Sofar reptile expo today

[Craig2]

Well it seamed there was a great turnout at the expo today
would love to here your opinion and maybe a few pics
I picked up a few nice hatchies

 

[Kirby]

what did you buy?

it was my first expo, and those i went with said it was rubbish. the next few in the coming month or two will be much better.

i thought it was alright. the products were no more then a pet store. with similar prices. there wasn't much for sale.

we managed to walk around 3 times over in 20 mins.

 

[Craig2]

I bought a few snakes and though it was quite good pleanty of reptiles for sale
I agree there were alotless there than say castle hill but it was good to catch up with alot of people i have not seen for a while
There was no judging like castle hill there for alot less display animals
Cant complaine about the price the roughies went for in the auction but

 

[Kirby]

Cant complaine about the price the roughies went for in the auction but

i didn't stay that long, we ditched it for australian reptile park :lol:

 

[BenReyn]

Yeah, I showed up.
There was a great turnout, bu, unfortunately, I've been spoiled by Castle Hill.
Although, I was estatic to see a Perentie!!
Other then that though, one again I was disappointed in the fact my parents dctate what living things I can buy.
Lol, I left with nothing
But- A good day nonetheless- better then last year!
Ben.

 

[mungus]

Quite a few snakes for sale.
Most hatchies were over priced.
Newbie's were buying anything that was cheaper than the next guy along.
sellers were taking advantage of this.
One thing that surprised me was that when hatchies were sold [ not in all cases, but to frequently for my liking ] the sellers never asked how they was going to look after it, they assumed he/she knew how.
I have refused to sell hatchies to 2 buyers when they both told me their set ups.
$$$ talks for some people.
Bob was selling 3 year old diamonds that were no bigger than my yearlings !!!
Snake ranch [ not selling ], snake farmer , scales & tails were all there [ big effort coming down from qld ]
All in all, worth the quick visit.
Cheers,
Aleks.

 

[Bax155]

Yeah I had a quick look 1st expo and wasnt that impressed!! Hatchlings over priced too many kids unsupervised tapping glass on enclosures and no matter how many times they were told not to kick the canvas on the snake pit they kept doing it while ol mates got inland taipans ,eastern browns out, you could clearly tell these snakes were stressed!! I felt like flogging every kid there!! Bring on Castle Hill!!!

 

[MrSpike]

Was an alright day. I always enjoy going to expo's and checking out whats out there. And it's good to catch up with some old mates. I also enjoy having a stall/table even if I only make my money back so the table has paid for itself... it's good to be able to talk new people into the hobby and give them some of the basic info needed.

I do agree with Aleks though, I think people should be asking how the snake is going to be set up before agreeing to sell an animal. Most of the stuff I sell at expo's goes to beginner keepers so being able to offer them that advice for their first reptile (like how to set up and care etc) is a good thing I reckon.

Mac herps in 2 weeks should be good...

And Kirby, Sorry SOFAR didn't live up to your dragon master standards. Maybe you should go to Daytona with your US mates?

 

[Kirby]

i also bought animals. not once was any person there asked how they would care for the animal. if they asked questions, the answers were poor. unfrotunatly softening and easing reptile care to sell stock isnt were i'd like to see the hobby heading... i was thrown an A4 peice of paper as i walked off. which happened to be a caresheet... i think.

of course, there were some breeders with knowledge. this stall experience should not be a generalisation for the whole show.

i dont think ill be going next year, i'd rather just wait till it grows to match castle.hehe

And Kirby, Sorry SOFAR didn't live up to your dragon master standards. Maybe you should go to Daytona with your US mates?

wasnt my standards, clearly everyone elses too. had nothing to judge from. sadly ARP was the high of my day, espec. considering ive seen it all before. i saw you there. didnt bother saying hi.

 

[Kersten]

Yeah I had a quick look 1st expo and wasnt that impressed!! Hatchlings over priced too many kids unsupervised tapping glass on enclosures and no matter how many times they were told not to kick the canvas on the snake pit they kept doing it while ol mates got inland taipans ,eastern browns out, you could clearly tell these snakes were stressed!! I felt like flogging every kid there!! Bring on Castle Hill!!!

That's standard behaviour of kids at most expos/demonstrations I'm afraid. It's alwys fun being the person who has to spend the day ushering kids with dangling arms back and copping mouthfuls of abuse from parents for it no matter how gently you phrase the request :lol: Most days you get adults carrying on like the kids too, tapping and the like. Now if we have a static display we just put up barricades and then at least you can stand between the people and the cages and move around more quickly when some idiot decides he's just gotta get the brown to stand up again for a picture.

I can understand why you'd be concerned about people not being asked about how they intend to care for their animals Mungus, it's something that frustrates the hell out of me, and unfortunately it happens with breeders quite often and not just during expos. It's also something that's difficult for the event organisers to have much control over, you can try and weed out sick snakes, or people selling off license....but you can't always regulate the follow up care of stall holders.

 

[wokka]

Keepers selling reptiles without advice on how to keep them is a problem not specific to Expos. I had a number of buyers tell me they had bought cages for their snakes with UV and blue lights, When I asked them how they were going to control the temperature? what thermost they had; they didn't know. It seems that an extra ontop of the $700 cage from the average petshop.

 

[wokka]

The Expo worked well by raising the awareness off frogs and reptiles and put a few dollars in the coffers of SOFAR. Crowd numbers were up on last year and for us enquiry was just as strong although very few buyers were new. Most buyers were there because of a freind or had talked/ bought before.

 

[Craig2]

i also bought animals. i was thrown an A4 peice of paper as i walked off. which happened to be a caresheet... i think. .

Did you ask how to care for the reptiles you bought

I bought a few snakes the low end stuff i have heaps off the species i bought and dont want someone telling me there way of keeping them anyhow. i have sucessfully keptthem for 7 years im sure i must be doing something right.

 

[arbok]

i saw you there. didnt bother saying hi.

yeah Kane pointed you out.... didnt bother introducing myself


lets get some pics going! i saw alot of people with cameras

 

[hodges]

Mac herps in 2 weeks should be good...

I sure hope i dodge seeing you there, but i am sure you will follow me around like a hawk. There is no escaping you huh Kane :shock:

 

[Kirby]

.... didnt bother introducing myself

why would you?

 

[scam7278]

now now ladies play nice

 

[arbok]

why would you?

exactly!

:lol:

 

[Australis]

now now ladies play nice

:lol: .. hilarious... kinda like a CWA meeting!

 

[Kersten]

Sorry lads, have to disagree. It's more like recess in the girls loos than a CWA meeting.