Repticon is coming to town, any tips?

IDvsEGO · 12-27-17, 12:38 PM

Repticon is going to be in my town (Atlanta, GA) next weekend and we plan on going to check it out. We are open to picking up a new pet or two. Nothing specifically targeted, just keeping an eye out for new and cool selection or great deals. About the only thing we dont want is a turtle/tortoise or anything we already have (ball, red tail, or leopard gecko). We plan on bringing a cooler and ice packs because I have heard there are good prices on frozen feeders. Will also bring a couple containers in case we have any new additions. Any other tips? Any idea what prices we might be looking at? If anyone has made a recent repticon purchase, please let me know what you got and how much it cost, if you dont mind. also, is haggling a thing at these shows? I have been to convention and trade shows for other items and haggling is acceptable.

DJC Reptiles · 12-28-17, 11:28 AM

That is the best time to buy frozen food as it is usually cheaper. Most of the products are also cheaper there then other local stores. Just make sure to check at all the vendors before deciding on anything. Large Containers might be a good idea. Definitely bring the cooler with ice.

**EL Ziggy** · 12-28-17, 03:20 PM

I've been to the Atlanta Repticon a few times. I've never found the criiters I was looking for but I got some great deals on supplies. I hope you find something really cool.

IDvsEGO · 12-28-17, 03:33 PM

Thanks. It is pretty good timing too actually, because I am about to be building some new enclosures. I didnt think about supplies and stuff being cheaper. I need larger UTH or maybe RHP, restock on substrate, and some new temp/hum monitors.

IDvsEGO · 01-11-18, 10:36 AM

I wanted to offer some feedback from a first timer, just in case another person in the future tries searching for the topic.

In general I would have been ok with the ticket price just to see all of the varieties and get supplies first hand. The pets were gorgeous and shopping for this stuff online can be a crapshoot, even supplies. We spent about 2.5 hours on the first day and then another 45 minutes the second day just grabbing supplies and checking to see what all had sold. I wasnt sure what the volume was going to be like. I am glad I got the rainbow when I did because they went. Same with the MBK. I could have probably waited until the second day on the Florida and made a good deal on a mutli snake purchase but my wife would have killed me.

Most of the animal prices seemed in line with sites like Underground reptiles and BHB Reptiles but of course you dont have to pay shipping. You also get to talk to the people and handle the creatures so thats a plus in my book.

Supply prices were pretty good. Forest Floor 24qt bag was $12. an 8 qt was like $8 I think. There were some kits that would save you a couple of bucks if you were picking something up that day too. If you want some of the large wood enclosures then I suggest going there. the prices were about the same as online but again, no shipping. For a 4x2x2 enclosure thats a big saving.

Here is everything I bought and what I paid...

Brazilian Rainbow boas baby $200. This isnt a bad price but isnt an OMG savings. But like I said, I bought it from a "local" vendor that has a shop about 2 hours away and had plenty of history on the snake. They said all the right things, made us use their hand sanitize before touching any snakes and were very friendly. Plus they had 2 to pick from and I took the one that seemed less pissed off at me when I held it. There were only 2 babies on display and 2 adults for the entire show. The adults were $250 and crammed in a tiny tub that was probably smaller than their hide should be. And the lady said that they both tried to pierce her nose periodically.

MBK baby for $180. Not a bad price, bought from same local vendor as BRB. My 8yo daughter was buying with her own money and was debating the price because it was all that she had saved up and she kind of wanted a crestie. The guy heard her and offered to take off $20. I thought that was nice too.

Florida Kingsnake for $30. I saw this table last and its a good thing because he had a bunch of pretty colubrids. I was the most concerned with this one because the guy offered no info, I had to ask everything. But he had answers so that was good.

Baby Crested Gecko for $40. Was marked $50 or 2 for $80 but she did $40 for us. The lady was super nice, talked to my daughter and not just me, and had a care sheet on her business card. Also had one of the parents there and the names of both parents on the care card. Very nice and very professional. My local shop that I love and go to weekly for feeders has cresties the same size and coloration for $70 so I dont have a problem with the price here and it was a little savings.

picked up 3 zoomed digital combo meters for $10 each. Those tend to be about $16 online so getting 3 netted me a decent savings.

a brick of compressed EcoEarth for $4. I think they are $8 at my Petco.

Dehydrated cricket gel that makes 1 gallon for $5. I paid 10 for a little 16oz jar locally so this is a score.

All in all, both of us want to go again when the next one rolls through or one come close enough. Talking about driving a couple of hours to chattanooga or Alabama to see if there are different vendors. We chatted about what all we saw and what we regretting passing on and both of us want a second crestie and maybe a pair of tokays. We REALLY want a GTP but they are $$ and I have to build that enclosure first. Even at the show the young GTPs were $300.

DJC Reptiles · 01-11-18, 10:44 AM

Awesome! I really like tokay geckos, and think that they are highly misunderstood in the reptile community. Green tree pythons are amazing, I wish I had one...

IDvsEGO · 01-11-18, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJC Reptiles

Awesome! I really like tokay geckos, and think that they are highly misunderstood in the reptile community. Green tree pythons are amazing, I wish I had one...

I dont even care if they bark. My local shop has 3. when I put my hand at the top of the enclosure, one barked and kind of snapped in my direction. The other 2 just stared at me. Great looking little things though.

DJC Reptiles · 01-11-18, 11:09 AM

Kevin McCurley of NERD does a lot with tokay geckos, and made a care sheet on REPTILES Magazine if you are interested.

IDvsEGO · 01-11-18, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJC Reptiles

Kevin McCurley of NERD does a lot with tokay geckos, and made a care sheet on REPTILES Magazine if you are interested.

As a music fan, N.E.R.D. meant something totally different to me. I was very confused for a minute.

CameraSkunk · 01-11-18, 05:32 PM

IDvsEGO i thought similar when I first heard about NERD