BLOG 9: A Gathering In Hamburg

Today I have a slightly different type of blog for myself that I hope I’ll enjoy! I don’t really have any readers anymore so I address all of this to myself. What I fail to understand is why I never leave a comment. I mean it’s MY BLOG, surely I can think of something to say! To tell you the truth though, I just can’ be bothered!

Anyway, did you know that they actually had conventions for people who like creepy crawlies? It’s true! There are huge get-togethers where crazy people from all over meet to discuss, to trade and to sell reptiles and amphibians! These events happen all the time and in practically every state. Hey, there’s probably  one taking place right now or coming up somewhere near you!   Are you happy? Horrified? Indifferent?  Well don’t worry,  the maniacs that congregate at these events are as weird as they come but perfectly harmless (for the most part.) I should know, I’m one of ‘em!

This past Saturday, a matter of fact, my friend Kerry and I went to the  Northwestern Berks Reptile Show in Hamburg Pennsylvania.  It’s billed as “One Of The Largest Reptile Shows On The East Coast” with Over 200 Tables Of Reptiles, Amphibians and Invertebrates.

Are you bored? Well thank goodness for TV and the Internet and all those other wonderful distractions out there. For anyone who’s interest I may have captured however please continue on for a whole bunch of photos from the show! I hope I enjoy them (oh…um…I hope you enjoy them . . .maybe I have a secret reader out there...you never know!)
 

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A cheery sign greets you as you enter Hamburg! Oh, and I have no idea who the heck Richard L. Etchberger is but I just know if you're an Etchberger from Hamburg that so many people will call you Etchburg from Hamburger or Hamburg from Etchburg or Etchburger with fries or...well I'm sure it's just a mess!

 Heading down 4th street!

This is the field house where the show is held and has been held for the past 20 years!

 



Critter enthusiasts wait in the pouring rain to get in. Just look at that line! And we got their early!

 

I dug the hand stamp this time! It just goes to show that turtles rule! You do see that it's a turtle, right? It also looks a bit like nothing at all.

My kind of people! And the place was packed with them!  

OK, but let's start checking out the herps! These are some of the best captive bred Diamondback Terrapins I have ever seen. You can't really see it in this snap shot but they had some really nice pink and orange tinges to their carapaces (top shells). These couldn't have been much larger than 4 inches. 

Turtles don't come cheep, by the way. Check out the price of these hatchlings! I was dead broke at this show but if I had any money I would have been dangerous! I want 'em all!

More expensive turtles

More turtles! Can you tell turtles are my favorite? Red Footeds are a medium size tortoise growing 12-18" and 25-30 pounds! You can see Red Footeds in the container in the front and I think those were Yellow Footeds to the right. In the back there is a huge, albino, rabbit eating boa constrictor (I think) that I didn't care much for. Sorry if that offends you serpent lovers but monster snakes ain't my thing. I don't hate them but I don't need them around either.

Sulcatas (African spur thigh tortoises) for $75 and $85! Those are actually very reasonable prices and you're getting a LOT of turtle for that! Adults get to be 24 to 36 inches long, can weigh 100-200 lb  and live  50-150 years!

A Florida Box Turtle!!! This is a super unusual find at one of these shows and something you’ll probably not see again anytime soon! It killed me that I couldn't bring this little fellow home! Box turtles of any kind are becoming impossible to find in the trade these days.

 

 

 

And for those who like small water turtles like the little quarter sized things they used to sell in China Towne (that get HUGE by the way) look at these! And some were only dime sized!

 

 

There is a long standing and asinine Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 that states “live turtles with a carapace length of less than 4 inches shall not be sold, held for sale, or offered for any other type of commercial or public distribution.” Why? It’s been explained to me that “experts” at the Federal Department of Health are afraid a turtle that small can easily fit into a child’s mouth and possibly cause him or her to contract salmonella.  Little kids eat dirt and lick dogs and suck on coins and whatever else…why pick on turtles? And if you keep your pets clean and teach your children to wash their hands the risk is almost nonexistent!  How stupid! But this is a another issue maybe deserving of a whole separate blog!  And there is a loophole in the law, thankfully!  “The sale [. . .] of live turtles [. . .] for bona fide scientific, educational, or exhibition purposes, other than use as pets” is allowed.  You wouldn’t believe how many "bona fide" educators and scientists were shopping at the show! (cue sarcastic chuckling) And I like the way this vendor got around the law with some strategic reasoning!

 

I could easily fill up the whole rest of this blog with turtle photographs but you might be interested in seeing some of the other creatures that were for sell. You aren't? Well I'm going to show you anyway!

 

If you're an ophiophilist (person who loves snakes) this event didn't disappoint! There was table after table with rows of plexiglass boxes displaying every type of serpent imaginable in every type of color morph imaginable (not to mention every price imaginable)

 

More snakes!

 

And for the snake enthusiasts that are a little bonkers (to put it nicely) they even had the venomous variety. I'm not sure but I think these were rattle snakes that had been specially bred for their color. Keeping a snake that can kill you with one bite? I just don't get it!

 

There were lizards too! Look at all of them! Each one of these containers had another gecko in it.

 

For $65 you could have picked up your very own legless lizard! Don't you wish you had been there now!?

 

And here's what I call the goldfish of the lizard trade, bearded dragons. They are very docile and personable but they are just so darn ordinary. But this is still a nice shot of some of them, especially the one curious fellow watching the passerbys! And yes they are in containers that are way too small but it's only for a very short time while they are at the show. Relax people!

 

My friend Kerry who is sitting here with me is insisting that I also show you these mice that were for sale too. I dig them to but I was trying to limit my blog to under 1000 photographs. (just joking...take a deep beath)

You know, these look an awful lot like deer mice which is a native species in PA and native species can't be sold! If I wanted to make money off some home grown wild mice I might give 'em a fancy name too! Could that be what's going on here? Hmm . . .just a thought!

 

The Pigmies! 

 

There were not many salamanders at this show but the ones they had were impressive! Here's a congress of Fire Salamanders!  And yes, that's what a group of sals are called, a "congress." Please no political gags!

Here's Kerry selecting a Fire Salamander to go home with her!

Now, I have nothing against these little monsters but why would you want one as a pet? I would never hurt one but I really don't want to hang out with them either! I'm talking about Emperor Scorpions!  Kerry and I see these at almost every show. They are usually desplayed under a black light to make them fluoresce purple. I’m not sure my camera really captured the glow accurately.

And before you jump to any conclusions about who's into this madness it's not just all men and my friend Kerry! There are other females who collect the scaled and scurrying! Here's a woman who likes...well, just see for yourself! "Hey, look what I bought! Fill up the bathtub!"

 

As a whole herp hobbyists in recent years have become much more educated about proper husbandry of these animals and captive conditions. I personally believe the Internet has contributed greatly to bringing together like-minded reptile and amphibian lovers and bolstering the cross pollination of valuable information and ideas.  Conservation of these wonderful critters in the wild has also progressed and it may just be optimism on my part but I think herp enthusiasts have made leaps and bounds in many areas to assure they continue to thrive.   Unfortunately there are still irresponsible and abusive pet owners and business people that show up from time to time and give all of us good herpers a bad name.  Sometimes they even weasel their way into one of these shows. For the most part all the creatures we saw were happy and healthy but the little map turtles that this guy was hawking were beat up, bruised, infested with shell fungus and just in terrible condition! It was hard to even look at them! Turtles get this way from dirty water, incorrect lighting and overcrowding. It just makes me so &^*%$#@! mad!

 

But I didn't get one! I don't have the time or resources to bother with sick animals!

 

um...sure. You must know by now I'm a nicer guy than that! See this one in the center with the shell and head  covered with pink ulcers?

 

Yeah, that's the one my friend Kerry insisted we try to rescue. This dude was asking $25 or $30 for these and we gave him $5 and he didn't say a word! Smartest thing he did that whole day I'll bet. 

And what did captain nature package our aquatic turtle in? A cardboard box! Un-freakin-believable!

 

And I don't even wanna know what the hell was originally in this box! "Love Controls?" Please don't Google it and if you do, don't tell me about it! Luckily Kerry and I keep an assortment of plastic containers in our cars for just this sort of emergency. I was able to transfer our new pal from his soggy love controlling prison into a more comfortable piece of Tupperware for his journey home.

 

We got home pretty early so there was still enough time to let the map turtle soak in some healing UV  from the afternoon sun! Here's Kerry watching over him as he basks and Mutant Kitty (my cat) doing pretty much nothing...which is usually what he does.

 

 

Well, you made it to the end of another installment of Kieran's Critters! I know it was a long one but I thought you might (I might) enjoy all the photos!

As always thanks for stopping by and I welcome any and all comments, suggestions, ideas, and opinions! If you have any complaints whatsoever please address them to the cat...he'll sleep on it and get back to you as soon as never.