Dylan Brogan
A Bearded Dragon (left) lounges on Sam Gomez at the Wisconsin Reptile Expo.
Charlene Cardona and Phil Armstrong already have several pets including milk and corn snakes and a 2-foot-long Sand Boa. But they’re at the VFW Post 7591 on Cottage Grove Road this Sunday afternoon in search of a new addition to the family — specifically, a Crested Gecko, native to New Caledonia in the South Pacific.
“I think reptiles make great pets. Ours have been super chill and they’re just fun to have around,” Cardona says. “Some people think reptiles, especially snakes, are dangerous. But I’ve seen dogs and cats that have caused a lot of more harm to their owners than a snake ever could.”
Armstrong agrees. “Snakes can be very friendly. They just like to hang out wrapped around your neck. They are almost an accessory.”
The biannual Wisconsin Reptile Expo has taken over the dining room of the VFW. It’s filled with hundreds of animals, including snakes of every color and size, frogs and several species of lizards. Although vendors are also hawking terrariums, enclosures, reptile food and specialty pet supplies, the main draw is a chance to bring home a new cold-blooded friend.
Dylan Brogan
Royal Pythons were for sale at the Wisconsin Reptile Expo.
Most of the vendors are small-scale breeders from Wisconsin and neighboring states. Andrew Handeland from Waukesha says breeding Royal (or Ball) Pythons and geckos is a hobby he enjoys with his sons and wife Holly. It’s also a way to make a “little money.” Handeland always wanted a pet snake as a kid. Now, he’s the proud parent of five snakes, three spiny-tailed lizards and a half-dozen Leopard Geckos.”
“Some people see a snake and are totally freaked out. Others, like me, think they are awesome. The more time you spend around them, the more you realize they are just friendly little reptiles,” says Handeland, who is holding Godzilla, a meaty 8-year-old python.
“When snakes are young, they are skittish because they are new to the world and I’m a lot bigger than them,” Handeland adds. “But once they get older and used to people, they are as friendly as dogs or any other pet.”
John Roberts from Madison is the only vendor selling vibrantly colored frogs from Central and South America. These quarter-sized amphibians were used by indigenous people in Colombia to make poison darts.
“They are not toxic in captivity. Only in the wild because they eat bugs that eat poisonous plants so they acquire an alkaline-based plant poison,” says Roberts. “One of these little guys, in the wild, has enough poison to kill three elephants and 50 men.”
Dylan Brogan
Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.
Roberts says he keeps his prices low (around $35 a frog) because he considers breeding these endangered creatures a type of educational outreach. “People got to know that we lose 3.5 million acres of rainforest every year due to deforestation,” Roberts says. “The habitat for these frogs is going to disappear before long and they might be lost forever.”
It turns out, breeders of exotic pets can be sensitive about their hobby.
“Several of the vendors think it’s suspicious that you are asking so many questions and taking photos. They want to make sure you aren’t from PETA,” says vendor Cindy Hiller, referring to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “Everyone here is an animal lover. So I’d just make sure to introduce yourself to folks to put them at ease.”
Sam Gomez from Watertown is happy to talk about why Bearded Dragons make “fantastic companions.”
“They love to be around people and have wonderful, unique personalities. They are very mellow and aren’t at all aggressive. They don’t bite. They don’t scratch. They don’t whip their tails. They are considered the lap dogs of the lizard world,” Gomez says. “They are also very clean animals, easy to maintain. We feed them a mix of greens, what we call ‘dragon pellets’ and bugs.”
There are live insects on display at the expo, too: Giant Peppered Roaches, venomous Assassin Bugs, Peruvian Cave Roaches, huge crickets and hornworms. All are for sale as special treats for reptiles.
And if you think having a pet snake is odd, meet Tracy Peterson. She’s selling cockroaches next to Gomez’s Bearded Dragons; it’s a favorite snack of the lizard. She has a colony of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches — some of which are over an inch long — at her home in Hustisford.
“I’m kind of infatuated with bugs. I just think they are neat. The Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches only defense mechanism is to hiss, so they’re harmless. The hissing is actually pretty cool. They also get really big,” says Peterson. “In my home, [the roaches] are pets. But to some people, they just an expensive dinner for a Bearded Dragon.”
68: Percentage of U.S. households with a pet. Up from 56 percent in 1988.
9.4 million: Number of reptile pets in the U.S.
Most expensive animal at the Sept. 10 Wisconsin Reptile Expo: $3,000 “Dreamsicle” patterned, male Royal Python.
Famous reptile owners:
Beyoncé use to watch Showtime at the Apollo with her snake Fendi on her head.
Leonardo DiCaprio would bring Blizz, his Bearded Dragon, to the set of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
French aristocrat Marquis de Lafayette — Gen. George Washington’s right-hand man in the Revolutionary War — gave President John Quincy Adams a pet alligator. It lived in a bathroom in the East Room of the White House.
