# Conventions, Expos, Shows for Tarantulas



## Jeff23 (Feb 14, 2017)

There was a thread a few months back and I can't find it now regarding tarantula Expos, Shows, Conventions, etc.  It included discussion on whether everyone would be willing to attend a national show.

What USA show would be the best one to attend if I don't care about the airline cost, hotel cost, etc?  I have never been to a show and want to go to one.  I figure I can combine it with a vacation to see sites in that area.  I live half way between Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC.  I think they had an invert/reptile show in Atlanta recently (which is close to me), but I was working out of town.

I suppose I would like to go to one where Aphonopelma would be more present than the online available options.  I currently have a bunch of them, but 99% of them are less than 1/2" in size.  I want to find Aphonopelma bicoloratum.  Would this need to be in Texas, Arizona, etc. to have better options?


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## WeightedAbyss75 (Feb 14, 2017)

Online is probably your best bet. Never seen bicoloratum, and you may end up going to a texas show and never seeing one  I have a local fair with a few dealers twice a month, but that is about it. I hear there is the Tinely park reptile convention in March/April that has had inverts sellers in the past. I went there in (November?) 2016 and they had awesome inverts for sale, bought a few. Only one I know of in the US, also happens in Texas twice a year too. Same expo, two locations four times a year

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## Paiige (Feb 14, 2017)

Jeff23 said:


> There was a thread a few months back and I can't find it now regarding tarantula Expos, Shows, Conventions, etc.  It included discussion on whether everyone would be willing to attend a national show.
> 
> What USA show would be the best one to attend if I don't care about the airline cost, hotel cost, etc?  I have never been to a show and want to go to one.  I figure I can combine it with a vacation to see sites in that area.  I live half way between Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC.  I think they had an invert/reptile show in Atlanta recently (which is close to me), but I was working out of town.
> 
> I suppose I would like to go to one where Aphonopelma would be more present than the online available options.  I currently have a bunch of them, but 99% of them are less than 1/2" in size.  I want to find Aphonopelma bicoloratum.  Would this need to be in Texas, Arizona, etc. to have better options?


I would guess that yes, the further south/southwest you are, the more likely you are to find them. However, I recently went to the New England expo and there were quite a few juvenile/adult Aphonopelma for sale at good prices.

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## Jeff23 (Feb 14, 2017)

Thanks for the replies.  I have pretty much covered all of the available Aphonopelma species that I can find online with purchases of 1/4" slings.  I am not seeing any US species beyond eutylenum, gabeli, iodius, hentzi, and chalcodes.  And only chalcodes is available as a female.

EDIT* I meant USA Aphonopelma.  I did not include seemanni (Central America) which I may one day obtain as well along with my wish for mooreae (Mexico)


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## WeightedAbyss75 (Feb 14, 2017)

Jeff23 said:


> Thanks for the replies.  I have pretty much covered all of the available Aphonopelma species that I can find online with purchases of 1/4" slings.  I am not seeing any US species beyond eutylenum, gabeli, iodius, hentzi, and chalcodes.  And only chalcodes is available as a female.
> 
> EDIT* I meant USA Aphonopelma.


Could go and collect wild specimens  Probably not, but I would just post a wanted ad if you haven't already. I am sure someone is either breeding them or willing to sell some. With the price of the plane tickets, entrance fee, and trip back, you could use all that money to try and "urge" someone to sell a bicoloratum sling/juvie

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## Jeff23 (Feb 14, 2017)

WeightedAbyss75 said:


> Could go and collect wild specimens  Probably not, but I would just post a wanted ad if you haven't already. I am sure someone is either breeding them or willing to sell some. With the price of the plane tickets, entrance fee, and trip back, you could use all that money to try and "urge" someone to sell a bicoloratum sling/juvie


Good point.  Although I have searched and bought from Classifieds, I haven't put a wish list in there before.

But I figure I can get my plane ticket for free (frequent flyer miles).  I would just need to find a hotel with available burrow for sleep.  I would only travel to one if it is considered larger than just a couple sellers.  I have noticed that most of my online purchases came from California, so perhaps it has more sellers than other states.  However, I don't know if that means shows will be larger there.


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## dopamine (Feb 14, 2017)

We have a reptile expo here in Tucson but it's not till October

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## viper69 (Feb 14, 2017)

Jeff your best bet BEFORE you fly to any show out of the blue is to look up the show's website and CONFIRM what vendor is going to be there, and IF they have Ts. Very few vendors at herp shows are T specific, and thus even looking at names is not helpful. The larger the show the better your odds. Some shows in the LA area, like the one in Pomona typically has Ts. I would imagine the Daytona should/would.

If you don't check this stuff before hand, you are in for a huge disappointment regarding Ts. I've been to many shows.

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## dragonfire1577 (Feb 14, 2017)

Jeff23 said:


> I suppose I would like to go to one where Aphonopelma would be more present than the online available options.  I currently have a bunch of them, but 99% of them are less than 1/2" in size.  I want to find Aphonopelma bicoloratum.  Would this need to be in Texas, Arizona, etc. to have better options?


I literally just saw a well started juvenile Aphonopelma bicoloratum for sale at the NY reptile expo in white plains with Netbug on sunday! You're no where near close to NY it seems but if your serious about getting the species I think it was like 400 or 500$ and they do ship.

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## Jeff23 (Feb 14, 2017)

dragonfire1577 said:


> I literally just saw a well started juvenile Aphonopelma bicoloratum for sale at the NY reptile expo in white plains with Netbug on sunday! You're no where near close to NY it seems but if your serious about getting the species I think it was like 400 or 500$ and they do ship.


Thanks for that information.  

Unfortunately, I would never consider that much money for a an "unsexed" juvenile that I may not be able to pair.  I would likely want to target bicoloratum slings in the event the species is harder to find in a female.  In fact, I will probably move on to other species if I end up finding it is almost extinct.  I don't see this T on Netbug's website.

But the show you are mentioning might be worth the investigation for other T's since it is much quicker travel time.
http://reptileexpo.com/white-plains.html


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## Abyss (Feb 14, 2017)

Search repticon an see if they have one near you and berks i have had great luck at both

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## Jeff23 (Feb 14, 2017)

Abyss said:


> Search repticon an see if they have one near you and berks i have had great luck at both


Thanks.
It is here in Greenville on February 18 & 19.    Do I have good timing with this thread or what?  Since we aren't a large city it will be interesting to see if much is there.  The vendor list looks like almost all Reptile and Snake vendors.  But a couple of the exhibitors sell feeders and crickets so maybe I can find a better feeder supplier if nothing else.


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## z32upgrader (Feb 15, 2017)

Don't forget about the ATS' Annual Conference every July in Tucson.  The "Spider Mall" is usually pretty busy with vendors and besides, the Conference is an experience in itself.

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## CEC (Feb 15, 2017)

z32upgrader said:


> Don't forget about the ATS' Annual Conference every July in Tucson.  The "Spider Mall" is usually pretty busy with vendors and besides, the Conference is an experience in itself.


I have always wanted to attend for years. The one year it fit my schedule and was affordable for me (2015 I believe), it was not put on. I did manage to attend the "Arachnogathering" that year, put on by Michael Jacobi at the NARBC show in Tinley Park, IL. Sadly, that event is no more. So I gotta start planning for an ATS attendance ASAP.

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## Abyss (Feb 15, 2017)

CEC said:


> I have always wanted to attend for years. The one year it fit my schedule and was affordable for me (2015 I believe), it was not put on. I did manage to attend the "Arachnogathering" that year, put on by Michael Jacobi at the NARBC show in Tinley Park, IL. Sadly, that event is no more. So I gotta start planning for an ATS attendance ASAP.


Never got to make it to that one yet


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## user 666 (Feb 15, 2017)

Jeff23 said:


> Thanks.
> It is here in Greenville on February 18 & 19.    Do I have good timing with this thread or what?  Since we aren't a large city it will be interesting to see if much is there.  The vendor list looks like almost all Reptile and Snake vendors.  But a couple of the exhibitors sell feeders and crickets so maybe I can find a better feeder supplier if nothing else.


Looking over the site now. It's a good-sized show, and all the tables are sold out.
http://repticon.com/south-carolina/greenville/

Based on what I saw at the Baltimore Repticon, I would expect to find 5 or 6 tarantula vendors at your show.

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## Bugmom (Feb 15, 2017)

CEC said:


> I have always wanted to attend for years. The one year it fit my schedule and was affordable for me (2015 I believe), it was not put on. I did manage to attend the "Arachnogathering" that year, put on by Michael Jacobi at the NARBC show in Tinley Park, IL. Sadly, that event is no more. So I gotta start planning for an ATS attendance ASAP.


I have heard that there won't be an ATS show this year now that Ken the Bug Guy sold his shop. Can anyone confirm this?

There is zero mention of a 2017 ATS Conference anywhere online. 

The absolute best expos I've ever been to are the Texas Reptile Expo in San Antonio, TX and NARBC in Arlington, TX. I go more for reptiles than tarantulas, however, there were always a good number of arachnid vendors.

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## Rob1985 (Feb 15, 2017)

We have a really good expo twice a month here in the Chicago burbs. It's called Scott Smith's All Animal Expo. There's at least three or four T vendors who always have good stuff! Evil's Arachnids booth is stellar! 

Just do a Google search and let me know if you end up this way!

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## Moakmeister (Feb 15, 2017)

There's a Repticon happening in Pasadena on the 25th and 26th. I'll be attending to perhaps get another T. I went to their previous show in 2014, and there were a lot of Brachys there, as well as _Theraphosas_. At the time I was unfamiliar with the scietific names of the genus, so I can't say if they were blondis or stirmis, but stirmis is what I'm betting.

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## gypsy cola (Feb 15, 2017)

Better option would be to just a do a vacation. Figure out a spot you want to check and then go when they have a expo.

Vegas is nice because it's Vegas. Awesome food and lately there are lot of activities that don't need you to be 21. They got a pretty cool aquarium and the strip has some cool spots.

SLC is your best option if you are more into the outdoors. So maaaaannnyyy hiking spots that are really accessible. Our state capital is actual the starting point for the Mt.Ensign hike. We have two reptile expos a year. The LPS here usually have a decent stock. One of them is actually carrying CITES imported brachypelma baumgarteni. We have plenty of local breeders here you could grab a beer with too. Don't mind our crazy alcohol laws. We have AMAZING beer. You just have to visit the brewery itself to pick up. I recommend the Smoked and Oaked from the award winning Epic Brewery.

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## Jeff23 (Feb 15, 2017)

gypsy cola said:


> Better option would be to just a do a vacation. Figure out a spot you want to check and then go when they have a expo.
> 
> Vegas is nice because it's Vegas. Awesome food and lately there are lot of activities that don't need you to be 21. They got a pretty cool aquarium and the strip has some cool spots.
> 
> SLC is your best option if you are more into the outdoors. So maaaaannnyyy hiking spots that are really accessible. Our state capital is actual the starting point for the Mt.Ensign hike. We have two reptile expos a years. The LPS here usually have a decent stock. One of them is actually carrying CITES imported brachypelma baumgarteni. We have plenty of local breeders here you could grab a beer with too. Don't mind our crazy alcohol laws. We have AMAZING beer. You just have to visit the brewery itself to pick up. Smoked and Oaked from the award winning Epic Brewery.


This is exactly what I want to do.  Most of the shows will be near some larger city so I can likely find something else enjoyable to do during the same trip.

I like Salt Lake City.  My employer has a customer there so I have visited once or twice every year for the last few years.  The streets are easy to navigate unlike our hilly curvy streets here.  Even if I made a wrong turn there, I really never got lost because the mountains kept the coordinates right.

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## Giles52 (Feb 16, 2017)

We're going to Repticon in Denver, CO in April. It will be my first expo. Very excited. All I did was google it, and info popped up and whoop! There was one just a few hours from me. Actually, quite a few shows came up (just googled reptile expos in CO) but Repticon was the only one I recognized as a national show, so that's the one we're going to. 

And looking at the list, it says Repticon will be in Atlanta in April as well

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## dragonfire1577 (Feb 16, 2017)

Jeff23 said:


> Thanks for that information.
> 
> Unfortunately, I would never consider that much money for a an "unsexed" juvenile that I may not be able to pair.  I would likely want to target bicoloratum slings in the event the species is harder to find in a female.  In fact, I will probably move on to other species if I end up finding it is almost extinct.  I don't see this T on Netbug's website.
> 
> ...


Oh if I recall correctly It may have been a molt sexed female but I can't say I remember for sure I'd contact them if your interested. She doesn't list everything she has on the website especially rare species and sexed females that I see at the expos.

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## vespers (Feb 16, 2017)

user 666 said:


> Looking over the site now. It's a good-sized show, and all the tables are sold out.
> http://repticon.com/south-carolina/greenville/
> 
> Based on what I saw at the Baltimore Repticon, I would expect to find 5 or 6 tarantula vendors at your show.


That show is only about 1/3 the size of our Baltimore Repticon, and most of those Greenville vendors appear to be reptile specific.


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## user 666 (Feb 16, 2017)

So it is:
http://repticon.com/maryland/baltimore/

I didn't realize the B-more Repticon was so large.


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## Jeff23 (Feb 16, 2017)

vespers said:


> That show is only about 1/3 the size of our Baltimore Repticon, and most of those Greenville vendors appear to be reptile specific.


I looked at the Atlanta show and it appears to be much larger than Greenville.  I can easily go to it as well since I have family living in Georgia.   What is probably the biggest Repticon in the USA each year?


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## vespers (Feb 16, 2017)

Jeff23 said:


> What is probably the biggest Repticon in the USA each year?


Hmm, that's a good question. I'm not sure.
Of course, there are other large reptile/herp shows out there, some that are bigger than many Repticons. Like NARBC, or some of the Northeast Expos like the White Plains show.

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## Cheo Samad (Feb 21, 2017)

Just throwing my 2 cents in the ring, I moved from Atlanta a few months ago and went to their reptile show 'repticon' whenever it came to town every 3-4 months. It is AWESOME however I was going for snakes and mainly ball pythons. There are a few invert vendors there every time but it will be overwhelmingly reptiles. (Funny story, a centipede escaped last time I went and luckily it was found very quickly)

If you go, just know your invert selection will be limited. It is however a very fun show and you'll see some cool reptiles and other animals. I went to repticon in Tampa and it was much larger and had a few more invert vendors.

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## z32upgrader (Feb 21, 2017)

Bugmom said:


> I have heard that there won't be an ATS show this year now that Ken the Bug Guy sold his shop. Can anyone confirm this?
> 
> There is zero mention of a 2017 ATS Conference anywhere online.


I can dispel this rumor.
I spoke with a member of the board about conference dates and they're "...trying to hash that out right now.  Trying to coordinate with IECC. (Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference)  Should have an answer soon."

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