Paraherpetology: Repticon Dallas, Part 2: What's Inside the Zoo Med VIP Bag?

It's good to be a VIP...

Repticon offers VIP tickets for sale online to the public prior to their shows. For $12 a person, you receive a two-day pass for the show, early admission on Saturday (9am, instead of 10am), and a Zoo Med VIP goodie bag. The cost is less than a two-day pass purchased at the door ($15), so VIP tickets are definitely worth it if you are already planning on attending both days of the expo. But, is it worth buying VIP tickets for the goodie bag?

Front of the Zoo Med VIP goodie bag.

Back of the Zoo Med VIP goodie bag.

So, what's in the bag...?

The front of the Zoo Med 2013 Product Catalog.

The largest item in the Zoo Med VIP goodie bag (and probably the first thing you'll pull out of it) is the 2013 Zoo Med Product Catalog. This catalog is also available at many pet stores that sell Zoo Med products and can be downloaded (or viewed) on the Zoo Med Laboratories Inc website. You can also request a paper copy be mailed to you for free. (I'm testing out the delivery timing with their Aquatics catalog.)

Although I knew there was a Zoo Med catalog in existence and several herp hobbyists had recommended it to me, I had not actually gotten my hands on the catalog nor visited the Zoo Med website before Repticon Dallas. So, for me, this was a nice bit of swag that I was already looking for. But, you can get this catalog easily for free and it isn't reason alone to buy VIP tickets.

That said, it is a well-designed and informative 63-page catalog that is worth flipping through. Besides containing detailed descriptions of Zoo Med's vast array of products, the catalog is full of setup how-to diagrams, product comparison charts, and herp keeper tips. I especially like the two-page species care comparison chart (pgs 32 & 33) for beginner herp hobbyists. There are also species profiles and "bios" of the herp residents of the Zoo Med Laboratories sprinkled throughout the catalog. My favorite, of course, is the pacman frog (pg 6). I also enjoyed reading about their electric blue dwarf gecko breeding program (pg 22), their bearded dragons (pg 35), and their emperor newts (pg 43). Scroll down to the end of this article for a sneak peak inside the catalog or check out the full catalog on the Zoo Med Laboratories Inc website.

The two stickers in the Zoo Med VIP goodie bag.

The Zoo Med VIP goodie bag also includes some swag for your car's bumper...or any random surface you want to slap a sticker on. The larger of the two stickers is a ~11" long bumper sticker that proclaims "I Brake For Snakes" above the URL for kingsnake.com's mobile site. As an aside...if you have not checked out the classified ads and forums on kingsnake.com, I highly recommend them. Their classified ads are very well organized, completely searchable, and can be browsed by topic or location.

The second sticker in the Zoo Med VIP goodie bag is, of course, a Zoo Med logo sticker. It's approximately 5.5" long and 3.75" tall and features a red/orange bearded dragon instead of the green iguana usually seen on their logo. As a bearded dragon fan, I appreciate the variety...and I'm predicting that these stickers will be slapped somewhere on the "Future Bearded Dragon Tank" once that gets set up and has a resident (maybe red or orange) bearded dragon. A bit blasphemous since it's an Exo Terra terrarium...Oops.

Random goodies in the bottom of the VIP bag.

At the bottom of the Zoo Med VIP goodie bag, you'll find five small items. Aside from the product catalog, these are likely the most useful items in the bag...but most Repticon goers are likely to only be able to use one or two of the items. Starting at the top left, they are: an 8-gram sample of Zoo Med's Reptivite (reptile multivitamin), Zoo Med's Quick Reptile Lighting Facts brochure (more on that below), a 6-gram sample of Zoo Med Hermit Crab Food, a 7.4-mL/0.25 fluid oz. sample of Zoo Med's Hermit Crab Salt Water Conditioner (Part 2), and a 4-gram/14-oz. sample of the Zoo Med Micro Floating Betta Pellets.

Of the four samples, the Reptivite is the only one that I might actually use since I don't have a hermit crab or a betta fish. (I recently opened new containers of ReptoCal and the Exo Terra multivitamin, so in all honesty, it's more likely that these will be packed away for a rainy day or given away.) I do want to note that this sample multivitamin does contain Calcium and D3 (Cholecalciferol), although that isn't mentioned on the front of the sample packet. The sizes on these samples are quite generous, so these would be nice items to include in a starter pack from a reptile rescue or to give to someone purchasing a new pet from a pet store. So, if you get one of these and don't have a use for it, please consider donating them to your local reptile rescue or specialty pet store.

Although I do like that Zoo Med donated these sample packets for the VIP bags and appreciate receiving goodies, I do have two concerns. First, none of the samples are labeled with a packaging or expiration date. This makes me a little hesitant to use the samples or give them away. I have no idea how long these packets have been sitting in a box somewhere or when they need to be used by. (This may be a valid concern given the dates on the Quick Reptile Lighting Facts brochure. More on that below.) My second concern is that of quality control on the sample packets. The Hermit Crab Salt Water Conditioner in one of our VIP goodie bags contained some crystals (presumably sea salt) instead of the liquid salt and buffer mix that should have been in the packet. If you get a sample packet like this, I would not recommend using it.

What I'm calling the front of the Zoo Med Quick Reptile Lighting Facts brochure.
(Click the picture to see a larger image.)

I want to back up for a moment and mention a few things about the Zoo Med's Quick Reptile Lighting Facts brochure. I've seen these in several pet stores, so I didn't think much of this item when I first pulled it out of the bag. However, once I unfolded it and looked it over, I realized that it contained some handy information and what would have been a nice bonus. On the side that I'm calling the front (because it has the cover on it), you have some facts about UVB lighting and some FAQs. My favorite FAQ is "Why are UVB lamps so expensive?"...Yep, I wonder about that one every time I look at my "Dragon fund". The pictures of bulbs that contain and don't contain UVB is handy, as well as the which bulbs are for 10-20 gallon vs. 20-55 gallon terrariums. Another nifty thing this brochure mentions is the UVB Reminder on the Zoo Med website. Fill out one simple form, and you'll automatically get a reminder when it's time to buy another (Zoo Med) UVB bulb.

What I'm calling the back of the Zoo Med Quick Reptile Lighting Facts brochure.
(Click the picture to see a larger image.)

The back of the brochure features a handy species-specific guide to heat and UV lighting. I don't agree with everything on it...but it is a handy comparison chart. The other half of the back of the brochure shows you pictures of Zoo Med's entire line of heat and lighting products by category. And, the last item on the back of the brochure is a $3 mail-in rebate on a selection Zoo Med Reptisun UVB lamps. I was very excited when I first saw this because a $3 rebate on one of the most expensive supplies that nearly all herp hobbyists have to purchase would be a great item and clearly settle the question of whether the VIP goodie bag items are (alone) worth buying the VIP tickets. But, this excitement was short-lived when I noticed the dates on the rebate (valid only on purchases made 1/01/2011 to 12/31/2012). *sigh* I've emailed Zoo Med to find out if they will still honor the rebate. But, in the meantime, I'm going to assume that the rebate has expired and isn't a useful item.

[Author Note: Zoo Med responded to my email inquiry regarding the rebate with the following..."We will indeed honor your rebate, as long as you make sure to include the receipt and UPC code of the Reptisun you have purchased along with the rebate coupon itself." So, if you could use $3 off a UVB bulb, it's worth grabbing that Zoo Med Quick Reptile Lighting Facts brochure at a Repticon show or your local pet store.]

Well, I hope this helped anyone who might have been wondering what they'll receive in the Zoo Med VIP goodie bag. Now, on to the really important question...

Is it worth buying VIP tickets just for the goodie bag?

Personally, I'd have to say no. My main reasons for buying the VIP tickets were for the $3 discount over the regular two-day passes ($15 at the door) and to be able to be one of the first people in the door on Saturday. If you are already planning on attending both days of the show, I recommend buying the VIP ticket for the $3 discount and then the goodie bag is a nice bonus. I would also recommend buying the VIP ticket if you are attending Repticon to purchase a specific, hard-to-find item. That extra $2 over the regular one-day ticket ($10 at the door) gives you a better shot at making that purchase and allows you to come back on Sunday for more (if it hasn't sold out). The Repticon Dallas webpage also mentioned that some of the higher-end raffle items from Exo Terra were reserved for VIP ticket holders...so the VIP tickets might give you a better chance of winning a raffle item.

[Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Repticon, Exo Terra, Zoo Med, or any of the other sponsors of Repticon. I was not asked to write these blog posts and was not compensated for them. Everything in these articles are my own observations and opinions.]

And now, I'll leave you with some more sneak peak pictures from the Zoo Med 2013 Product Catalog...