Janaki Lenin had an idea of what she might encounter at the largest reptile show in the U.S., but as she points out, things are not always what you might think.

From The Hindu:

What would the National Reptile Breeders' Expo look like? I struggled hard to imagine what kind of people would buy and sell reptiles. May be ‘weird people' — pot-smoking, long-haired, and elaborately-tattooed dudes who drove Harley Davidsons. Rom, who had been to one several years ago, shook his head: “You've never seen anything like it.” And, he was right!

On an August Saturday balmy morning in 2005, as we walked past the long queue, waiting to get inside the convention centre in Daytona, Florida, I was amazed that ‘straight people' outnumbered the freaks. There were elderly people, young couples, teenagers, little kids. You'd think they were going to the supermarket!

Later in the article she discusses her second visit, and while she probably doesn't remember me, at the time I met both her and her husband, Rom.

By the end of the weekend, thanks to an enthusiastic group of associates, we had raised close to $ 25,000 for gharial conservation from the sale of t-shirts, books, items donated by individuals, zoos and organisations. The reptile fanciers' commitment for the gharial in far-off India was touching. I wondered if we could raise this kind of money for reptile conservation (do I hear an “ugh”?) here, in middle-class India. Sadly, not a chance.

Many of us donated; I know I gave them $20.00 at their booth. Why? Because at this point in my life I had not yet seen a real live gharial. Heck, I have given money to the IRCF Blue Iguana program and this summer was the first time I was with a 100 percent pure Grand Cayman Blue Iguana. To us, saving herps knows no country lines. From the Massasaugas in Illinois to the Gharials in India, I have donated so that they have the chance of living longer than me and that their beauty can inspire future generations of kids like me, who grew up thinking that snakes and lizards were wonderful and beautiful.