Expo is reptile-lovers’ paradise
ADAMS TWP — Some children have dogs, some have cats, others have snakes and lizards as pets.
Maci Todd, 11, of New Castle, was perfectly at home Sunday, May 14, as snakes wrapped around her arms and torso at Mars VFW Post 7505, where she and her reptile-loving grandparents went for the Mars PA Reptile Expo.
“I have always liked them,” said Maci’s grandfather, Larry McConahy, of Slippery Rock. “When I was young I learned to catch them and hold them.”
Mike Candice, of Wheeling, W.Va., brings his reptile show to communities mainly around Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, and introduced “a couple hundred” animals to the people of Butler County on Sunday morning.
Reptile habitats filled with different species lined tables around the VFW, and Candice would help visitors hold whatever snake, lizard or even tarantula they wanted. He said getting to touch the animals is a big reason why people attend reptile shows.
