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Rich Z's Blatherings Since Connie and I have retired the SerpenCo business, topics here will focus on topics of a more personal and general nature.

Reptile Shows....Rich
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Old 07-18-2002, 10:48 PM   #1
LindsayMarie
Reptile Shows....Rich

I am thinking of driving down and spending the weekend in Maryland, the weekend of the show (mid-Atlantic reptile show). It will take around 8-9 hours to get there. My question is, is it worth it? I know Tim responded to that question previously in another post. If you had to guess, how many vendors do you think are there?

I know you said you couldnt specifiy what you would be bringing to shows. However you did state that you would be bringing extra adults. Does that mean you will be bringing less hatchlings and yearlings? Also, do you think you will be bringing any problem feeders to the Mid-Atlantic Show? I would hate to drive over 18 hours in one weekend and pay lots of money for a hotel for two nights just to come home empty handed....hehe If I knew for sure I was going. Could I pay ahead of time for the butter motley and butter het motley and pick them up there?

I went to the M.A.R.S website and could not find anything on it stating approximately how large the show is compared to others. On the vendor list I think I <B>ONLY</B> counted like 5-6 people!! More selection and more to look at is better! Thanks, Lindsay
 
Old 07-19-2002, 01:37 AM   #2
Rich Z
The Mid-Atlantic Show is one of the larger ones out there. I believe there are something like 160 tables there, but I can't remember for sure. It is a long drive for us (something like 17 hours), so you can bet we wouldn't drive all that way unless we felt it was worthwhile. It is the third show on our schedule, so it is highly unlikely that the sales we do in the previous two shows will make much of a dent in what we have available. I can't even TAKE a large percentage of available animals to the shows! It is a bit intimidating to be all packed up for a show and realize that even if I sell out at the show, it really won't make all that much impact in my workloard when we get back home.

That being said, I will be very surprised if I have any yearlings left by that show.

As for the vendor list, Tim and Diane Hoen (the promoters of the show) have a long list of hopefulls wanting to get into that show, so it will always be filled to capacity with vendors. Last year there was some empty tables there, but it was the weekend after the 9-11 terrorist attack and a bunch of vendors from out of state just couldn't get there. We were all nervous as hell that the show was going to flop from lack of attendance. But by the time the show opened, people were lined all the way down the highway to get in there and the place was mobbed all weekend long.

Anyway, as far as the animals we bring. I figure that we typically sell between one quarter and one third of the animals we bring to a show. If I could predict which ones those were while packing, it certainly would save me a lot of time and trouble packing those ones that wouldn't sell.

As for your Butter Motley and Butter het Motley, yes I can bring them along and save you the shipping charge on them.

Oh, and as far as the problem feeders are concerned, I'm not sure I am going to continue selling them at shows. I got pretty aggravated with some other vendors buying them from me and then just reselling them on their own tables lying about their feeding status. Although I certainly cannot stop such a thing, I can at least not contribute to it.
 
Old 07-19-2002, 01:47 AM   #3
HomeBreeder
super-secret passcode?

Hey Rich,

I'm sorry to hear about the aggrevations with selling trouble feeders but i certainly understand your position. My wife and I already have our reservations set for the NC show and I'm not shy to admit I had hoped to spend maybe $100 "shooting craps" in your trouble bucket to see if I could manage to get any into adulthood. Is there any chance that you can pack a few to the shows anyway, but not display them? say.. only bring them out when someone says the super-secret code-word for the day so you know they are a patron of your forum and not a sleez^H^H^H^H^H competing vendor?

(I wonder if there's any dye we could come up with that would stain a snake for one or two sheds? start a common-practice of staining the tails of those snakes or something similar (like a "SerpenCo" tatoo!

^Curtis
 
Old 07-19-2002, 01:55 AM   #4
Rich Z
Quote:
(I wonder if there's any dye we could come up with that would stain a snake for one or two sheds? start a common-practice of staining the tails of those snakes or something similar (like a "SerpenCo" tatoo!
Hah! Wanna bet that some vendor would be selling blue tailed corn snakes before the weekend was over? I'll bet they 'just hatched out' and probably genetic since there were so many in the clutch like that...........
 
Old 07-19-2002, 01:59 AM   #5
SilverTongue
Henna will do that it will stane forone or 2 sheds I am sure. I dont think it would be toxic if it is in its natural form. It is a plant. I have used it on my hands often and it comes off in about 2 weeks depending on how dark you get it and how many times you wash your hands. I have bought it many places including indian stores(that didnt even take) But I found a sample set at the Texas art supply that was like magic!! It was a rich dark color!!! I know yall dont live in texas, but I am sure you have some sort of art supply place near you.

This is actually feeasable....I would test it first. I hate to say that considering if it is bad for the snake then it will die. But if the snake is all right then you can just put a dot on the tails of the snakes you take. You will have to put it in a light colored spot because Henna is green and brown.

Who knows lol this actually could be a good idea
 
Old 07-19-2002, 02:20 AM   #6
LindsayMarie
Re: super-secret passcode?

Quote:
Originally posted by HomeBreeder
Is there any chance that you can pack a few to the shows anyway, but not display them? say.. only bring them out when someone says the super-secret code-word for the day so you know they are a patron of your forum and not a sleez^H^H^H^H^H competing vendor?
I was going to reply and ask the same thing, but someone beat me to it Is it possible that we (forum members) could pay ahead of time for some problem feeders and you just keep them under the table till we come? I have decided to go to the show!!! YEAH! I am looking into the hotels now. Anyways, I would pay ahead of time for the two butters and if you would allow it, some problem feeders too! Just pick them all up at the same time. I can deifnitely understand why you dont want to have them on display with other vendors selling them at high prices! That is bad business on their part. Well, I am very excited about the show. It will be nice to meet you too. Take care, Lindsay
 
Old 07-19-2002, 02:49 AM   #7
Bippy
Wow...

...you'd think vendors at those places would be a bit more careful about how they represent what they sell. Is there any way to report/penalize vendors who obviously mislabel goods like that?


Personally, I wouldn't take a chance on a non-feeding cornsnake unless I'd had prior experience with getting non-feeders to feed. I'd hate to spend all that money (even if it is half-price or whatever) only to wind up with a snake that doesn't eat and dies on me.

Rich, what is your opinion on buying known non-feeders? I realize this is asking you to give an opinion on stuff you sell, but...

I mean, at what point does it become worthwhile to start purchasing them? Or is it like the 1.4 gamble, not really worth the chance but alot of people take it anyway?

Just curious.
 
Old 07-19-2002, 03:02 AM   #8
LindsayMarie
I think it is worth it :)

Say I buy 6 problem feeders. At Rich's special price of 10.00 each. Thats 60.00 dollars for 6 corns. Even if only one makes it, it will have been worth it for me. If none make it, well I tried and I have spent 60.00 on worse things. I know I dont have experience with corns who wont eat, or corns who will for that matter. That doesnt mean I cant learn and try! I have PLENTY of experience with reptiles and problem feeders in reptiles other then corns, so I am sure my efforts wont go unrewarded eventually. I have a lot of patience and time to dedicate to my animals and I feel confident that I can save at least one, maybe more If I cannot save them, at least they will be in a loving and ideal environment up until their death and I cant say I didnt try. Just my .02 cents. Lindsay
 
Old 07-19-2002, 11:03 AM   #9
HomeBreeder
That's about where I'm coming from too, LindsayMarie. If I had a dollar for every poor use of my money I'd ever made, I could retire! I think the challenge, and the potential reward, from getting a handful of trouble feeders would be great, not to mention the experience.

Rich,

What she said... I know it's not worth your time to sort or ship them, but if we made a deal before a show could you just bring X problem feeders, no questions asked? I think not knowing what sex or genes would just make the project that much more fun, actually! (of course as an alternative, I'd be more than happy to have you scramble the labels on my pewters and other 2002's and just pay $10 each for those!)

By the way, the pictures you have posted are spectacular! I love the baby pewter pics, and the "mystery pink corn" is a stunner too! I, for one, will never tire of seeing more corn pics (I finally dug out my manual for my coolpix, so my macro shots should be improving! I'll post pictures as I get ones that I think are worth sharing and link them off my own webserver.)

^Curtis
 
Old 07-19-2002, 12:03 PM   #10
Darin Chappell
Almost ALL cornsnakes will eat if they have enough attention given to them by someone with the patience to get them started. However, when you have sixty babies in the rack like me, five thousand like Rich, or anywhere in between, it just takes too much time to go through the headaches of getting those picky eaters to eat!

Last year, I only had two babies left over. I had one that just would not eat anything. No matter what I tried, he wouldn't take a thing on his own. I had to actually force feed him for six months. Then one day, he reached over and snatched an anole I was holding out of my hand. I had offered him anoles before and used them to scent his pinkies, but he had never even offered to nibble at one before that day! Now, he is eating like gangbusters and growing like crazy. But that was ONE baby and it took SIX months. I just can't do it now that I have so many to take care of.

I think buying problem feeders at a discount rate is a great deal IF you have the time and patience to bring one along. If you do, I found that only a very small percentage of them will not eat no matter what and waste away till they die. The vast majority of them WILL eat sooner or later, but you may have to force feed them for a long time until their brian kicks in gear!

Good luck -- Darin
 
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