# Mississauga Reptile Expo



## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

SO... I spent the weekend in Mississauga, ON and attended the first reptile expo of the year there today before making the long drive back to Ottawa. I went down with two friends and it was a good time.

All of the animals I bought were pre-purchased or had a down payment on them already. Here's what I brought home:

-1.3 _R. ciliatus_ aka crested geckos (simply stunning specimens, pics soon).
-1.1 _U. phantasticus_ aka satanic leaftail geckos (they're tiny right now, but hopefully I can take pics of them in a month or two)
-0.1 adult _R. auriculatus_ aka gargoyle gecko (she'll make a nice addition to my budding breeding project)
-0.1 _R. sarasinorum_ aka "sara" gecko (cousin of the crestie, the more streamlined version, haha)
-0.1 _C. caninus_ aka emerald tree boa (a stunning girl that is calmer than calm)

I'm most pumped about the snake I think even though I had some serious doubts there at one point. At the end of the day she's an amazing snake and I'm so happy I got her. The geckos are all settling in, but I managed to get a shot of the snake:









It was a good time!


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

thats bad ass mettle! Sounds like you got quite a few new additions.

I've always liked the etbs but have never owned one myself. My uncle has a tatoo of one on his calf. He said he got rid of his because they kept biting him, and they have large teeth. My natural response was, "quit trying to play with it, they aren't toys". hehehe. Hes kind of ignorant when it comes to the animals he keeps though. More cash than knowledge. Last time I was there I handled a previously considered unhandlable albino boa, and tried to explain that alot of it has to do with the approach you take. I didn't tame it or anything, I just made sure it was in fleeing mode instead of attacking mode, then just let it slither through my hands over and over, until it gave up and then put it around my neck. They were pretty amazed to say the least.

Sorry about the rambling... I'm a little drunk...

So do you know if its a M/F? Any intention of breeding it, or is it more of just a pet? And lastly, how are you feeding all these geckos!?!?!?! Seems like it would cost a small fortune if your not breeding your own roaches. Or are they ok with mealies? It seems like your going huge quick. Any thoughts on tapping into the cameleon world? Those are the lizards I like the most, but they need there eggs incubated for up to a year depending on species, and I like to breed sh*t(or at least try)...


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## khmerboiRED (Jul 15, 2008)

I'm a p*ssy when it comes to snakes... Nice lookin snake though. What do you feed em? Mice?


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

The ETB is a female. The previous owner has had her checked on two separate occassions, by two different people and both confirmed female. So I'm hoping it is for sure a female... No immediate plans to breed her. She's just an '08 baby so she's quite far off of that anyway. My friends who I was at the show with decided they want an emerald now too (though they might get a GTP, who knows) and if they do and it's male we might work something out down the line. I'll have to check what size of prey she was feeding on in my communications with the previous owner to be sure. I know she can be a bit fussy with food though, so she might take some working with before she's totally on the f/t regiment. Good thing I have a cornsnake that will gladly eat whatever she doesn't end up taking, heh.

As for the geckos... I have picked up a lot lately but I have also sold off a lot. I dropped off 12 crested geckos just this weekend in the GTA. I sold 5 other cresties prior to this weekend as well that were done as local pick-ups. So I thinned things out quite a bit to make room for different species of geckos and the amazing, high end stock that I was able to pick up. I think my count is now actually less than before... For food. Most of the geckos eat primarily a pre-mixed food called Crested Gecko Diet as well as a mixed "smoothie" of fruits and yogurts that I add my own calcium and vitamin supplementation to. That's cheap/simple. The cresties, gargoyles and now the sara will primarily eat that and will get crickets maybe one a week. The leaftails are only insectivorous and so I feed them only crickets. Right now I've had my mossy leaftails on the regiment of 3 nights straight of cricket feeding and then 1 night off. It seems to be working. The satanic leaftails will get food every day since they're SO TINY. I do buy my boxes of crickets in 1000 lots though. It makes things cheaper. I can spend $25 on 1000 crickets from my supplier, pick them up for $20 at the expos (like yesterday), or I can go to the pet shop and pay 9cents each. The latter option seems silly.

I've always really loved chameleons but they are a lot of work. And take up a lot of space. While I definitely do appreciate them, I don't think that I'll be getting into them any time soon. The only way I'd pick up chams is if I happened to find 1.1 or 1.2 Mt. Meru Jackson's Chameleons. Those are amazing and one of my favourite animals I've ever seen. The males with their horns are just too cool.

One thing that I am really looking into now is a frog, _Megophrys nasuta_ aka Bornean/Asian Horned Frog. I find that they look AMAZING and their care is relatively simple. Plus, I'd be able to house 4 of them or so in the free 24x18x18 exoterra terrarium that I have sitting idly on the floor right now. No one at the show really knew what they were let alone had any for sale. And it doesn't seem like anyone in Canada really has a clue about them. I think they're awesome though and will continue my hunt for 'em. Maybe one day!

Next month the expo is in Montreal... and the month after that right here in Ottawa! I'm not planning on any more major animal purchases but I am eager to start collecting more items for the planted terrariums I'm setting up for my mossy leaftails and satanic leaftails.


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## ICEE (Feb 3, 2007)

smoking girl mettle


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Thanks. She's super gentle, too! I have her out right now as I'm typing this. She hasn't even hissed at me yet. I'm impressed... Hopefully she stays like this throughout her life.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

So I took this pic shortly after making my last post.. just thought I'd share.









That's my new puppy-dog tame emerald tree boa (_Corallus caninus_) who have a rep for being moody and mean snakes. I definitely lucked out with this sweet little girl. She lets me pet her head and everything. And she isn't jumpy in the least. She's far more gentle than my carpet python (who can be a bit jumpy) and far less frisky than my cornsnake (always on the go).

In the pic above she was wrapped around my wrist with her head supported by the desk. She just sat there, just like that, for a good 10 mins or so at least while I was typing on the computer.

I'm PRAYING that she stays like that.


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## dead golfish (Apr 24, 2003)

HAHA I was there I bought my first gecko he was $7.50 golden gecko, about 7 inches long, there were a lot of cool animals there i wanted to buy a snake so bad but I wouldn't be able to take care of it yet.


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## ICEE (Feb 3, 2007)

wow the tameness is amazing









that makes that pickup 1000x better


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Yes, ICEE, she is a gentle beast.







I can reach into her tank any time I want and poke and prod her. I accidently poked her in the head tonight when I opened the tank to see if she was still in a "non-biting" mood. The exception, not the rule when it comes to temperment. But I definitely don't mind. She's stellar.

If I can find a male just as calm one day then maybe I can make some more like her.



dead golfish said:


> HAHA I was there I bought my first gecko he was $7.50 golden gecko, about 7 inches long, there were a lot of cool animals there i wanted to buy a snake so bad but I wouldn't be able to take care of it yet.


Haha, cool. What do you have it set up in? Who did you buy it from? At that price I'm guessing it was from PCPC and if so then it's wild caught. Just an fyi. You might need to treat for parasites.

Pics?

It was a BUSY expo. I don't think it has ever been that busy before. Time for a new venue! Word has it that Grant Crossman, the guy who runs the shows, is already looking for a new place to accomidate the crowds.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Mettle said:


> HAHA I was there I bought my first gecko he was $7.50 golden gecko, about 7 inches long, there were a lot of cool animals there i wanted to buy a snake so bad but I wouldn't be able to take care of it yet.


Haha, cool. What do you have it set up in? Who did you buy it from? At that price I'm guessing it was from PCPC and if so then it's wild caught. Just an fyi. You might need to treat for parasites.

Pics?

It was a BUSY expo. I don't think it has ever been that busy before. Time for a new venue! Word has it that Grant Crossman, the guy who runs the shows, is already looking for a new place to accomidate the crowds.
[/quote]

I wouldnt be supprised if it does gen a new location cuz in sept it was supposed to be the busiest ever, yet each sucsessive one its packed. Its like you have to drop a shoulder and move sideways to get around in there. Fun though, but packed, good for vedors, but would be better since there were alot of tables that had a gathering a couple rows thick of people.


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## joey'd (Oct 26, 2005)

Mettle said:


> So I took this pic shortly after making my last post.. just thought I'd share.
> 
> View attachment 178523
> 
> ...


dude, beautiful pickup, she is amazing!
my Python is the same way, he is super chill likes to come and just curl around my wrist and just hang out, but from what i read in your post, your snake is more aggressive i guess?
anyways, great pick man, best wishes


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Yeah. Emerald tree boas are have a much higher tendency for aggressive temperments than ball pythons do. There's a reason why ball pythons are recommended as a great first snake and etbs are rated by most as intermediate, at least.







Their care is also a bit more intense but consistency is all you need.


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## Red Eyes (Nov 25, 2003)

Congrats on all of the new additions! Your ETB looks fantastic!


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