin, you're so helpful! I got a few pictures that I'll put up later of the show. I wish I took more but I was too distracted by the tons of people. I tried to make it for the meeting thing but I had work so we ended up being late and then we were in line forever.

 

[lizardlove]

I had so much fun at the show, but the line was RIDICULOUS. We got there around 1:15, don't know if that was why but I didn't run into a lot of GF people... It was still great, though.

There was a breeder there that was a little suspicious... I may be paranoid, I dunno. Liz wants to get a BRB and when she asked him if she could handle it to check it's temperament he said 'You can't handle it unless you buy it, this isn't a petting zoo.' Not only did this come off as really rude, but isn't it a little suspicious that he won't let people handle his snakes...? I dunno, maybe I'm just crazy, but other breeders were happy to let us handle their snakes and they were all lovely. Personally I wouldn't purchase an animal unless I was sure that it had a gentle personality, and it's not really a leap to think that a breeder that has so little regard for potential customers probably doesn't have much regard for his animals, either.

Nev, thanks for attempting, it's not like I can get a carpet any time soon anyway. I live at home for college so I get fed for free, but it means I can't get a snake until I get an apartment. Serpentine Exotics has consistently had lovely animals so I'll keep them in mine. And I think you made Liz seriously consider hiding a BRB in a closet or something.

 

[BettaDragon]

I had so much fun at the show, but the line was RIDICULOUS. We got there around 1:15, don't know if that was why but I didn't run into a lot of GF people... It was still great, though.

There was a breeder there that was a little suspicious... I may be paranoid, I dunno. Liz wants to get a BRB and when she asked him if she could handle it to check it's temperament he said 'You can't handle it unless you buy it, this isn't a petting zoo.' Not only did this come off as really rude, but isn't it a little suspicious that he won't let people handle his snakes...? I dunno, maybe I'm just crazy, but other breeders were happy to let us handle their snakes and they were all lovely. Personally I wouldn't purchase an animal unless I was sure that it had a gentle personality, and it's not really a leap to think that a breeder that has so little regard for potential customers probably doesn't have much regard for his animals, either.

Nev, thanks for attempting, it's not like I can get a carpet any time soon anyway. I live at home for college so I get fed for free, but it means I can't get a snake until I get an apartment. Serpentine Exotics has consistently had lovely animals so I'll keep them in mine. And I think you made Liz seriously consider hiding a BRB in a closet or something.

Yeah, that guy weirded me out. Personally I never buy an animal that will need regular handling without handling it first. Like I can understand people not wanting their animals thrown all around but on the other hand, I want to get a good idea what the general temperament of the snake I want to get is like so I know what I'm getting myself into. I don't think it's too far fetched for breeders to want their customers to know what they're getting into when they buy their animals but that's just me.

And yes, I would hide a BRB in my closet if it was big enough. Don't give me ideas, Darcie, you know how dangerous that is.:main_laugh:

 

[BettaDragon]

Here's some pics either I took or my boyfriend took. The pics aren't all that great because I don't like to use flash around animals. My camera really only takes good pics in natural lighting. It focuses horribly in artificial lighting. I'm just sending the link to the album so I don't crash dial-up users.

http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f106/icedfoxicle/hamburg 2-28-09/

 

[Lena]

All I have to say is.. HOLY CRAP! Parking and the lines were INSANE!!!! I don't think the photo-op would've worked... Haha.

My boyfriend picked up a gorgeous baby giant day gecko.. And I got a sweet little baby ball python. We made out good.

 

[DLS Reptile]

While there is no reason to be rude, some breeders are very fanatical about their reptiles picking things up at shows. Look at it this way. If you were handling a snake at another table that had mites and did not know you could devastate a whole collection very quick.. Again I cannot stand cocky/rude people. They piss me off (sorry about the slang but it is true) to no end and I have zero tolerance for that. The way I look at it is this. I am nice until someone does not deserve me to be nice. Period.. You always have those people that are pissed off about everything (sorry pal that your like is not perfect but no ones is). You will remember that guy and If I were you I would NEVER give his table another eye shot..

 

[SteveB]

Liz and Darcie,

I agree the way it was handled sounds to have been very poor, but there are reasons for a vendor to have anxiety about allowing animals to be handled. For what it's worth...

As a reptile owner, breeder, and seller, I would like to limit the amount of contact my captive bred animals have with hands that may have just handled the wild caught animals at the show. Likewise I would want to reduce risk of injury and liability if someone were to improperly handle my animals.

Now from a security standpoint, as busy as the expo is, it becomes a huge liability to allow such a significant distraction as would be necessary to allow an animal to be handled. A vendor without staff could not possibly watch the table carefully and attend to animal being handled. That's one reason a lot of vendors have moved away from simply having deli cups on display, too easy to pocket...

If I was bringing anything of value to a show, I used to have "booth babes" on both sides of my table... no joke, my then girflriend on one side of the table and one of our friends on the other.

 

[DLS Reptile]

Liz and Darcie,

I agree the way it was handled sounds to have been very poor, but there are reasons for a vendor to have anxiety about allowing animals to be handled. For what it's worth...

As a reptile owner, breeder, and seller, I would like to limit the amount of contact my captive bred animals have with hands that may have just handled the wild caught animals at the show. Likewise I would want to reduce risk of injury and liability if someone were to improperly handle my animals.

Now from a security standpoint, as busy as the expo is, it becomes a huge liability to allow such a significant distraction as would be necessary to allow an animal to be handled. A vendor without staff could not possibly watch the table carefully and attend to animal being handled. That's one reason a lot of vendors have moved away from simply having deli cups on display, too easy to pocket...

If I was bringing anything of value to a show, I used to have "booth babes" on both sides of my table... no joke, my then girflriend on one side of the table and one of our friends on the other.

This is very true, good points...

 

[BettaDragon]

I can completely understand if someone doesn't want people to handle their snakes because of disease spread, security reasons, ect. I can completely respect a reason like that and if I was vending I'd be pretty wary too.

What bothered me is that the guy immediately assumed I wasn't buying. He also said that the snake would probably bite me. I may be taking a stretch on this, but I got the vibe that he thought I was a dumb girl wanting to play with snakes and that since I'm a girl I can't take a bite and I couldn't possibly be a potential buyer.

Needless to say I'm not going to buy a snake from him ever or give his table any glances ever again. I never ask to handle an animal unless it's something I'm thinking about getting. I remember the people that let me handle their animals and I make sure I pick up business cards or get some sort of contact for them. Those people are on the top of my list when I buy.

 

[SteveB]

Don't forget that there are people that believe the odds of closing a sale are better if you've got the animal in your hands... but regardless, I have to say I can sympathize completely... We bought two timor monitors today at the show. There's not a chance that I would have bought them without looking them over.

 

[lizardlove]

Don't forget that there are people that believe the odds of closing a sale are better if you've got the animal in your hands...

Right. I handled a carpet python from Serpentine Exotics and two things happened: 1) I fell in love with carpets, and 2) I know that SE has GREAT snakes and when I get a carpet (because I totally will now) I'll get it from them.

 

[nevinm]

Don't forget that there are people that believe the odds of closing a sale are better if you've got the animal in your hands... but regardless, I have to say I can sympathize completely... We bought two timor monitors today at the show. There's not a chance that I would have bought them without looking them over.

accually this is a big selling point that i use and it works 90% of the time. if i see someone looking at a particular animal for more than 10 seconds it is out of containor, they have handsanitizer on their hands, and they are playing with the animal. it almost always works.

 

[Emyo101]

We went to the Mars show today and a little boy asked someone if they could see a ball python and the vendor said the same thing about "only if you buy it." Thats not cool, it just doesn't seem right to me. I know there's a risk of disease spread, but this vendor was one to talk... most of his animals were in deplorable shape and were mostly wc specimens. I mean if it was a several thousand dollar animal and his parent wasn't around, then ok I understand that... But it was a normal ball python and the boys father was right there... let the kid handle the snake, just give him some hand sanitizer beforehand... (Not a fan of this said vendor at all btw, who shall remain nameless.)

 

[nevinm]

i also have to admit that i have said the same. im sorry, these are my animals, i know my animals do not have any problems. and if i let every child hold an animal that wanted to my animals would never eat from stress. they sit in the tubs and sleep. they dont get bothered unless they have to. i like to think im a VERY good judge of who is going to buy an animal. i have said countless times, no i am sorry i cant let you hold one unless you plan on buying one or another. some of you need to remember, we sit behind a table all day long and watch the people go back and forth. we can see what children are not being watched by the parents, and what children are running around like they have ADHD and havent taken their meds in 2 years. there are some children and even adults that we just dont feel comfortable letting our animals go into their hands. the comment "this is not a petting zoo" sometimes holds true. there are people that walk around and just want to touch everything. its not like they are holding animals to see what they like most IE a ball python, leopard gecko, bearded dragon, so on and so on. "hmmmm i think i like the bearded dragon the most. so ill go back to that vender with the dragons." its not like that in so meny cases. too often it is "i want to hold it just cause."

 

[Emyo101]

Very good points as well. It just got under my skin that he said that because some of his animals were mite ridden anyway.... And he was worried about the spread of disease... I don't know it seemed very contradicting to me.

But very good points about the wandering kids, and there are always people who have that "vibe". Like people you don't want handling your animals... sometimes its just good to go with your gut I suppose.

 

[nevinm]

absolutly emily. i compleatly agree that sometimes its just contradicting. but i would hate for someone to say about me what you have said about that person. sometimes i dont have a problem with kids handling them just to handle them but you said it perfictly, its a "vibe", and you really need to be sensative to it.