Going to Van in Oct

[Rebecca]

I'm going to be going to Vancouver for a day or two and was wondering if there were any herp must sees. I won't have much time or anything but I do plan on hitting at least one petstore. Any ideas??

[Dr. Antfarm]

I suggest the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanly Park. It has a great Amazon exhibit, and the rest of it is really amazing. Well worth the price of admission.

[paul vader]

I lived in Vancouver about 5 years ago...they still have the whales..? I just remember there was some good controversy back then about them in captivity. (not to highjack the thread)...

[Rebecca]

you know I never even thought of the fact it's going to be my first time seeing the ocean. That's pretty cool. It kinda sucks that I won't have much money but oh well. I'm sure I'll save enough to have a blast!!

[Jason Wakelin]

Rebecca,

I have a family pass for the Vancouver Aquarium (and used to work there also), but I must say if your trip is just about herps you won't be satisfied with spending near $20 to get in. They have a couple of herps, mostly in the Amazon exhibit, but this facility is about fish and aquatic mammals.

There are a couple of decent pet stores to go to, (King Ed's comes to mind) but you might want to PM ReneeD for more info. Also, if you are looking to buy something Renee has bred "a ton" of various lizards and frogs this year.


Paul, they still have Beluga Whales, but the Killer Whales are long gone. And, there is alot of public pressure to not only "remove" the Belugas but also the White sided Dolphin.

[Rebecca]

It's actually not about herps or anything. My sister needs some tests done so I figured while she's geting that done I can hit the pet stores and such. I actually love fish and all that. Well I love all animals really. Do they have a zoo of any type?? I just figured this would be the best spot to find out about the best pet stores. I have decided I'm bringing home atleast one lizard ;). One last question, if we end up taking a plane how am I going to get my lizards home?? Can I just leave it in my carry on?? I've never even been on a plane let alone with a live animal, so I'm kinda clueless here. Thanks for everyones help.

[Jason Wakelin]

Rebecca,

If your trip isn't necessarily about herps I fully recommed the Vancouver Aquarium! It is a great place to "lose yourself" for a couple of hours. As for The Zoo, I've not been there, but, I've also not heard too many good reports about that facility. It's not even close to Vancouver (downtown, where I live) and takes hours to get to by public transit (we got rid of our car when we moved here from Whistler).

Again my best advice is to give Renee D a private message (PM). She works in one of the better pet stores in Vancouver, and breeds many animals. She also sells to many of the pet stores in the surrounding area, so she has many contacts. If you have any problems getting a hold of her let me know and I will tell Renee about this thread.

Best of luck, and go to the members section to get ReneeD's PM, she is a member here.

[Rebecca]

is it Renee, ReneeB or ReneeD that I should be PMing??

[Jason Wakelin]

ReneeD

[Youkai]

I'd also have to suggest the aquarium...

[Ptindy]

Rebecca, I don't live in Vancouver so I will be no help on where to go. But, you can't bring reptiles in the passenger area so they must go under the plane. That cargo charge will be at least 50 dollars and up depending on how far you are going. It's really stupid but I don't think the old lady behind you would feel to comforitable if she knew you had a lizard underneath the seat in front of you. Through the carry on bag they would see his skeleton on the bag screener. Have fun.

Mike

[Rebecca]

I think we're drving anyway. It'll be easier. the only problem is drving in Van. I'm not doing it so my sister has too!! I just get to drive the 15hrs to get there ;)

[Leviathan]

There is a 'zoo' in Vancouver, but if you love animals I would not reccomend supporting them! They actually have to change there name because they lost there... 'right' (I guess) to call themselves a zoo. I love the aquariam though! I would go all the time if I lived closer to Vancouver! Just for the dolphin and the sloth!

[Rebecca]

I'm thinking the aquarium is a good idea. I actually love them, it's neat seeing things like that. So the zoo is also out of the question. Why are they still in business if their so bad?? And anyone have any tips on driving in Van? I heard it's pretty bad.

[hhw]

Traffic is pretty bad in Vancouver nowadays, but mostly during rush hours. If you have to drive from one part of the city to another (i.e. Vancouver to Richmond, Burnaby to Vancouver, etc...), avoid doing it during 3-6pm. People are very aggressive drivers without the driving skill to back it up so you really have to keep alert. When turning left, you can count on people to rush the light as much as possible, so make sure they stop before you go. Also, when they do that, honk the crap out of them and yell out profanities because that's what driving in Vancouver is all about :P

[Rebecca]

LOL hhw. I was told by my sister that she is driving to the hotel and that's it. So any getting around town has to be done by public transport. So we'll see how that goes! She might decide to drive there she's driven in Edmonton before and did fine, so she might be ok. Anyway thanks for all the help everyone.

[hhw]

Just be cautious and drive defensively and you should be fine. You may want to take the skytrain and seabus just because it's nifty but unless you're in the downtown area, Vancouver is definitely a city where you want to have a car to get around. There aren't any intercity highways so driving here shouldn't be that much different than what you're accustomed to. Just a lot more idiots on the road.