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The last Columbia Show
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by ChunkHead on June 30, 2008
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I thought the show was OK for the most part, but as usual there are a number of things that disappoint me. The first being the sale of puppies that haven't even been weaned yet. A woman made a big stink about that, and although I may have gone about it in a different way, I agreed with her.
Secondly, I saw a large Levantine viper in the same cage with an adult Eastern Diamondback. Why?
And even more so are those people who go out and scour the woods for copperheads and other reptiles and amphibians just to make a buck at the show. I saw one table with 20 or more wild caught copperheads, a majority of them in various degrees of dehydration and malnourishment. These people are either too afraid to care for them properly or don't care. And the number of WC box turtles was just not right. Ten or more of them in a tub walking around in their own excrement!
I would like to see this show do a little more self-policing, and at least remove those animals that are obviously not outwardly healthy. Its these types of things that give ammo to those nutjobs that want to shut the hobby down.
Alex
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RE: The last Columbia Show
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by Cro on June 30, 2008
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Alex, you make some very good points.
The way animals are presented does get noticed by the folks attending the shows, and by the folks who want to shut the shows down.
I think that the Repticon Team has done a very good job in improving the quality and safety of shows over the last few years, but there will always be more room for improvement.
Some vendors do a great job of displaying healthy animals in clean, well labeled and well lit cages.
Unfortunatly, other vendors do not seem to care. As you said, it is just about making money to them. I hate seeing the numbers of wild caught animals that some folks bring in to shows. While it is legal in the states they live in, they should care enough to keep the animals fed and watered and clean.
I think that we will see less and less of that in the future though. Prices on wild caught snakes are very, very low these days, and venomous reptile keeping is becoming less popular, which should cause some of those vendors to drop out.
The cost of the show table, hotel, gasoline, and food makes it very difficult these days for vendors to make any money at all.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: The last Columbia Show
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by atwageman on June 30, 2008
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I enjoyed the show. But have concerns like others do. I saw one vender who had at least 20 or so adult wc rat snakes cramed into a way too small tote box. Besides not being very humane, I think it shows the lack of "class" some folks have. Some other vendors didn't even bother to make sure the containers specimens were housed in were at least clean looking. To me that just lets me know right there that they probably don't even keep their own house clean.
Maybe I'm just being to picky. Sitting here looking over at my cages makes me proud to know that my snakes are being kept in pristine conditions. Hell even my mouse colony has it good.
First impressions are everything. It reflects to the complete stranger on who you/we are.
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RE: The last Columbia Show
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by BigBend66 on June 30, 2008
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Did you happen to notice if any of these guys rolled in a 50 gal drum full of Cottonmouths and was one of them real a real big dude and the other short with dark hair??
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RE: The last Columbia Show
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by ChunkHead on June 30, 2008
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I saw a number of cottonmouths, but don't remember a drum full.
I have high hopes for the hobby (although, as I primarily keep venomous reptiles, my area of interest is in more trouble), and don't want to bash this show or any other. I have seen similar situations at the Hamburg show as well, and comparitively, the Columbia show is more thorough with their rules and regs. But someone needs to speak with the person/people who run Repticon and insist that they police themselves a little more (I will do this if I can get a direct contact). Although I don't want to see ANY wild caught animals being sold, sometimes some new genes are necessary. But there is no reason to collect such large numbers, and then let them deteriorate while in captivity.
There should be people who are designated to go from table to table and view all the animals being sold. If there are such people, and I admit that I do not know, then they should be more diligent in their job. Any animals of questionable health should be removed from the building immediately; and those vendors who have animals in unsanitary conditions should be reprimanded in some way AFTER they have cleaned up their act (yes, pun intended).
I'm not pointing fingers or bashing the hobby, but if we take care of these things now then we will be in better shape later when politicians try to legislate us into oblivion
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RE: The last Columbia Show
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by jared on June 30, 2008
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I have worked with Kathy at the columbia show for several years in various situations as a vendor and as a venomous reptile escort and there are a couple things i would like to point out.
Yes, Wc snakes in particular are on the bottom of the list right now for herpers, as anything wc is worth relatively little money now. Though this at one time was the primary animal you would see (lets not forget how these shows got started way back when) they have been phased out over the years, and more serious keepers producing more serious lines (ie expressing traits etc) there is really no reason someone would search out wc animals(well except locality we can go into that later)with so many cb ones at relatively a few dollars more. Also, as far as the containers and deli cups go, i have seen vendors have to remove more than just snakes from there tables because of being in poor health, it does happen though many dont necessarily see it. I can also understand the larger vendors who had to within a couple hours bag up some couple hundred venomous reptiles and drive some 14 or more hours, stay up most all night, then set up a table and have to "sell" snakes that for the most part people dont buy, but attend the show already knowing exactly what species they want to pick up. Columbia overall is one of the best venues for a reptile show, and for the shhs in particular it was quite a groundbreaking area early on and a model for other venomous shows. I for one will be at the fall show and look forward to seeing everyone again so if ya want stop by and shoot the breeze, just my usual rant
Jared
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RE: The last Columbia Show
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by FLVenom911 on June 30, 2008
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I agree with Chuck on many points. I was deeply disturbed to see many animals in crowded, substandard conditions. The Jameson's Mamba with a rubbed nose, a Red Tail Green Ratsnake that was weezing and near death, and many thin Chameleons. While the Repticon team does a fantastic job, they need to implement a policy to where if people complain about an animal's condition and it's proven to be in bad shape, the seller must take it down and off the table. The show needs to raise the bar in that aspect. Dealers need to be held accountable if they continue to pass off garbage.I just can't stand seeing mixed species together in crowded cages, or turtles in filthy water which I saw in the venomous section. Another thing that needs to be changed, is the dogs. It's a reptile show, why do people bring dogs?
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RE: The last Columbia Show
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by SerpenXotics on July 1, 2008
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that jameson's mamba had more than a nose rub! It had a F-ing valley dug out of it's face! I swear if I had a flash light I could see his brain. I felt so bad for that poor fella I still think about it.as for the wild caught animals I have had many heated debates on where to draw the line with WC do we consider locale color species??? i could talk about it till I am blue in the face. is it out of control? YES! do any of the people who catch these even care? SOME! will we ever stop it?NO! Can we put on a all CB show here at least once a year? Maybe.But we can hope cathy and danny will consider it!!
Joe
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