dogofwar
CCA Members
My daughter and I went to the Mid-Atlantic Reptile Show (MARS) today in Timonium (http://www.reptileinfo.com/Home.aspx ) and all I can say is, "Wow!"...
It was at the Maryland Fairground and the exhibitors filled a building. Each table was pretty much covered in plastic containers of lizards, snakes, frogs, etc. of all shapes and sizes. Some people are all about the provenance of the strains of their reptiles to the wild (although wild animals aren't permitted to be sold) and some are all about "morphs" of fancy patterns that are mutations in the wild ("Look it's a lemon pie-bald boa). Amazingly, the two groups seemed to get along, sometimes even in the same booth
Proceeds from admissions, etc. go to actually buy and conserve rain forest in Costa Rica, which is pretty cool. They also were collecting funds (in exchange for kids crafts) for rescue and care of abandoned / discarded reptiles and snakes (because, of course, people never buy a baby snake without being completely prepared to house and maintain a 20' monster for like 50 years, right?).
I'm not really into reptiles (they don't speak to me like fish do) but my daughter is fascinated. Maybe the dart frogs are kinda cool (especially since they can be bred and won't poison anyone in captivity). Anyway, it was a pretty cool way to spend a couple hours of Sunday afternoon. I came home with 1,000 superworms for $15...which some people would call crazy and others would call a good deal. I passed on the (inevitably escaping) crickets.
The place was packed and there were probably 30-40 vendors. Really eye-opening.
Matt
It was at the Maryland Fairground and the exhibitors filled a building. Each table was pretty much covered in plastic containers of lizards, snakes, frogs, etc. of all shapes and sizes. Some people are all about the provenance of the strains of their reptiles to the wild (although wild animals aren't permitted to be sold) and some are all about "morphs" of fancy patterns that are mutations in the wild ("Look it's a lemon pie-bald boa). Amazingly, the two groups seemed to get along, sometimes even in the same booth
Proceeds from admissions, etc. go to actually buy and conserve rain forest in Costa Rica, which is pretty cool. They also were collecting funds (in exchange for kids crafts) for rescue and care of abandoned / discarded reptiles and snakes (because, of course, people never buy a baby snake without being completely prepared to house and maintain a 20' monster for like 50 years, right?).
I'm not really into reptiles (they don't speak to me like fish do) but my daughter is fascinated. Maybe the dart frogs are kinda cool (especially since they can be bred and won't poison anyone in captivity). Anyway, it was a pretty cool way to spend a couple hours of Sunday afternoon. I came home with 1,000 superworms for $15...which some people would call crazy and others would call a good deal. I passed on the (inevitably escaping) crickets.
The place was packed and there were probably 30-40 vendors. Really eye-opening.
Matt
