Photo by Bob Weatherston

First in line at the reptile show

Lizard fun. Ten-year-old Keith is trying on a chameleon. A man from Kammerflage Kreations said the lizard is a female Panther chameleon and is suitable for breeding. The agreeable lizard was valued at $429.

Photo by Bob Weatherston

Ricardo Contreras said he arrived at 7 a.m. on Saturday, November 2, to ensure he would be first in line for the Reptile Super Show. Organizers of the two-day event opened the doors at 10 a.m. the first day, inside the San Diego Concourse/Civic Center in downtown San Diego.

Contreras said he came to purchase a lizard called “witblits,” which he said is a “new morph” of the bearded dragon. He said he expected to pay “over a thousand” because “it’s a rare one.” His wife Diana, who came with Ricardo from Imperial Beach, described herself as an “enthusiastic” supporter of her husband’s lizard-breeding ambitions.

Exhibitor Don Soderberg kindly allowed two boys to touch his rare, mutant snake with no scales.

Photo by Bob Weatherston

Another rare reptile, a corn snake without scales, was brought to the show by Don Soderberg, an exhibitor from Austin, Texas. Soderberg helped four-year-old Joshua, a spectator from Lakeside, who wanted to feel the soft skin of the bright orange snake. “It’s a mutant,” said Soderberg, who declined to name a price for the three-year-old female. Soderberg said, “This one is on display only.”

Rude frog w teeth. The general manager for A.I.R. Exotics said this gold frog will bite. It demonstrated by biting onto the palm of Katelyn Snarr's hand, several times. In this photo, the smug frog is taking a break.

Photo by Bob Weatherston

A gold-colored frog was not available for handling because “it has teeth,” according to exhibitor Katelyn Snarr. The general manager for A.I.R. Exotic Pets said, “It’s an aggressive frog.” The frog made a demonstration by biting the woman’s hand multiple times while she held it. Snarr told spectators that the frog’s common name is Pacman, and that she is able to sell the rude pets for $34.99 each.

Snarr said an adult Ceratophrys ornata will get to be 12 inches across — big enough to eat mice. The one that Snarr held was a three-month-old female frog that eats worms and flies, she said.

At the Reptile Super Show, the exhibits stare back.

Photo by Bob Weatherston

The proprietor of the Reptile Super Show, Ramy Guirguis, said, “It’s the largest reptile show in the world.”  Guirguis organizes four Super Shows every year, two in San Diego and two in Los Angeles County.  When asked what his favorite reptile is, Guirguis quickly stated, “Rhacodactylus.” That means geckos.