Lizards, snakes and creepy crawlers were visible in every direction at the Las Vegas Exotic Pet and Reptile Expo. Onlookers gathered around a woman as a large ball python draped around her shoulders and wrapped around her torso.

The Central Valley Reptile Expo started in California in 2017, and has recently expanded its lineup to new states, including Las Vegas starting in 2023, according to its website. According to CVRE’s promoter, Neil Blatner, the expo expected visitors in the thousands over the full weekend in Las Vegas. 

This year’s Las Vegas event took place on September 19 and 20 at the World Market Center in Las Vegas. The expo featured an educational exotic animal show by Forever Wild Sanctuary, sharing facts about rare or exotic species including a mountain coati, Gila monster, alligators, a porcupine, and more. While the porcupine was eyes only, staff walked through the crowds with several different exotic critters, and visitors had the option to touch alligators at the end of the show. 

The expo’s crowds reflect a sizable hobby. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 1.8% of U.S. households are reptile owners, as of 2025. While estimates vary by survey, around 2.4 million U.S. households have at least one reptile calling it home. For CVRE, this is its second year in the World Market Center after outgrowing their former location in Las Vegas. 

“We’ll probably get a little over nine-to-ten thousand over the weekend,” Blatner said, of anticipated visitors. CVRE’s goal, Blatner said, is to get folks into the hobby of reptile ownership.

For hobbyists who did take an animal home, the expo provided a large variety of lizards, snakes, turtles, axolotls and more. 

Mike Sachs of Firehouse Morphs introduced several of the snakes he brought to the expo, including a new clutch of sand boas. “These guys haven’t eaten their first meal yet, and they’re just starting their first shed,” he said. The snakes, shorter than shoelaces with tiny narrow faces, wouldn’t be for sale until after that first shed. 

“They call them a sand boa because they like to dig in the sand,” Sachs said. “And the way they do that is with their rough tail.” 

Sachs said the snake’s rough, bumpy tail helps it grip and move through sand faster. 

“That’s the adult male, and the females are like three times the size,” Sachs said, holding an adult male sand boa. “Still not as big as ball pythons, but they’re neat, a neat little animal.”

While some attendees picked up tanks, food, accessories or reptile themed toys and collectibles, some attendees left with a pet to take home and some left with new snake handling experiences and stories to tell. 

“My grandson got his first bearded dragon when he was in fifth or sixth grade,” Blatner said. “He reads to it every night.”