BANGOR, Maine — Spencer Lavway, 9, of Searsport clutched a plastic container holding his new pet frog close to his chest on Sunday morning at the Northeast Reptile Expo.
Spencer quietly gazed at a table of books and pet owners manuals that might help him learn more about his new amphibian, a white tree frog.
“He wants to have a buddy for his fish,” Spencer’s father, John Lavway, said as others in the crowd milled around a packed room at Bangor Motor Inn & Conference Center.
John said Spencer often looks for frogs during swimming trips to ponds in the summer, but that Spencer’s new frog is more unique and exotic than what he’s used to finding in Maine.
Meanwhile, sisters Meg, 8, and Abby Caron, 9, of Bangor giggled when a vendor handed them a python. They took turns petting the snake, commenting on how smooth it felt.
The girls’ mother, Kathy Caron, said the trip to the expo was “like visiting a zoo” and that she didn’t plan on letting the girls take something home that day.
Both girls said it was their first time holding a snake. Meg said she’d like to have one as a pet, but Abby wasn’t thrilled with that idea.
A childhood fascination with frogs, snakes and lizards carries over into adulthood for many, some of whom turn their appreciation for these creatures into careers.
About 27 vendors — most from New England and many from Maine — attended the expo to share their enthusiasm with excited children and sometimes-hesitant parents.
“Growing up, I’d spend my days catching frogs, snakes and turtles,” said Jasin Chapman, owner of Maine-based Hellbent Reptiles.
Chapman said he wasn’t all that interested in science in school, but since he started breeding snakes, he hasn’t stopped researching biology and genetics, trying to produce more interesting patterns and colors in the snakes.
Tortoises, mice, geckos, chameleons, boa constrictors and pythons were passed around and petted while experienced breeders explained everything from how much the animals eat to the genetics that gave them certain characteristics.
Most animals sell at prices ranging between $200 and $400, while some lizards and snakes go for less and others jump in value to nearly $3,000.
Several vendors sold cockroaches, which are an upgraded menu option because cockroaches are higher in protein and lower in fat than crickets. Cockroaches also live for up to two years and can produce 30 offspring in a month, making them more affordable in the long run.
Christopher MacMillan, the show’s organizer, said the event served as a great representation of the herpetology industry in New England and Maine.
MacMillan said he still likes to take walks through forests and riverbeds, turning over stones to find unique species, during trips to remote locations ranging from Arizona to Jakarta, Indonesia.
A Searsport native who now lives in Powell, Ohio, MacMillan makes his living selling reptiles, turtles and amphibians at shows all over the country and wanted to bring his passion home to Maine. An event he held last fall was so successful that Sunday’s event was planned.
Meanwhile, news of a reptile show and herpetologists at the Bangor Motor Inn sends scores of travelers scrambling to make alternative lodging arrangements.
My family and I stopped in and the only suggestion I have is maybe find a smaller venue for next year. It was nut to buttcheek the whole time we were in there. Other than space we had fun and may have found my next pet.
Jakarta is in Indonesia… not India.
Lotta neck tattoos there.hmm.Scientists and biologists?Nah,I think not…
HEY IT’S NICK FROM PETCO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A little flash at the end, but he made it. At least he finished his sandwich before the cameras got him. Didnt even bring sandwiches for the rest of us.
These animals belong in the wild.
True, so they can remian part of the food chain.
Unfortunatly, you are ill informed of the fact that the vast majority of these animals are many generations captive bred and born here in the United States. Many of these animals are bred for specific genetic color and pattern traits that are non existant in the wild. None of these animals would survive well in the wild.
What “wild” do you think is left? Increased urbanization, habitat destruction, degredation, pollution, poaching, and outright persecution all due to humans are what many species are alternatively facing in “the wild”…
Do you realize that the chinese are marketing keychains with water and live turtles in them? Think about that one and how the average person regards animals and their rights.
Your comparison between the reptile hobby and Chinese keychains is poor and short sighted. Reptiles intended for sale and display at these shows, and animals in the captive bred pet trade in general are provided continual food, care and handling…
Its Apples and oranges, big difference…
Interesting that everyone that buys reptiles are experts like you (big difference).
I never stated one has to be an expert to keep reptiles, considering the vast majority of species available at shows and expos such as this are well established in captivity (they have been for decades), and possess relatively simple care and husbandry requirements that can be readily accessed through a wide variety of mediums; Books, care sheets, seminars, Internet forums, herpetological socieites, etc.
Animals kept, bred, and sold for shows such as this one are generally intended for use as pets, public education, outreach, research, or scientific study in schools, academia, nature centers, museums, and other such places. It can in no way be validly compared to the selling of Chinese souvieners, which again shows that you are not well informed of what the reptile hobby in the U.S. is…
The little lad from Searsport will soon be greatly disppointed if he puts his new tree frog into a water filled fish tank, as indicated in the story. The frog will soon drown; not all frogs are aquatic.
Vendors should be required to include a “specific care sheet” for any animal sold at an event like this. Hopefully 9 year olds will be responsible and give the animal whatever special conditions it needs.