What’s incredibly large, full of scales, sharp teeth and fangs, and appears only once a year on the south side of Tucson?
If you said some sort of mutant chupacabra, maybe cut back on the horror movies for Halloween.
If you guessed the Tucson Reptile and Amphibian Show, set for the Tucson Expo Center, Oct. 1-2, you were probably already familiar with the event — one of the largest of its kind in the state of Arizona.
Covering 60,000 square feet, the annual trade show is a sight to see, whether you have been coming for years or are on the hunt for your first pet tarantula.
Hundreds of vendors from across the country will be on hand, pitching everything from ball pythons to custom cages to glass reptile sculptures.
Just window shopping? Swing by some of their interactive exhibits.
The show will have petting zoo with reptiles and another petting zoo, organized by Tucson’s Funny Foot Farm, with capybaras and other mammals.
The Phoenix Herpetological Society will bring a selection of creatures from their sanctuary in Scottsdale for display.
“They’ll have more venomous snakes than the San Diego Zoo,” said Mark Wolfson, who created the Tucson Reptile and Amphibian Show more than 20 years ago. “They have a giant trailer, all sorts of exotic lizards from around the world; a 20-foot python that 10 people get to pet at once.”
Wolfson said this year’s show is expected to be the biggest one yet, determined in part by the sheer number of attendees who showed up in 2021. More than 10,000 folks from across the state walked through the Expo Center doors over the course of two days.
The Tucson Reptile and Amphibian show runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission (cash only) is $10 at the door for those 13 and older; $5 for children ages 6-12; and free for children 5 and younger. Many of the vendors inside of the event accept card payments.
For more information, visit tucsonreptileshow.com.
