Question about Reptile Shows

[CarolenRunsen]

So last weekend I attended my very first reptile show, in Edmonton, Alberta.

Saw lots of snakes, geckos, lizards, and turtles, but unfortunately only one chameleon. Once i thought about why that was it made sense. It must be way to stressful to bring a bunch of chameleons out of their homes for two days, to have people stare at them and decide weather or not to bring them home. Also it was a smaller show, I'm sure the ones you all have in the United States are much larger.

So i was wondering, how DO people go about setting up a Chameleon booth in these larger shows?

 

[kenya]

People basically bring their full cages, plants, lights and all and set them up with barriers between chams so they can't see each other.

Obviously you only bring healthy animals- it is very stressful so the stress would severely compromise the immune systems of sub par animals.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

I've done a number of expos now without a single loss. As mentioned before , you don't bring unhealthy or marginal chams. I also don't bring anything younger than 10 weeks of age... 12-14 weeks preferably.

I also transport the chams in individual deli cups, in picnic coolers. It keeps it dark and warm for the chams, especially in winter.

And I also use cages with basking lights and a UVB light . I honestly think the light washes out the crowds , from the chams perspective. They tend not to be stressed with this setup.

I also mist them once per hour. And I always have my table next to Canadian Silkworms. Brandy or Daniel will usually sneak a few silkworms in for each cham throughout the day, so they get a nice treat.

 

[CarolenRunsen]

I've done a number of expos now without a single loss. As mentioned before , you don't bring unhealthy or marginal chams. I also don't bring anything younger than 10 weeks of age... 12-14 weeks preferably.

I also transport the chams in individual deli cups, in picnic coolers. It keeps it dark and warm for the chams, especially in winter.

And I also use cages with basking lights and a UVB light . I honestly think the light washes out the crowds , from the chams perspective. They tend not to be stressed with this setup.

I also mist them once per hour. And I always have my table next to Canadian Silkworms. Brandy or Daniel will usually sneak a few silkworms in for each cham throughout the day, so they get a nice treat.

Don't suppose you ever come out to any of the western shows?? probably too far for your little guys?

There was one chameleon breeder at the show who had Jacksons for sale, but he decided to leave all his animals at home, just pamphlets and info. Honestly his booth seemed the plainest of all and I'm sure didn't get nearly as much traffic as the others.

which makes me think of another question. Do you breeders just stick to shows in your area? I wonder how a bigger cham breeding company would go about attending a show several hundred kms (miles) away?