Reptile Basics

Fall is here again.  This is the time of year where I get the most emails/calls about heat tape failing.  Not much of a coincidence – room temps are dropping, especially at night and thermostats are on more.

Some things to keep in mind-

1) Get a smoke detector!  First of all, this is not a bad idea anyhow and not a very expensive thing to do!  Reptile ownership generally comes with heat lamps, heat pads, heat tape or all of the above.  ANYTHING you plug into your wall is a potential fire hazard especially if not used properly.  Ovens, microwaves, irons, dryers- you name it, it can go wrong.  Fortunately it almost never does but why not be prepared?

2) Check your thermostat probes!  Make sure your t-stat probe is where it should be and where you think it is.  This is a good practice year round and ideally is something you would check as a part of your cleaning routine.  If you have racks especially.  Racks are a compact and space efficient way to keep and breed several species but often it comes with a reduced gradient.  This is especially true with belly heat and smaller tubs- no where for your animals to run if it gets too hot.  For the safety of your animals- pay attention to your thermostats and probes!

3) I have seen ALL wattage’s and widths of heat tape fail.  There is no fool proof heat source other than the sun.  Almost always it is due to improper setup.  Some of these include not monitoring the actual temp of the heat tape itself,  trying to control different widths/wattage’s on one thermostat and thick substrate layers.  Aspen and cypress are good insulators and any wattage tape will fail eventually if the heat is not allowed to dissipate.  Periodically check the actual temp of your heat tape element under the tubs.  Over 100 degrees for extended periods will lead to premature failure of any wattage tape.

4) Heat tape is not a substitute for a warm enough room!  I am a big fan of Ball Pythons.  Kept and bred them for several years.  They like it warmer than a lot of species and are very popular so I encounter this the most with them- It is not advisable to keep BP’s or other higher temp reptiles in a 65 degree room in the winter with just heat tape.  Even if your heat tape is up to the task it will not raise the ambient temp enough and you WILL eventually burn it out trying.  Can you heat your house with a candle?  The candle might be 750 degrees but it can’t warm up a room.   Heat tape makes a great basking site and may help to raise the ambient temps in an enclosed area BUT it can not overcome a cold room.   End result- burned out heat tape and/or sick reptiles.  While not always convenient long term success may mean a warmer room.

With all of the reptiles and reptile heat sources and caging out there there is almost never a problem but it does happen.  Make sure it does not happen with you.  Pay attention to lights and heat sources especially around children.  Safety first with any hobby and you will have a lot more fun with it!

We have just added the Squamata Concepts Incubation boxes.  These SIM (Suspended Incubation Method) boxes are a pretty neat idea.  Allows you to eliminate incubation medium and get good airflow all around your reptile eggs.  Eggs tend to hatch a little quicker and fewer eggs will mold up.  Nice.

This technique has been around for awhile but these are the first commercially available plug and play versions out there- wish these were around when I was learning not to keep my Woma python eggs too moist.  I digress………….

We will be in White Plains NY on Nov. 28 2010 for the last WP show of the year.  A reminder for anyone who was not at the last show or didn’t find us- we are on the floor now across from the registration table and Komodo .  Come see us!

If you need any pre ordered racks/cages please let me know asap.  As always, time goes by quick and the trailer fills up even faster!

Been a busy summer.  We are finally cooling off here and we went from hot summer- one of the hottest- to fall temps in about a week.  Either way, I like it!

Shows season is upon us with several in the coming weeks.  Most notably is Tinley next weekend.  The Tinley show has really become a big deal.  With all the hassles from the Florida Fish and Game guys this has sort of become a new Daytona.  Lots of buzz and great turnout at past shows.  Frank will be there and will have a usual assortment of supplies and animals.  Let me know if you have a specific need and we will try to pre arrange your item for pickup.

Hamburg, PA is up next and the Fall/Winter shows there are the ones to go to.  Big crowds and lots of animal available.  I have to commend the promoters of that show for their good work!  In a time when many show promoters are falling all over themselves to put on more and more shows in the same markets this show has actually held steady.  They have removed one aisle due to ridiculous over crowding and things have really improved.  Held just often enough to give us reptile people something to do but not so often as to just kill the market.  Others in the Mid Atlantic and Southeast have not worked that one out yet.  They just keep adding more and more to line their wallets, which is fine, but end up with a bunch shows that just compete with themselves.  Guess they have it worked out??

I have been working on a very interesting project for a few years now.  Been pretty hush-hush about it.  Well, that is going to change in the next couple of weeks.  Got prototypes up and running and in use.  This has been a much longer and more involved project than I ever imagined but the results have been fantastic and this is not a product to skimp on.  It needs to be right!  Anyhow, enough teasing.  Working on the website and other details while testing continues……………………..

The existing website has made a move to a new server.  again.  You know, every time I think this will be it it needs to be done again.  Site was slowing and UPS server connection was timing out.  Some of that is them but some was on my end as well.  The new server is stupid fast and even with heavy traffic at peak hours the performance has been stellar.  I host a few other sites as well and they are really cooking now as well!

Back from another Daytona show.  It occurred to me I have attended or set up at – which I guess is attending?- every one since 1994.  Wow, has that show changed over the years.  Back in the “beginning” it was over in Orlando across from Universal Studios.  Two large rooms.  I do not remember how many tables it consisted of but I do remember you could hardly move around in that place on Saturday.  Way overcrowded and really not as much fun since you needed to hack your way into the crowd to see what was on a table.

Few years later Mr. Hill moved it over to Daytona Beach at the Ocean Center.  Of course there was some grumbling about it. No one like change but it was a huge difference.  One very big room.  Opened things up quite a bit.  AC worked a bit better as well, which is a good thing.  Then things really took off with the Ball Pythons and the show grew tremendously.  The show occupied every crack and crevice in the Ocean Center.  I was waiting for tables to be set up in the bathrooms!  Waiting list to buy a $300 table at a 600 table show.  Now that is something!  Still, bit of a hard time hacking your way to the tables.  I am not a small person and I still think I actually saw only about 3/4 of what was there.  Other than making money, the only advantage I see to being a vendor is you get to wander around the day before and actually see what is there.  Otherwise it is like work.

This year we were in the new wing of the Ocean Center.  One very large room with everyone in it.  No waiting list for a table, still 500+ tables with room to grow, and awesome AC.  Now, everyone always asks “how was the show this year”.  For us it was just about dead on last year which makes it the two best grossing shows I have ever done.  A trend that continued this year from last year was fewer “big players”.  Now, it is not that I am hating on “big players” but as I have said before to me that is a better show when there are large numbers of small to medium breeders there.  Just so much more diversity.  For several years it was all Leopard geckos, then all Ball Pythons.  That’s all great but there are a lot of really nifty reptiles to keep and breed out there besides those- believe it or not.  I got a bug up my ass to play with Transpecos Rats this past year and I think I saw more of those there than I have seen in a very long time- again, more small breeders and I spent my money with them.  Hope to see them there next time.

So, long story short- show was great!  Some vendors did very poorly and others had the best show ever.  My buddy Mike Cole cleaned up!  Those baby Green Tree Monitors are just insane! That is the way it always goes and probably always will.  Hat is off to Wayne Hill for maintaining the largest show I know of for what is now closing in on 20 years.  He has grow when it needed to grow and contracted when it need to contract.  If that expo stays at the 500- 525 table size from now until the end of time I know I will be quite happy.  You can finally comfortably walk around and look.  You do not need to be 6′ and 190 lbs to see what there is to see and customers are buying at a very steady and predictable pace.  Gone are the days of free money but it is still there to be had and a much better time getting it.  Oh yeah- the vendor loading/unloading is a dream!

We will be headed up to White Plains, NY in a couple of weeks.  Again.  That is another very, very steady show.  Bobby and I always marvel at it and wonder when we will have a bad one?  Been wondering that for a few years now.  We are moving from our usual place up on the stage down on to the floor right across from the registration table/Reptile Kingdom.  It is close to the back doors for rack pickup and no more stairs- which my back likes.  Carrying 20+ racks up and down the back stairs kind of sucks.  I am now old and it is not fun anymore.  We will be there with all the usual goodies including a bunch of the stainless.  I recently started bringing in all of that directly and the prices are very nice.  I can not tell you how much of it we sold in Daytona.  So come check us out at our new spot and say hi!

Later this month we will be set up at the National Reptile Breeders Expo in Daytona Beach Fl.  Dates are 8/20 – 8/22.   We will be using much the same format as last year- lots of dry goods with several specials.  It does not look like we will have much in the way of racks and cages on hand as space is limited.  As always, I like this show because of the number of people I get to meet.  Kind of a family reunion.  Please stop by and say hello if you get the chance!

White Plains, NY will be a bit different this time (Sept. 12).  We will be leaving our nice little corner up on the stage for a spot down on the floor.  We have always liked the stage for the convenient back door for loading and delivery of racks and cages.  Through some amazingly helpful changes there is now a rather obnoxious alarm on that door.  So, we have procured a spot down on the floor across from the registration table.  This will give us very good access to the loading door on the side of the building for loading purposes.  Overall I think it will work out fine, maybe better.  We will see…….  Either way, this is our favorite show and we look forward to seeing you there.  As always- if you have a rack/cage pre order for this show we are taking them now!

Been awhile since I kept up with the blog.  Been working on several things.  More on that soon.

The July White Plains NY show is upon us again, time to get in your orders for the show.  Over the next week or so we will begin to build for it so the sooner the better.  I already have a couple of larger cage orders so space will go quick this time.

Believe it or not, Daytona will be here again very soon!  Quick year.  Depending on how a couple of things develop here over the next 2 months we will probably go with a similar plan as last year.  Seemed to work out quite well on our end and we had a lot of pretty happy customers as well.  The plan is to offer several good sized discounts on some of our more popular items.  Last year I did some heavy buying to get some better deals and it worked out well, so why not?

I am also trying to work out a shipping deal so we can ship racks/cages directly from the show with Ship Your Reptiles.  Every year we have at least a few people who find they need some caging for unexpected purchases but can’t fly home with it.  The idea is to bring pre- boxed racks ready to ship.  Slap a label on them and they will meet you at home when you get there.  We are checking on a couple of logistical issues there at the show and I will report back with the conclusions.

I will be at the San Diego show for the first time,  as a spectator, in a couple of weeks.  It looks pretty interesting.  As luck would have it I will be in S.D. that weekend visiting.  Hows that for some nice luck?  Hoping to track down a couple of regulars and say hi.  Nice venue- right on the water!  The San Diego zoo has a pretty sharp reptile collection as well.  Planning on that.  A couple of years ago we were fortunate enough to get a back room tour.  Tuataras are really, well, unique.  Would not mind a Fiji Iguana either, but does not look like that is in the cards.  They have a bunch.  Guess I will just have to look.

The Galop’s there are phenomenal.  We were given the history and age on them.  Staggering how old some of them may be.  They also like their heads scratched.  Redfoots are it for me for the moment but maybe someday when I have a bit more land? Ever get out that way check it out.

Stainless is starting to go pretty well.  We will be setting up some wholesale pricing in the coming weeks and increasing what we carry.  Email me if you set up at shows outside our area and want to resell.  Once I have the next shipment here on hand I will put together a new wholesale list with the stainless, radiant heat panels, hides, etc.

For quite some time now we have had only some pretty basic equipment offerings.   This has made it hard to be price competitive.  We offered it more as a matter of convenience to our customers who needed other items at the same time.

This week we have started to change that.  We have found a new supplier of some very nice quality items.  Our pricing is now very competitive on these items as well.  Now we can be your one stop shop for your reptile equipment as well!!

We have added a lot of the new items to our website but still have another shipment or two and some more adding to the site to do before we are done.  You can check all of this out here–  Stainless

Should be a couple of weeks before the rest has trickled in.  We are now the largest, most complete source for dosing needles- prices are not bad either and we are working towards achieving that same status on the rest of our equipment!

In other news…………..

Cages have been the busiest we have seen for this time of year.  Thanks to some equipment changes and additions we made early this year we have been able to keep up as well or better than ever before.  Worked out pretty well and I would like to say it was planned but some of it was just plain good luck.  Rather be lucky than good any day, right?  We have added a couple of cages- a 2×2 cage to replace our mini cage and a pretty nifty 3′x18″x18″ display/arboreal cage.

The arboreal is an offshoot of a pretty exciting job we did for Fine GTP’s this spring.  Bobby has got one killer set up for some really unbelievable GTP’s.   Check this out– Fine GTP’s . Bobby is a great guy who is very dedicated to “doing it right”, we wish him all the success he has earned.

We have also seen some pretty impressive growth in flexwatt heat tape sales.  Seems like the reptile hobby is a strong as ever even with the legislative and economic threats to our hobby.  Good to see!

I have aquired some new critters for the private stash recently.  Some very nice Subocs.  Transpecos rats have been a favorite of mine for quite some time and I am finally getting them set up right.  Look for some nice offspring this season- hopefully………….

Been a very busy tax season here.  We have had our busiest spring season with caging ever!  Some real fun keeping up but we have not done too bad considering. We got to make a really nice cage setup for an up and coming Chondro breeder down in Florida.  Super nice setup.   I will post a link once he is up and running- kind of makes you want some (more) Chondros?

I just posted a few sales on the site.  We are clearing out a bunch of stainless hemostats, tweezers tongs, hooks, etc. to make room for some new items coming in a couple of weeks from now.  If you need any of these items I suggest you check it out before they are gone.  You can see all the current sale items HERE!

The Edstrom watering valves for rodent watering systems are also 25% off- Stock up for spring!!

I have added a new Aquatec Demand/Delivery pump to the line up for the Aeroponics crowd using an accumulator.  This is starting to become a pretty interesting field for those out there wanting to grow vegetables in confined spaces.  Pretty neat stuff and not all that hard.   We will be putting together a few more items for the aeroponics crowd and the reptile/amphibian crowd in the coming couple of weeks.  I recently did some pretty extensive testing with a few pumps and have posted the results for our Aquatec 8800 pump on the product details page regarding pressure levels with varying amounts of mist heads.  Something to keep in mind when shopping around is that not all 8800 booster pumps are created equal- there are a nearly endless number of variations available for GPH and bypass pressures.  What you might select for one application may not be good for another!

I will be adding a variable bypass pressure version in about 2 weeks once I am done experimenting with it.  This looks promising as it will allow you to keep your line pressure around 80-100 psi with a varying number of mist heads.   The best trade off of mist particle size and water consumption seems to fall right in this range.  While generally speaking higher pressure means finer mist you get to a point of diminishing return-  Water consumption goes way up ( GPH)  even though the mist size has gone down.  For vivarium use you need to really watch how much water you are pumping into your setup but for aeroponics the mist particle size is very important.  I am thinking the adjustable pressure pump will allow the user to dial in the right pressure for their application.  Tune in…………………..

Time to start breeding the colubrids.  Don’t have a lot left this year to breed, sold off quite a bit.   Not enough time.  Should have a good pile of Leucistic Texas Rats, White Sided Black Rats, Pueblan Milks, Albino Patternless Bulls (Nice big orange snake!) and a couple of others.  Funny when “Don’t have a lot left this year to breed” means a couple of hundred or more hatchlings??

We will be up in White Plains NY next weekend for the April 18th show.  As always, we look forward to seeing you there.  We are pretty well booked for pre order caging items but will have several racks and cages for sale at the show.  Come see us!

We attended the Tinley show this past weekend.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Attendance seemed to be pretty good.  Talking to some other vendors I found they shared the concern that this event was not very well advertised.  It was put together pretty quickly relative to other NARBC shows as a meeting/fundraiser for Pijac and USARK.  It was a great success.

Talking with Andrew Wyatt- (USARK) I was pleased to learn that the auction took in about $35,000 which is to be split between USARK and Pijac.  I would imagine that other dues and donations were also paid so hopefully that number is quite a bit higher.  I was also encouraged to learn that there is still quite a good deal of hope to overcome this proposed ban and USFWS proposed rule change.  USARK in particular has exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds.  It is money well spent and I believe we would already be sunk in this hobby if not for them.

As for the show- got to see several regular customers for the first time.  It is good to meet people and talk to them and I do not get up to the Great Lakes area much.  Show was half the “normal” Tinley size but room was well laid out and full of vendors.  Filled up pretty good with customers as well!  I think we will try to be back for the regularly scheduled October event but that is a long way off- we will have to see if it fits in. I would encourage anyone to attend this one- great show.

Frank is going to start attending the Shepardsville KY show on a regular basis and try it out.  Looks like a good show and the promoter is very helpful.  Too bad all reptile show promoters do not have his attitude.  We could use one in the Mid-Atlantic states that has a clue.  Stu has been hitting the Atlanta shows (Repticon and herp society) as well as Columbia SC.  Frank has been going to the Birmingham AL and Hamburg PA  shows quite regularly and I pick up White Plains and Daytona.   As always- if you need anything specific at one of these shows make sure you email me 2 weeks ahead!

Enjoy the snow………….again………….