A Snowy Road leads to Lizards

I woke up on Saturday, expecting to see the 5" of snow that had been forecast, and wondering how it would affect my day's plans. I was elated to look out of the window and see a mere 2" on the ground, yet it was a winter wonderland. All the trees and bushes were balancing a coating of white powder on their branches, and then I realized that all the roads were completely clear. Joy! I would still be able to get out and enjoy the scenery. I was meeting a friend later that morning, so grabbed my camera, and began driving the back roads towards Berryville.

Despite the roads being completely clear, there was very little traffic, so I was able to drive slowly and stop often to take photos without being a bother to anyone else. The countryside was beautiful, serenely peaceful, the quiet only broken by the chatter of birds as they hopped among the branches. A brilliant blue sky broke through clusters of clouds, and occasionally the wind would blow a dusting of powdery snow across the road, or nudge clumps down to the ground, as I stood on the verges with my camera. The snow was supposed to melt quickly with the promised higher temperatures during the day, but it was bitterly cold here in the countryside.

I constantly checked the time while I was photographing this beautiful scenery, slowly working my way north, and eventually arrived in Berryville, where a Reptile Expo was taking place. I'd never been to one before, and wanted to add this to my list of experiences. My friend, Angelina, has 21 spiders, as well as snakes and other reptilian pets, so I was happy she was joining me, with her knowledge of these animals and events.

 I have to admit that I was shocked when I entered the first building, my initial sight being a table laden with multiple clear plastic pots containing geckos. My immediate reaction was that this was a cruel practice, these poor creatures crammed into containers, with no food or water, and hoards of humans peering at them and picking them up. I asked a couple of vendors about this, and was told that they were fine, they didn't need food or water for the short period of time that they were there, from 9am to 3pm. Yet how long were they sitting in these 'pots' during transit, and before the show started, and before they were released into bigger containers when they got 'home', I wondered. 

This is Alien, a very big, but placid, python. Her owner had only had her for 3 months, yet she was obviously well used to being handled. I was allowed to hold her, and she immediately wound herself around my neck and rested her head on the hood of my jacket. She enjoyed being stroked and I could have stood there all day caressing her, she was so sweet. I reluctantly gave her back to the vendor after a 5 minute snuggle, and looked at the other snakes in their small plastic containers.

Above, we have a male Super Banana Clown snake, at $1000, a couple of Mountain Horned Dragons at $25 each, a very handsome Blue Tongue skink at $150, and 2 Solomon Island Mangrove Monitors at $100 each. All of these appealed to me, but not enough to want to own any, although maintenance isn’t that difficult apparently.

The ‘creepy crawly’ critters were a different story. I really didn’t want to get close to any of these, paranoid that they’d heave their lids off and jump on me. I tried very hard to see them through Angelina’s eyes as she, very knowledgeably, described their traits and needs. The spider was a Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula, and the Vietnamese Giant Centipede wasn’t charming me either. I imagine both of these can move very fast.

I think this chap was a Bearded Dragon. I was so captivated by him that I forgot to look at his label. His owner had opened her laptop and left it running, so he could snooze on the warm keyboard. He looked very content, but did open one eye, somehow aware that I was staring at him.

The expo had definitely been an eye-opener for me, and I was glad that I went, but when Angelina suggested going to another in Manassas next month, I declined. I’d seen some incredible creatures, and the ones I’d really loved, the jumping spiders, I hadn’t got photos of. I was amazed that people kept them as pets, yet the vendors were selling gaudy plastic houses for them, filled with plastic figurines, plastic foliage, and beads and baubles. I see these cute little spiders in the garden, and had never considered catching them to keep indoors. I prefer to see them on living flowers and plants. But they were very popular at the expo, especially with kids.

I’d been amazed at how many people turned up for this event, both of the big barns were crowded, with long queues of folk outside the doors. With over 100 vendors, selling everything needed to set up a reptile home, it was incredibly busy, and until this visit, I’d had no idea how popular reptiles were, yet money was being passed over the tables continuously. Vendor tables had all been taken by the beginning of January, and the event had had no plans to postpone, despite the snow forecast. Angelina bought quite a lot of stuff. A live baby mouse and a frozen rabbit to feed her snakes, some cork bark for aquariums, and 2 more spiders. I bought a prayer plant.