Charlotte Repticon and Three New Letters

So, it's been a while since I posted anything new, but that's because there hasn't really been anything to post. But now there is! As of August 14th, 2012, We are now officially Top Hat Exotics, LLC. That's right, we finally have our business license! Just in time for...

CHARLOTTE REPTICON!!! That's right boys and girls, this weekend is the Greater Charlotte Area Repticon at Cabarrus Arena and Event Center! The event opens at 10 am both days, and run till 5 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday. Stage shows start every hour on the hour, so be sure to check them out!

Our good friend Lynn Benjamin of Carolina Designer Dragons will be there, not only as a vendor but as a stage show. Be sure to catch her show on keeping Bearded Dragons as pets. You don't want to miss a perfect opportunity to learn from the best Bearded Dragon breeder on the East Coast!

 Business associate and close friend Sean Amidon, who owns Cold Blooded Encounters and Reptile Zoo, will also be at Repticon, promoting his new Reptile Zoo in Monroe, NC. Be sure to see his stage show on cold blooded animals! You'll have the opportunity to see interesting cold blooded animals up close, and maybe even get to touch a few!

Also, be sure to check out our table. Yeah, I kinda forgot to mention that. Oh well, come see everybody!

The arena is located at :
Cabarrus Arena & Events Center

4751 Highway 49 North

Concord, NC 28025

Older GPS units may require the alternate address:

4551 Old Airport Rd, 

Concord, NC 28025 

If you're still having trouble, here's a link to the Repticon Charlotte site: http://repticon.com/charlotte.html

Hope to see everyone there!  And remember, use the coupon code 'CLT2012' for discounts and free stuff!

Boas, Scorpions, A Piece of Paper, and Some News

So, we are in the process of getting our business license. It's going... slowly, as expected. But here's some good news:

      Thanks to the recent Columbia Repticon, we now have a pair of Dwarf Reticulated Pythons (exactly how 'dwarf' remains to be seen') As well as a full-size adult female Colombian Boa for our male. We also picked up an Arizona Hairy scorpion and an Asian Forest scorpion, both exceptionally gravid. We're expecting kids any day now, and when they drop, they are gonna sell like CANDY. Seriously, if you want one, get your butt over to the Charlotte Repticon on August 25/26.
     Speaking of which, we are CONFIRMED for a table at the Charlotte Repticon! Come see us there, say hi, and if you decide to buy anything, we're doing the 'make your own coupon' thing again. Seriously, just write 'CLT2012' on a piece of paper and we'll knock 10% or more off any purchase!

New News and New Acquisitions

Lots of new stuff to talk about tonight. We're starting up a YouTube account, and I'll post it when we have videos.

Second, we would like to thank JD Roaches for our 3,000 dubia nymphs! they will be very helpful in getting our operations up and running.

Last but not least, the reason you came to this particular post, the full list of everything we have right now! (For those of you who aren't breeders or store owners, the number before the animal name is the number of males.females.unknown genders. So, 2.5.8 Bearded Dragons means I have 2 males, 5 females, and I haven't gotten around to checking the other 8)

SNAKES

1.1.0 Albino Rosy Boas*

0.0.1 Spotted Python*

1.0.1 Ball Pythons

0.0.1 Blood Python

1.0.0 Coastal Carpet Python*

0.1.0 Columbian Red-Tailed Boa

1.1.0 Mangrove Snakes

1.0.0 Reticulated Python

LIZARDS

1.1.0 Frilled Lizards

1.1.0 Green Water Dragons

3.2.0 Bearded Dragons

1.1.0 Argentine Tegus

0.0.2 Schniders Schneiders Sniders Berber's Skinks

1.0.0 Blue Tailed Monitor

1.0.0 Caledonian Eyelash (Crested) Gecko

FROGS
0.0.1 Red Eyed Tree Frog

SPIDERS
0.0.5 Chaco Gold Knee
0.0.5 Arizona Blonde
0.0.5 Rosehair
0.0.5 Chilean Copper
0.0.1 Venezuelan Sun Tiger
0.0.1 Brazilian Giant Salmon Pink-Kneed Birdeater

SCORPIONS
0.2.0 Emperors
0.0.3 Rusty Reds

CENTIPEDES
0.0.1 Vietnamese Giant

Our current counts are 11 snakes, 15 lizards, 1 frog, 22 spiders (19 of which are stock animals), 5 scorpions, and a centipede for a total of 36 animals and 19 stock animals. The stars indicate snakes sold to us by Andy Beard, who deserves a big thank-you.

Hollaback? No, Kalabeck

So, we are back from the Perry Repticon, with some pretty awesome stuff. We FINALLY got our pair of Frilled Dragons. If you followed my old blog, Den Of Scales, then you know that a pair of Frilled Dragons was number 1 on my list of animals I've wanted to own and breed since I first started working with reptiles. We also picked up a Kalabeck's Monitor, also known as a Blue-Tailed Monitor. Part of the Indicus complex, these guys get about 5 feet long, and look like a mangrove monitor or a peach-throat, all of which are in the Indicus complex. They're tough to tame, but calm down with proper handling.

In other news, congrats to Daniel Omnielli, whose bearded dragon Lady just laid 22 eggs! We'll keep you posted, but keep an eye on the Egg Watch page.

News and More News

So, just as a quick heads-up, no big deal or anything, but Top Hat Exotics has relocated to Asheville, NC. We're very excited about it. We have a new location, better cages, better equipment, etc.

In other news, we are going to be in Perry, GA this Saturday for Repticon! I won't be working a table, but I will have my hat on!

New Stock

Ok, so we have some new stuff in stock. Most of it is tarantulas. Also, I apologize for the lack of updates. There wasn't anything really worth talking about. So here's some tarantulas. (Please note, we cannot guarantee the sex of a tarantula spiderling) As always, experience with tarantulas is recommended for almost all of our tarantulas. (Yes, I'm aware that the previous statement is stupid and paradoxical)

Chilean Copper (Paraphysa scrofa)- Priced at $25. A fun 'Step 2' tarantula.  This is a dwarf species, and doesn't get as large as a Rosehair, sizing in at only about 3 inches, possibly up to 4. Their color is a very pretty reddish hue with dark areas. To see a picture, visit the stock page.

Arizona Blonde (Aphonopelma chalcodes)- Priced at $30. A US native from Arizona, this tarantula is relatively slender, with a blonde coloration. They are a burrowing species, so a visible tunnel is the best way to observe them. Not as small as the Chilean Copper, but not as big as a Chaco Gold Knee, they are a moderately sized tarantula at about 4 inches. Pictures on the stock page.

Chilean Rosehair (Grammostola rosea)- Priced at $20. Most people start with Rosies, and they make a good starter tarantula. They are relatively docile if handled regularly, and have a beautiful pink color. These will go fast, so get them while we have them!

Pinktoe (Aviculara aviculara, possibly Aviculara versicolor)- Priced at $35. A great starter tarantula for arboreal enthusiasts. This tarantula is small, relatively docile (albeit a bit jumpy), and rumored to be communal. (Pro tip: underfeeding may lead to cannibalism in cohabitation. Top Hat Exotics does not recommend cohabitation) Spiderlings have a pink body and dark toes, but as they mature, their colors reverse, showing a dark body, red abdomen, and pink or orange toes.

And the crown jewel, the best for last.
Chaco Gold Knees (Grammostola Pulchripes)- Priced at $45. Often considered the largest handleable tarantula in the pet trade, these are a fantastic animal. As they mature, they stop burrowing and hiding, often sitting in plain sight. At 8-9 inches and sporting a dark brown coloration with golden yellow at the knees, these are an amazing tarantula to keep. Fantastic eaters and easy to handle, these tarantulas are considered by many to be the perfect pet tarantula. These WILL sell extremely quickly. Keep an eye on the stock page to see how many are left.

Spoils of War

So we brought home some fun stuff from Repticon, including a Burmese Python appx. 7 feet in length. We also got a pair of Azureus Dart Frogs (Thank you Sean Amidon), a pair of Baird's Rat Snakes (Thank you Lake Norman Herpetological Society) some Apomophelma (Arizona Brown Tarantulas), and hopefully made some contacts to buy some full grown frillies.