by Brad Nelson LouisvillePetPals.com Technical Director

Event Column Spiders and Lizards and Snakes... Oh My!

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LOUISVILLE, KY, October 7, 2006 -- Alice Cooper recently performed at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, opening for the Rolling Stones. When he needed an Albino Burmese Python to hang around his neck during the show, who would he contact to locate one? The answer is Jason Feagans, breeder of reptiles, and coordinator of the Kentucky Reptile Expo, which is put on about ten times a year at the Shelby County Fairgrounds east of Louisville.

The October Kentucky Reptile Expo attracted about 375 visitors and approximately 40 vendors with 50 tables. This show first began in 2001 and Jason says it has many regulars, some of whom have been attending since the first one. "For most of us, the show feels like a family reunion rather than a business." The reptiles have all been bred in captivity, thus natural wildlife is not being depleted. Per Jason, "this means that wild populations are not being depleted and often times the owners gain an interest in maintaining the natural habitat of their favorite species, whether it be Ghana Africa or South Carolina."

Some people drove many miles to attend this show. Lee Hornsby of Southeastern Exotics is from Georgia and his best sellers are Ball Pythons and Lizards. When asked about venomous snakes, he says that while the Kentucky Reptile Expo does not allow venomous snakes, there are some shows that do. To own a venomous snake, you must be licensed. To do that, you must show that you are competent, and you must be insured (up to $40,000 coverage per venomous reptile!). Lee said that he was hoping to soon be one of only two people in Georgia with such a license.

I asked Louisville vendor Chad Gray of C&T Exotics how long he has had snakes as pets. His answer was age six. He kept garter snakes and "went on from there." However, not everyone answered such a young age. In fact, most people I asked stated it wasn't until they moved out of their parents’ house before they got their first reptile. Apparently many parents don't like having snakes about the house.

Some of the larger snakes I saw were at the House of Reptiles table. Scott Braunstein and Steve Beierlein were kind enough to pose for the camera with two Burmese Pythons -- one albino, and the other of regular coloration. These snakes can get up to 18 to 20 feet in length, weighing 250 to 300 pounds! The House of Reptiles is an educational facility in Dry Ridge, Kentucky. They take their reptiles to schools, birthday parties... wherever they can show the reptiles and teach people about them. When asked if the snakes tended to scare the children, the answer was that the parents are always more "freaked out" than the kids.

The Kentucky Herpetological Society was represented at the expo by Linda Brown. Linda has been a member for three years. Linda owns cats and three snakes. When asked how she got involved with the Herpetological Society she told me of how she helped rescue a snake and the experience led to becoming a member. Linda is also a docent at the Louisville Zoo, so is involved in many aspects of educating others about reptiles and animals. Linda states that while the Herpetological Society's foremost activity is educating people, it is also a social organization for people with similar likes to get together and have fun.

Another table with some interesting creatures was that of Heather and David Russell. Here I saw a very cool lizard called a Red and Yellow Uromastyx, a White's Tree Frog from Australia, and what looked to me like small tarantulas (I don't recall the exact species).

At Mike Krick and his son Jake's table, I saw the largest scorpions I have ever seen. Huge, black, and with very large claws, they looked to be very deadly to my untrained eye. However, Mike informed me that the larger the claws, usually the less venomous. To prove his point, he placed the scorpion on his son's shirt for my photograph. Okay, he proved his point, but they still looked fairly vicious to me!

Another table I stopped at had lots of lizards. They were raised by Mark Matheny. Mark made his own incubator and bred German Giants with Snows to get a variety of mixes. One he showed me had a scar from where its umbilical cord had wrapped around it and Mark had to cut it off.

How was the show? It was pretty cool. If you like reptiles (even if you don't want to own any yourself), this is definitely a fun event. I've never owned a reptile, but if I did or was thinking of getting one... this would be the place to go. The next scheduled date for the show is November 4th.

See the Louisville Pet Pals' Pet Photos and Photography message board forum for more Reptile Expo photos!