KRE Vendor Worries
 

I don't often post (Rather I think the last time I was here was the beginning of the year) but I feel like I should put this here because it's been on my mind all day. I debated whether this should go to the BOI but as I don't have a name or photographic proof (This is why you should charge your phones before shows kids :D), I want to instead put it here in the hopes that if someone knows who this person was to be careful about any animals they may have purchased.

So to set the scene, my husband and I went to the Kentucky Reptile Expo in Lexington, KY as I'd not been to this show before and because we're shopping around for a beardie and a harlequin crested gecko. Everything was great; I met some local vendors, held adorable geckos, played with baby rats and degus, ect. It wasn't until we were walking past a particular corner that I saw something that just broke my heart.

Before I say what, I want to say that I understand that spaces are often cramped in vendor booths. They can be in undesirable areas and sometimes you have to do what you can to make sure all your animals are displayed. But this didn't appear to be that:

There was no sign indicating who the vendor was AT ALL. On top of that, there was no hand sanitizer to sterilize customer's hands which is an absolute must in my opinion to prevent cross contamination between different animals. But most heartbreaking of all were the conditions that the animals were in; three large Savannah monitors were cramped inside a ten gallon tank, while five smaller iguanas sat in another looking like they'd not eaten in sometime and were quite lethargic as were the Savannahs. The geckos he had displayed looked no better as a few had runny poop crusted in the containers. I tried to make small talk with the man, but he just seemed quite angry and was rude to my husband when he inquired about whether the three Savannahs were adults. There was just a bad vibe all around about the guy.

Needless to say, we moved away from that vendor.

After getting home, I still keep thinking about the lizards and can't help but feel that I could have done more than just inform one of the organizers. I'm no vet but all of them looked sick to me and I dread to think that someone handled one and then went on to hold another animal. I get that this is a small convention, but I just don't understand how the vendor was allowed to keep his animals in such conditions.

Again, I have no idea who the man was as there was no name on the table nor were there any cards with which to identify him. But if you attended today and saw what I saw, then do what I did and get in touch with the organizers. I just don't want anyone's animals potentially getting sick or them having what could be a sick animal. Maybe I'm just being overprotective over animals, but it's just bothered me ever since I got home.

No, not overprotective; legitimately concerned, it sounds like. I would feel the same.

I feel bad for those animals as well, and I wasn't even there! Reptile expos / swap meets seem kind of loosely organized, in general. Still, you would think that there would be some rules and expectations that vendors must display outwardly healthy-looking animals.

Not having any business cards or signs/banners is worrisome too. Legitimate breeders encourage people to know who they are, and how they can be contacted.

It seems that you did what you could. It will be up to the show organizers to look into that vendor, and I would hope that they decline to rent a space to him in the future.

Kathy

I hope they do as well. One of the ladies told me they usually respond within a day or two, but with them travelling in between Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, I'm not holding my breath for that one.

As far as signage, there were two others that didn't have one but did have cards provided. I get that they can be expensive, but there's always Walmart or Michaels to get poster-boards from to write down who you are.

It's just sketchy every way you look at it from his behavior to the lack of identification.