I've never seen venomous snakes for sale at California reptile shows (most likely there's a law against it) just as display animals in venomous exhibits or being worked with in the lectures. Then I see videos of whole tables with venomous for sale in other states, I was amazed by a couple of things, the amount of snakes and all the different species available, and how darn cheap they were! Do many states allow vendors to sell venomous at shows or is it a rare thing? Is there a list of the shows that allow venomous sales? Definitely something I want to check out on a future vacation even though I can't purchase any of them, the window shopping will be thrilling enough!
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Venemous for sale at reptile shows
- Thread starter Deme
- Start date
There are different laws for venomous in different states. I think only keeping native rattlesnakes are legal in CA.
The most famous show I know in US is the Hamburg Reptile Show in PA. Here is the web site:
http://www.hamburgreptileshow.com/vendor-list.html
In Europe, Hamm/Germany Terraristik Reptile Expo and Houten Snake Day are the best shows. I was at Houten yesterday and you can find basically any snake you want there, including king cobras
.
The most famous show I know in US is the Hamburg Reptile Show in PA. Here is the web site:
http://www.hamburgreptileshow.com/vendor-list.html
In Europe, Hamm/Germany Terraristik Reptile Expo and Houten Snake Day are the best shows. I was at Houten yesterday and you can find basically any snake you want there, including king cobras
.Venomous for sale at reptile shows
Hi Yasin, I believe the fine print is you can sell albinos or other color morphs of native venomous in CA, and you can keep "normal" color phases of native venomous as well, even wild collect them, but you can't sell them within the state. Unless the vendor wants to give them away for free (LOL!) he'll stick to breeding albinos. That said, I've still never seen venomous for sale at a CA herp show, maybe the insurance cost combined with negative publicity from the usual crowd is something the CA herp community wants to avoid, or like I said there may be a state regulation against it. Hilarious thing is, many of the scorpions and spiders you see for sale have venoms that are more toxic than your average hot snake! The hundreds (more likely thousands) of black widows I have on my property are more than a match to the potency of a single rattler! And they're HUGE, at night it looks like the fences are covered by upside down black crabs suspended in mid-air! Luckily I'm also a fan of invertebrates, arachnophobes should definitely avoid inland California! Did I mention the tarantulas and their annual breeding migration...
Hi Yasin, I believe the fine print is you can sell albinos or other color morphs of native venomous in CA, and you can keep "normal" color phases of native venomous as well, even wild collect them, but you can't sell them within the state. Unless the vendor wants to give them away for free (LOL!) he'll stick to breeding albinos. That said, I've still never seen venomous for sale at a CA herp show, maybe the insurance cost combined with negative publicity from the usual crowd is something the CA herp community wants to avoid, or like I said there may be a state regulation against it. Hilarious thing is, many of the scorpions and spiders you see for sale have venoms that are more toxic than your average hot snake! The hundreds (more likely thousands) of black widows I have on my property are more than a match to the potency of a single rattler! And they're HUGE, at night it looks like the fences are covered by upside down black crabs suspended in mid-air! Luckily I'm also a fan of invertebrates, arachnophobes should definitely avoid inland California! Did I mention the tarantulas and their annual breeding migration...
When to go to Hamburg
Am I right that Hamburg has multiple shows throughout the year? If you can only attend one, what month do you all recommend going to see the biggest assortment/display of venomous for sale?
Am I right that Hamburg has multiple shows throughout the year? If you can only attend one, what month do you all recommend going to see the biggest assortment/display of venomous for sale?
NocturnalNature
Active member
Unfortunately Hamburg isn't what it used to be. While attendance is certainly impressive, the quality and selection of animals has become less than it was several years ago.
My recent first hand experience was quite disappointing after not attending for 5 years and I doubt I will be returning unless future shows bring some positive changes.
A few of the more glaring examples were a noticeable decrease in the number of HOT species being offered, the show has outgrown the venue so it is often difficult to even get close enough to a table to view the animals, and an apparent increase in imports in poor condition. While I certainly understand imports are a common occurrence at many shows, the conditions of many of these animals were absolutely dismal with dying animals readily on display and marked at very low prices likely to try and liquidate stock before they died.
There is another show that is well attended by both vendors and attendees that is often overlooked. It is put on by Repticon and is held in Columbia South Carolina. While the venomous section isn't particularly huge, the overall experience of the show is much more pleasurable. Room to move around and view the animals, cleaner, more spacious facility, majority of imports appeared to be in better condition, etc..
Hope this helps!
My recent first hand experience was quite disappointing after not attending for 5 years and I doubt I will be returning unless future shows bring some positive changes.
A few of the more glaring examples were a noticeable decrease in the number of HOT species being offered, the show has outgrown the venue so it is often difficult to even get close enough to a table to view the animals, and an apparent increase in imports in poor condition. While I certainly understand imports are a common occurrence at many shows, the conditions of many of these animals were absolutely dismal with dying animals readily on display and marked at very low prices likely to try and liquidate stock before they died.
There is another show that is well attended by both vendors and attendees that is often overlooked. It is put on by Repticon and is held in Columbia South Carolina. While the venomous section isn't particularly huge, the overall experience of the show is much more pleasurable. Room to move around and view the animals, cleaner, more spacious facility, majority of imports appeared to be in better condition, etc..
Hope this helps!
This is why I love Europe because if a vendor was selling a dying import, they would get prosecuted.
But the same concern of not being able to see to tables is present in Hamm/Germany show as well, there are just too many people. On the other hand Houten/Netherlands show is just for snakes so you can easily check out all the animals.
But the same concern of not being able to see to tables is present in Hamm/Germany show as well, there are just too many people. On the other hand Houten/Netherlands show is just for snakes so you can easily check out all the animals.