So a while back I posted asking about Repticon in Florida and if it was worth it. Well, today was the day for Repticon in Orlando, and I thought I’d share my impressions.
First, for tarantulas I found only two vendors who had more than T. Albopilosum or A.Seemanni. As a newbie, these two vendors did have some of the species I was looking for. I went in with a list. The top had C. Versicolor, but the one vendor who had them was charging more than I was willing to pay. Between the two vendors, there was a decent assortment of species and buying some was worth it to avoid shipping costs from online breeders.
I ended up buying 2 A. Geniculata slings, an L. Parahybana sling, and a juvenile A. seemanni. All of mine came from Exotic Kingdom. I’m not ready for old worlds, but they had some really cool species. (My wife, who knows nothing about tarantulas, tried to talk me into the pretty black one which was a Thailand Black. LOL!) I also walked away with a ton of supplies. Family Reptiles had a huge floor space. I bought lots of cork, and a few very reasonably priced enclosures, and some substrate.
Overall, my opinion is that it was worth it to go. Although I didn’t get what I had at the top of my list, I did get some species that I wanted at good prices. I think the deals on supplies compared to pet stores was definitely the selling point for me along with avoiding shipping costs. I spent about 2 hours going through everything and felt satisfied when I got home.
Good experience when all was said and done and the VIP ticket to get in early was cheap. I will probably go again.
First, for tarantulas I found only two vendors who had more than T. Albopilosum or A.Seemanni. As a newbie, these two vendors did have some of the species I was looking for. I went in with a list. The top had C. Versicolor, but the one vendor who had them was charging more than I was willing to pay. Between the two vendors, there was a decent assortment of species and buying some was worth it to avoid shipping costs from online breeders.
I ended up buying 2 A. Geniculata slings, an L. Parahybana sling, and a juvenile A. seemanni. All of mine came from Exotic Kingdom. I’m not ready for old worlds, but they had some really cool species. (My wife, who knows nothing about tarantulas, tried to talk me into the pretty black one which was a Thailand Black. LOL!) I also walked away with a ton of supplies. Family Reptiles had a huge floor space. I bought lots of cork, and a few very reasonably priced enclosures, and some substrate.
Overall, my opinion is that it was worth it to go. Although I didn’t get what I had at the top of my list, I did get some species that I wanted at good prices. I think the deals on supplies compared to pet stores was definitely the selling point for me along with avoiding shipping costs. I spent about 2 hours going through everything and felt satisfied when I got home.
Good experience when all was said and done and the VIP ticket to get in early was cheap. I will probably go again.
