Reptile Basics

"They say I'm lazy, but it takes all my time"- Joe Walsh

Upcoming Event News

Aug 3

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Been awhile since I have been on here.  I have been very fortunate and stayed quite busy this season.  Hatched out a pretty nice pile of colubrids- some killer Cal Kings and my first season on Sonoran Gopher morphs and Hypo Stillwater Bulls.  Super cute little babies!  Colubrids may not be the most stylish animals to work with but I tell you what- There is something to be said for a 3 month vacation in the winter and the quick, easy sell!!  A freezer full of frozen mice is a no brainer as well.

Unlike the internet, shows have been predictably slower during the  summer.  I don’t think it is so much economy related as summer related.  Happens every season.  Frank had a very mediocre show in Hamburg- August is always the slowest there- and I have not heard from Stu about Atlanta as of this morning so I don’t know about that one. Likely find out later today.  Someone told me via email yesterday it was quite a bit improved over previous shows though.  Hopefully so.

I am in the very good position of being pretty well sold out on racks and cages for Daytona already.  I might be able to squeeze in a couple of odds and ends.  I won’t know for sure until I pack the trailer the rest of the way but I am pretty full!  That being the case it looks like I have had a pretty good show already and I haven’t even left yet??  So- since I do not have to chase around a bunch of racks and the show bills are already pretty well paid I will be offering up some pretty nice sale prices on dry goods at the show.  I have not nailed down specifically what or how much yet but will in the coming week or so- I want some No Haggle pricing!!  I will send out a newsletter with details and numbers about a week before the show. Looks like we are at tables 318-320 and all of the usual suspects will be along- Frank, Bobby, Dr Lew.  Looks like my wife will be along for the ride this year as well so I can put her to work as well!  Bet she decides to go visit family in Apopka instead of working though :(

With the new show layout we lose Scott Seavey and Neil Golli though.  We are scattered all over the place now.  Bummer.  It was a lot of fun watching Neil run around like a lunatic the whole time.  He seems to do more business away from the table than at it?

It occurred to me that many of you fly in for this one and can’t really take home a pile of supplies with you but may want to take advantage of the sales- So I talked to Chad at ShipYourReptiles.com about setting up UPS ground shipping at the show as well as the animal overnight.  Done deal!  Now you will be able to buy your animals AND your supplies and put it all in a box and see it when you get home, how cool is that?  Someone should have thought of this years ago…………

Other than that not much going on out of the ordinary.  I will be in Raleigh this time (Sept. 5&6) followed up by White Plains (Sept. 13) .  Get your orders for racks/cages in for them any time now.  We will be pretty busy keeping up with all of this and have limited time to get it all done!

I may take the ride up to Tinley again, not sure if I will go to set up or not, they may already be sold out.  Either way, I may be able to fill some requests for delivery there if you want it as well.

More things………….

Jun 21

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Had someone email me the other day asking if I had any new insights on the HR669 discussions that have been going around.  The answer is yes, and no.

I spoke with Andrew from USARK a couple of weeks back for a few minutes about this PIJAC conspiracy theory.  Didn’t get very far at all.  The true politician, he had no comment other than what his own position was.  Certainly no “bad mouthing” or other competitive hype.   Fair enough.

I know for a fact through personal conversation with the proprietor of one moderate sized “snake farm” in central Florida a few years back that he would like to see the basement breeder eliminated.  It somehow cuts into his livelihood or some such convoluted logic.  This particular individual is also good buddies with a not so small “snake farm” right up the road from him.  Hopefully the feelings are not mutual between them though the rumor mill in Florida says they are.  Who knows.

What does this tell us??  Well, it tells me that there are some legislation minded individuals that carry pretty good weight in this industry among us.  Scary.  Unlike some of the conspiracy theory crazy’s out there in the forums I will not jump to the conclusion that these larger breeders are ACTING on some of their outlooks.  There are a lot of things in life that people may ponder or believe that they are smart enough to know shouldn’t happen.  Legislation that is friendly to the biggest of the breeders may sound pretty good to them but I would like to think that they are smart enough to realize the long term impact of such an outcome.  Once you get the government in on something it is near impossible to get them out.  Why invite the run away train into your livingroom even if the short term outcome looks positive? I think that in some ways this parallels the health care debate currently going on.  I think most would agree all is not as it should be but do you invite the government into the game to fix it??  Sounds great- everybody is covered but does anyone really buy that??  The lottery here in NC was supposed to fund the schools but magically, it does not- who would have seen that coming??  You get the idea………

In conclusion- We need to watch this nonsense closely.  Rumors are worthless and often started by morons and people with nothing better to do with their time.  The internet is an awesome tool to get info out there to the masses and rally the troops but it is also our worst enemy at the same time.  Many with a keyboard considers themselves  an expert and more than willing to stir the pot for personal satisfaction and the need to see there name in print.  I do know that Andrew at USARK is on the game and doing a very effective job thus far.  Lets let him do his job and support him.  He does not seem to be shy, if there is a bonafide conspiracy that comes to light I expect we will hear about it from him.

I went up to the Hamburg show in PA a couple of weeks ago.  As usual there, it was hot.  Kind of a marginal turnout for that place but not too bad.  That show is amazing- it has been around since nearly forever and continues to have an amazing turnout of vendors and customers.  Some shows are obviously better than others but overall that one has been pretty consistant over the years.  Pretty impressive.  I will say venomous keeping seems to be in a downward spiral, not much there anymore.  Back in the good ole days it was half the show.  Now it is about 1/5.  Much of it is not that impressive at that.

White Plains NY is the next big one for us in mid July.  I am starting to get orders for that one- now is the time!  If you want something get on the list!  We start building for that this coming week.

The trailer is about sold out for Daytona.  Got room for a few odds and ends but I would guestimate we are about 7/8 of the way full.  GET YOUR ORDER IN!  We may end up with multiple vehicles going down this year, not sure yet, but it is possible we may have more room.  If we can fill Franks van as well then so be it.  Along comes the van.  I look forward to getting the show program in the near future and see what Wayne Hill has done with the layout.  I like the idea of having everyone in the main room, no more tables in the halls, bathrooms, lobby, roof, etc.  I am hoping it will be real impressive.  I am also hoping that the trend of more variety will continue.  I like BP’s as much as the next guy but there is a lot of neat stuff out there besides them.  Lets see some of it.

As always, if you need racks/caging check out the show list on the website.  We have people hitting many of the shows on the east coast and we can arrange delivery, even to some of the smaller ones.

May 30

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New 28 watt heat panels are on the site now and ready for sale.  That will likely be it for new heat panels for awhile.  Think we have the bases pretty well covered!  Next time we have any down time I am going to have a crack at the economy cage ideas I have.

Pretty soon it is time for Daytona again- looking to get the cage orders in early this year if we can.  If you are needing a delivery this year please get in touch by mid July if possible.  I will not have as much room in the truck this year as I have had in the past.

We will be finishing up a batch of the show displays this week.  As of now I have about 3 of the 16 not spoken for yet- Let me know if you need any as it will probably be July before I get to do some more of them for Daytona.  I plan on bringing a dozen or so down there this year.  You can check out a pic of them here in the blog!

Next White Plains is in July, start thinking about your cage deliveries-Summer will go by quick!

Updated 2009 Shows

May 2

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Could not sleep so I went ahead with the show updates for the rest of 2009.  Do  I always work??  Jeez, its 4AM!

2009 Shows

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2×4 Single Door Cage

May 1

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I finally got a picture of the new cage up on the site and it is now available for sale.  Looks pretty nice!

I originally was trying an 1/8″ thick piece of flat aluminum stock to reinforce the top of the cage door but was not that thrilled with the results.  One of those things that would probably be fine but just not quite right.  So, I gave a piece of “L” shaped 1/8″ stock a try and it made a big difference.  Fits right in the top, front corner out of sight.  Finally I am happy with it.

All of our normal heat options are available with the new cage and the pricing will remain the same as our time tested double door cage.  I include nice looking black hinges with steel pivots and some pretty nifty looking latches standard.  Not going to nickel and dime you to death.

Next up, we are working on a 1/4″ thick PVC cage (our current models are 3/8″ thick and very sturdy).  We have cut similar cages for other   builders in the past so I have something to start with but am going to incorporate some of my own design features into them as well as change the doors to match our other single door cages.  By the time I get done I guess they will be pretty much new form the ground up, its just easier to have some building blocks to start with in the CAD program.   One of these features will be the reinforcement across the top of the door, same as the new cage I mentioned previously this post.  My goal is to get you a very nice, serviceable cage with the good hardware/hinges, for under $220 shipped.  Looks like we will be able to do it but I will know more in the next couple of weeks as we play with it some more.  If I can’t get it done for that, have it sturdy enough for long term use and the good hardware then I will probably pass on it.

Frank and Limey (Coldblooded Novelties and Royal Reptilia) are set up at the Raleigh show this weekend.   I will be there Saturday morning for a couple of hours.  Got to make a rack repair and drop off some orders.  Hope to find me some more colubrids or rosey boas for the private stash!  Frank has a couple of my adult pastel female balls and yellow bellies there.  Still waiting on eggs and ovulations on a few girls before they are ready to launch.  Probably Daytona for most of them.  Hopefully they go and I will have some more working capital for the “toys” fund.  I think the gun show is there this weekend also, need to check- In case the reptile show is a bust………….

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Update on my last post-

Apr 29

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It has come to my attention that PIJAC and a few larger “mass breeders” who I will not mention here (yet- it is not really relevant at this time) are working out their version of a compromise to the HR 669 bill.  I will be talking to a few of the relevant parties this weekend in person and will report back on my findings.  If the rant I got directly  from one of the Florida breeders a couple of years ago is any indication of what he/they are trying to cook up with PIJAC I will have to suggest you make any and all donations to USARK.  I am still a bit unclear as to what is going on with PIJAC but I am VERY clear on Andrew / USARK’s positions.  Play it safe for now.  Hope I have more for you in a few days.   If this turns out to have some truth to it I would be very disappointed with PIJAC.

Meantime you can follow along on about any reptile forum.  I would suggest the thread by Tom Crutchfield in the Kingsnake Ball Python forum.  Seems to sum it up.

Interesting week

Apr 24

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Well, looks like through all of our hard work and efforts HR 669 has gone to the great beyond.  I do not think any of us will miss it.  It would seem that it died about the best death possible for “our side”- it passed the sub-committee and was killed from above.  Seems someone didn’t want 50,000+ letters on their desk in the next 10 days while it made its way up the ladder?

I would like thank PIJAC and USARK for their job very well done.  Now it is time to reflect a bit.

There will be some type of significant (to us) legislation passed on the federal level regarding this issue in the next couple of years, likely sooner.  It is my opinion that it is inevitable.  There are too many very vocal groups calling for it and too many animals making the news.  Frankly, some areas (like Guam) probably need it.  The trick is to get something through that makes at least a little sense and that is where organizations like PIJAC and USARK come in.  Due in large part to the reptile communities efforts with HR 669 these two organizations now have the lawmakers ear.  The House sub committee, especially its Chairwoman will not be foolish enough to try this again anytime soon without our input.  This drew way too much attention and the Representatives behind it got crushed.

It is also very disappointing that the USFWS is not a little more on the ball.  These guys enforce these regulations and most of the time do not seem to have any idea what is going on or how they would even hope to enforce something like this.  Anybody home??  The USFWS should have been among the most vocal against this silliness- It is beyond unenforcable even with 5 times their current budget.  An unenforced or unenforcable law is much worse than no law at all.

Everybody- re-up your PIJAC / USARK memberships and give them some encouragement to put this thing to bed.  While most of us would prefer not to have the government meddling in our lives more than they already do the best way through this is to get them to meddle in a constructive way with our input.  To hope they will just go away is naive.

White Plains was a pretty good show, again.  New security guy?? Seems like the usual obnoxious guy was not to be seen??  Maybe I missed him?  Either way, went off without a hitch and we had a good time.  Dr Lew managed to come a long as he had a business trip to NYC that Monday doing Dr stuff.  Always good to have him on the team.  We will be up there again in July and hope to see all of our regulars again.

After much debate I am moving out all of my Ball Pythons and going all “brumatable”.  Nice word.  I need to be able to pull the plug for three months and go with all frozen food.  Practical issues that can not be avoided any longer.  If you are interested in Poss het clown female subadults, Pieds, albinos or female pastels and spiders give Frank a call at 336 880 4238.  He will be doing the dirty work!

Daytona is creeping up on us quick!

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Updates

Apr 12

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Not been a lot to write about so I have been a bit lazy on the Blog updates.

Shows have been pretty good all around.  Most have been very good.   Both Richmond and Columbia were surprisingly good for us.

Next weekend is White Plains NY and Frank will be in Birmingham AL.  Trailer is about sold out already.  Pre orders were plentiful!  We still have a little room for Birmingham.  I should have a few racks for sale up in NY for “walk ins”.  I will know a little better come middle of this week when the trailer is fully packed.  Kind of hard to predict how much room you will be left with once all of the pre orders are packed.  We shall see.  I look forward to this show in NY- snow is done for the year!  Had a couple of close calls this season up north, another few hours later and we would have been staying up there for a couple of extra days.  Been lucky with the weather.

Of course the big news on the net is the HR669 bill.  I get about 20 emails a day on it so the word seems to be out.  All of us here have written letters to all of the appropriate committee members and I will be bugging them on the phone this week.  Hopefully this works out in our favor.  If you have not heard about it or need further info I would recommend PIJAC’s website.  www.pijac.org

Our new 2×4 cage with a single, full size door will be available immediately following the White Plains show.  Same price, heat options and dimensions as our standard double door.  We have reinforced the top of the cage with 1/8″ aluminum from end to end to give it the strength it needs.

Back here at home, I am bailing out on the Ball Pythons.  Not really a reflection or commentary on the BP market (I have actually done pretty well with them) but more a time and convenience factor.  Due to space constraints I have to keep the whole collection in a single room.  That is pretty tricky to do when you have other sprecies of pythons and especially with colubrids.  Brumation is a pain with the colubrids and it is hard to temp cycle the balls.  Just a tough situation.  So, away with the BP’s and on to something new.  The goal is to ba able to just “pull the plug” on the whole room for brumation in the winter months and forget about snakes for about 12 weeks.  I had that luxury many years ago and am starting to miss it. Actually been missing it for awhile now!  That and it won’t be so damn hot in the room!

With that new concept I started accumulating some rosy boas.  Got some real nice stock from a few different breeders and should start producing in small numbers next year and be very strong the following year.  Still looking around for some more as well.  Got some holes to fill in with the group.  The rest of the kings, rats and bulls will be coming on line over the next 2-3 seasons as well.  Look forward to it, lots of fun and lots of variety.

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Misting system and show updates

Mar 14

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We have had a bunch of shows the last couple of weeks.  They seem to pile up all at once.  Latest ones were the Tampa, LI, Havre de Grace and Birmingham shows.

Tampa was a little disappointing from the perspective of turnout.  Really expected some more people out for it.  Shows overall have been quite strong elsewhere over the last couple of months but that just did not seem to be the case in Florida.  Sales were alright and probably warrant another couple of tries down there so all was not lost.  I have not looked at the next dates yet but will likely go down there for it again or have representation.

The rest of the shows have been good to very good.  Frank just wrapped up Birmingham AL and reported some good sales.  Small show with low expenses but it remains a pleasant surprise.  I know he is making money at it and will continue to support it.  The next one in AL falls on the White Plains NY weekend.  We discussed a few strategies but it looks like Frank will be attending the AL show while I am up in NY.  He has good momentum there and does not want to lose it.

Shows are a funny thing.  Seems like you have to do a particular show a few times before you really get traction.  One would think that if someone attending a show needed something they would just buy it.  Not so.  I have seen this pattern time and again over the years.  It took about 3 or 4 White Plains shows before it really took off for me and that pattern is pretty typical anytime I, or someone I know, hits a new market.  Why do I see patterns from all over the country form this way.  Unrelated customers will act on the same items at the same time.  Some things, like hatchling racks, I can understand.  Seasonal for the most part.  But how do you explain the need for a scale by 20 people scattered all over the country in the period of a week and then 1 or 2 a week for the next month?  People are strange critters.

Just went through the misting supplies on the site.  Revised pricing on several items.  For a change prices are coming down a bit.  Who would have seen that coming?  Actually, it is a product of our increased buying power on a lot of those items and an expansion of my investment in this area.  Not a run-away market segment by any stretch but it is better than I had initially anticipated.  I am still developing the product offerings as I see what people want and need.  I have seen the need to simplify the offerings a bit.  Got carried away with too many choices early on and now that I see what the trends are I have been able to refine that a bit.  Make it a little easier for the consumer to figure out what they need and do not need.

I have a pretty radical new piece of hardware devoted to vivarium misting use (both reptile/amphibian and Orchid) in the pipe and hope to launch it before the end of this year.  We shall see.  Most everything takes about four times longer than I would have thought it should take but that’s the way it goes.  While pretty exciting for me it is behind a couple of other more “mainstream” product offerings that need to come first.  This may also open up a new market place for me altogether in 2010.  Who knows where life may lead?  Still having fun though………….

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Shipyourreptiles.com is here!

Feb 18

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Well, now that the cat is out of the bag-

www.shipyourreptiles.com

Chad and Robyn- Pro Exotics-  have cooked up a pretty neat deal with UPS to let you ship your reptiles (NON VENOMOUS) through UPS.  Up until this point UPS has only had a pilot program to try out the idea.  On March 16th the shipyourreptile and allproshipping sites are due to launch.  I spoke to both Chad and Robyn at great length about his site and some of the problems that have been encountered with similar previous attempts a few weeks ago.  These guys have it covered!  Everything I could think to throw at them they had answers for.  I have been working with the PE family for a few years now and they really are professional and well meaning people and  I don’t see how this can go wrong.  Now that Chad is retired, well really retired, and on the scene full time I see only more and more exciting things on the horizon.  After all, Robyn can’t do it all :)

Looks like you will not need to become “certified” through UPS, simply sign up on the website, watch the instructional videos and you are off and running.  No more “business to business only” restriction that you have with FedEx.

If you ship, or want to ship, your reptiles I would encourage you to check this out.  Chad, Robyn and the crew will be set up at Daytona this year as well to help you ship all of your new toys home.  How cool is that?

As soon as the site launches I know how all of our reptile shipments are going to be sent- Besides, the Brown truck is here 5 days a week anyhow!

At Least now I don’t have to be quiet any longer………………

In show news-

Looks like Charlotte went pretty well for most of the vendors I talked to.  Certainly off to a good start.  Would have been nice if they opened up the ailes a bit, they certainly had the room?? Whats up with that??  Overall though, a good show for all.  Both Stu and Frank set up there and both did pretty well.  Mark at Royal Reptilia did quite well.  Really didn’t hear anyone set up there crying.  That’s a change??

I will be up in Ohio with Frank for both shows this weekend.  Of Course, you know it will snow- I have to drive there and back.  I am constantly reminded why I left Long Island.  I have not been to either of these shows in the past and look forward to meeting some regular customers there.  We ship quite a bit to that part of the country so hopefully many of you can say hi.  I will be set up with/helping Neil Golli.  We pack tomorrow- last chance on requests………………..

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