Sunday, October 21, 2012

Reptiles

The world is bigger and stranger than we think.  We tend to inhabit the same places and assume that's all there is.  But occasionally someone shows us what else is out there.

My friend Jamie looks for interesting subjects to photograph and, today, she lured me to a hotel down the block which, unknown to me, was having a reptile expo.  In fact, over a thousand people were there, looking at and buying exotic animals from 110 vendors.  I've never been to such an event before and never seen reptiles up close.  They are fascinating animals.  Some photos are below. 

I got a little squeamish when I learned that most reptiles eat other living animals.  The vendors were selling such animals as "food" for the reptiles, which upset my concern for all creatures.

Have you ever cared for a reptile?  Or seen one up close?


 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

15 comments:

  1. Really great photos. A lot of those reptiles are so beautifully colorful aren't they?
    We have a reptile man here in the Seattle area who goes from school to school to show off his collection and even does birthday parties for kids which are quite popular. I wouldn't mind holding a few of them but NO WAY would I go near the tarantulas!! Hideous!

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  2. AWWWWWHHHHHHH they're all so lovely!!!!!!!! There's a handsome orange iguana too and another pretty green one <3 <3 <3 Agamas and frogs and turtle and spider! Gecko!
    I SOOOO approve, DJ does too <3 <3 <3

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  3. Oooh that orange fella is mighty gorgeous. I love reptiles. I especially love snakes. I've wanted a snake for a very long time, but the whole feeding thing has always put me off them. Not because of feeding animals other animals, but not needing to feed every day. They're certainly a whole different ball game than a cat or dog, but I do love to see them!

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    1. Oh and as somebody who HATES spiders. I like tarantulas. I think they're cute and fuzzy.

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    2. Megan, I didn't know you like spiders and co! now you are even more awesome lady! did you touch their tummy (the emmm ass)? - it's so soft, like kitten's

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  4. Oh, wow, more wonders in NYC - a reptile exhibition! Thank you for taking so many great pictures. I had a turtle as a kid, but now they're banned in NC :( I've held a few snakes over the years, and sometimes I take spiders outside. But if I found a tarantula in my house, you'd hear my shrieking at your house.

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  5. EEEKKKKKKKKK!!! I would be standing on a chair screeching! LOL...

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  6. The turtle is beautiful. The orangy thing that guy is holding looks like a definite rocker dude. And the 3 together (one in center with his arms around the other 2) immediately reminded me of Tony Orlando and Dawn. haha
    I had no idea frozen mice came in bulk. I don't think they have those at Costco.
    What an interesting day you had!

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  7. I don't mind reptiles but they're not very cuddly so not my first choice for a pet. Are tarantulas considered reptiles or were they there as food? Either way, yick!

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  8. I don't mind reptiles, in fact I think they are really cute, but I don't think I could keep one as a pet. I need something I can cuddle with!
    Since we've moved to Florida, I've seen a plethora of creatures! We've even found 3 lizards (so far!) in our living room and a ton of little froggies live right outside of our door. At first I was a little uneasy about cohabiting with these critters, but now I'm used to it :)

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  9. Oh, wow. Great job on capturing the shots. It isn't always easy through glass. Those critters are very cool.

    My son had a Leopard Gecko for a while. It was cool, but it ate crickets. My thinking when we bought the thing was that we'd use a fish net (tiny kind for aquariums) to get them from the "food" box into the lizard house. After about half an hour trying to catch the damn things with the net, I gave up and stuck my hand into the food box to catch a cricket. With my bare hand! Ew! And I hate crickets. But the feeder crickets aren't as big as the wild crickets. They don't last long either, which meant frequent trips to the pet store to buy more. Oh, and I never knew how bad crickets could stink.

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  10. amazing job and they are sooo cute! better than puppies!

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  11. Most mammals eat other creatures- whether we cook our menus instead of hot from still breathing, they get eaten. I would never own one- but reptiles have such a strange beauty. I house sat an inguana once. It had much more personality than I would have guessed.

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  12. We have a bearded dragon called Maggie (named after my late mother-in-law ~ with love by my son!!!). I was firstly a bit anti but have learned to love her. She eats vegetables, worms and crickets ~ it is fascinating to watch her eat the worms and crickets.

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  13. When I was little we had turtles.
    Nowadays i have a few small lizards that live in my balcony. I just try to stay away from them and let them be.
    I am not a fan of having animals in cages or away from their natural habitat- even though i am aware that some natural habitats are no longer there.

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