National Reptile Breeders Expo 2011 Slideshow

Let the fun begin! Collette Sutherland from TSK Supply unpacking her wares on the day before the show.

Cute albino gators at Shawn Heflick’s booth.

Turtle Night, sponsored by Zoo Med, takes place the night before the show. Here I am with Russ Gurley (far left) and Zoo Med CEO Gary Bagnall.

Allen Repashy (Ieft) and Philippe de Vosjoli talk about New Caledonian geckos at Exo Terra’s Gecko Symposium.

Me and Exo Terra Brand Manager Emmanuel Van Heygen.

Do you think Philippe de Vosjoli likes the gift he received from Exo Terra? I think so.

Me flanked by the Swamp Brothers, Robbie (left) and Stephen Keszey.

From left to right: Me, Robbie Keszey, REPTILES magazine Sales Manager Sandy Quinn, Christine Roscher (owner of L.A. Reptile and Sunland Reptiles), Philippe de Vosjoli and Allen Repashy.

Eager reptile enthusiasts lined up on Saturday morning.

National Reptile Breeders’ Expo organizer Wayne Hill and reptile book author Patti Bartlett.

This is what expo vendors like to see!

The talented Ben Greishaw, ready to sell some of his reptile sculptures.

Another gator, but this time bigger, hoisted by Jason Hoffman from Critter Encounters.

Keep turtles? Need a tub? Then go talk to Pete Jansema from Waterlandtubs!

Larry Kenton from Maryland Reptile Farm has all kinds of reptile literature. Ask him to tell you about his experiences working at Woodstock back in 1969!

Were bearded dragons available at the show? Don’t ask such stupid questions. The number of different morphs has been growing!

Juvenile pink-bellied side-neck turtles at The Turtle Source booth. Look for an article about these in the January 2012 REPTILES!

Sandy Quinn flanked by Dave Barker (left) and Marc Cantos.

San Esteban spiny tail iguana.

From left to right: Keith Chitwood, Bill McCord and Fred Caporaso. Like the now-famous You Tube video kid, they like turtles.

Speaking of turtles, lots of baby Podocnemis unifilis for sale at the Turtle Island area.

Andy Schmidt (right) and Cody Chapin man the Healthy Herp booth.

The milling throng.

Radiated tortoises - they ain’t cheap!

Tegus, Solomon Island skinks and more.

The Gourmet Rodent sells much more than rodents.

Loren Leigh (middle), owner of LLL Reptile, is always super busy at shows, and he goes to lots of them. He works hard!

Nice Meller’s chameleon.

The Zoo Med crew, from left to right: Eric Russell, Keith Morris (way in back), Thushara Weerakkody, Matt Panos, Andy Quinn and Phil Goss…and a cool surfboard like one you could win if you enter Zoo Med’s video contest!

Look! It’s Jeff Ronne, the Boaphile!

Crowds around the Tetrafauna booth.

Mr. Leopard Gecko himself, Ron Tremper, helps a potential customer.

I find baby horned frogs cute, even if one did bite me during a photo shoot once.

Eugene Bessette from Ophiological Services with Pro Exotics’ Chad Brown, blissfully unaware of the tragic fire to come two months later.

The Exo Terra posse, from left to right: Jeremy Carr, Damian Hall, Jeff San Souci and Steve Sotelo, with Robbie Keszey behind them.

Paul Demas from Penn-Plax, forced to pose.

Super-cool turtle fossil!

These sulcatas were gracious enough to hatch during the show, to the fascination of attendees.

Western hognose morphs. Look for an article about them in the March 2012 issue of REPTILES!

VPI’s Dave Barker is a nice guy. He shared his breakfast with me while waiting to board our plane home after the show.

Red-footed tortoise hatchlings on the march.

Bin o’ tegus.

Of course there were plenty of ball pythons at the show!

Let’s not forget the most important booth: the REPTILES subscription table! Barb Trein was ready to sign people up.

Red ackies, a good choice for someone who wants a monitor, but not one that gets huge.

View along the boardwalk outside the host hotel, the Hilton Daytona Beach Resort.

For me, no Daytona show would be complete without a meal at Hog Heaven. I love their Brunswick stew!

Saturday night pre-auction reception and free food provided by REPTILES and ReptileChannel!

Me with Andrew Wyatt, the president of USARK.

Tasty Philly cheesesteak sandwiches — courtesy of REPTILES and ReptileChannel!

A festive crowd, hopefully getting ready to do some auction bidding.

Sandy and me with Sloane Krelitz, the Ad Director for another BowTie magazine, Pet Product News International.

Bob Ashley, from ECO and the NARBC shows

Rick Trein signs up new REPTILES subscribers at the reception.

The crowd peruses the silent auction items prior to the start of the live auction.

Some of the snakes up for bid in the silent auction.

Zoo Med’s Phil Goss returned as auctioneer. And speaking of Zoo Med, they’re matching USARK donations again in 2011!

And the auction begins!

Hey, haven’t I seen this guy on Letterman? Bob Clark was at the auction.

Jim Pether (left) and Elliott Jacobson

As the live auction continues, people continue to browse the silent auction items.

Sandy, Sloane and Reptile Industries’ Kim Bell.

Me with Mike Canning, the president of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC).

Sandy with Bill Brant, from The Gourmet Rodent.

Timberline’s Todd Goodman won a bidding war for a bag of Jello shots provided by Kim Bell. You never know what will go on the auction block!

Phil acknowledges another bid.

Andrew has a right to be smiling — every bid means more money for USARK! With Joan Galvin, a government relations advisor who works with USARK.

Where does Sandy end and Russ begin? We got made fun of because of our (inadvertent) matching shirts.

$40,500 was raised for USARK, a new record made possible when Exo Terra stepped in with a $6,500 donation!

Fireworks off the end of the pier near the hotel, as if in celebration of the best auction ever!