Reptile and Terrarium Fair
Close your eyes and think of Copenhagen. Hans Christian Andersen, the Little Mermaid, bicycles, Carlsberg, snakes, spiders, scorpions, cockroaches … Yes, the Reptile and Terraria Fair is back in town this coming weekend!
With around 85 exhibitors, this is Scandinavia’s largest exotic animal fair, selling a wide variety of snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, spiders, bugs and all the equipment you may need to care for them.
Over the past ten years or so there has been a dramatic rise in the public’s interest in ‘exotic’ pets. The internet has played a significant part in this as breeders and enthusiasts from around the world have been able to share their experiences and work together on improving our understanding of these fascinating creatures.
We now have snake and lizard breeders who are creating new colours and patterns that are not seen in the wild. Twenty years ago, for example, there were only four different types of corn snake available – now there are over 400.
The Reptile and Terraria Fair in Rødovrehallen was created to give people with similar interests the chance to meet up once a year and have the unique opportunity to see, buy and sell animals that would not normally be available to them.
Education is an important aspect of the fair, where people who may be on the verge of buying an exotic pet can talk face-to-face with breeders and people who have years of practical experience. To a novice, searching the internet for information can be overwhelming and confusing. Talking to the person who actually bred the animal that you are considering buying is a huge bonus.
You won’t find any venomous or very large snakes at the fair as it is illegal to keep them in Denmark. However in the UK, and most of Europe, anybody can buy a Burmese python or reticulated python and keep it at home with no previous experience of keeping snakes. The Burmese python can grow to over seven metres long and the reticulated python can reach ten metres long and is officially the longest species of snake in the world.
Keeping a snake of this size can have dire consequences, as a lady in Glasgow discovered when she came home one day to find her pet Burmese python swallowing her dog. It was later discovered that the snake wasn’t kept in an enclosure of any kind and had free roam of the apartment. The snake was removed by an animal welfare group and rehomed.
You may wonder why anyone would ever want to keep such a thing as a snake as a pet, but there are actually some pretty good reasons. They don’t have to be walked, they don’t annoy the neighbours by barking all day, they don’t scratch the furniture, they don’t dig up the neighbour’s flower bed, they only need to be fed once or twice a week, and they are quite content to be left in their vivarium and don’t need constant attention.
Reptiles, amphibians and insects are also viable pets for people who suffer from asthma and/or allergies and are unable to keep the more traditional furry or feathered pets.
Many owners get pleasure from setting up their enclosures with artificial plants, rocks and branches to create a natural looking environment and simply watching their snake, lizard, frog or bug in the same way that people enjoy watching fish in an aquarium.
A well set up vivarium can make a very attractive centre piece for a room and makes for a great conversation piece at dinner parties.
If you are thinking about getting an exotic pet or are just curious about seeing some weird and wonderful creatures, why not pay a visit to the Reptile and Terrarium Fair this Saturday.
Rødovrehallen, Rødovre Parkvej 425, Rødovre; Sat 10:00-16:00; Tickets: over-12s: 80kr, under-12s: 45kr, under-6s free adm
