DuPage Co. All Animal Show features a menagerie of pets
Two legs, four legs, eight legs, hundreds of legs, no legs...
Look around and the creatures in this menagerie all have one thing in common: they're most definitely not your typical suburban household pets.
In the three years Scott Smith has been running the All Animal Show on occasional weekend days at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton, he has seen an amazing array of exotic critters.
Bearded dragons, pythons, boas (not the feathered kind), spiders, lizards and geckos are just some of the animals brought to the show from near and far by pet fanciers interested in creatures that are a little more, well, fancy.
The show, which features roughly 80 vendors and more than 100 tables, runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the fairgrounds, 2015 Manchester Road. Scheduled dates this winter and spring are Jan. 18, Feb. 7 and 15, March 4 and 15, April 4 and 19 and May 2 and 17.
The cost is $5 for visitors 11 and older.
During a recent show, Matthew Zippe of Aurora said he loves pythons because he likes how they feel in his hands and they are easy to care for. He only has to feed them once a week but didn't reveal what was on his python's menu.
And, unlike cats and dogs, he said his python is "very quiet all the time."
"I think everyone should come to the expo even if you're not a big fan of the animals. You will get a good education on these animals and you may change the way you think," he said.
For more details on the shows, call (630) 213-6050 or visit AllAnimalShow@aol.com.
If you go
What: All Animal Show
When: 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Jan. 18
Where: DuPage County Fairgrounds, 2015 Manchester Road, Wheaton
Cost: $5 for ages 11 and older
Info: (630) 213-6050 or AllAnimalShow@aol.com