Cold creatures for sale feed the cold-blooded

Walking into the old exhibit hall, one of the first things you notice is a sign listing prices for "frozen rodents."

You can purchase pink mice (babies) for 40 cents each. Those are cheap. But prices rise with size. Next up are fuzzy mice, then small mice, then adult mice. Graduate to the jumbo rats, and you're looking at three bucks a piece.

The thought of eating iced-mammals might gross out most of us, but they are a juicy dinner for a host of cold-blooded creatures at The Lake County Reptile Show.

Creeping, crawling, squirming creatures, they're all here. The four footed and the no-footed. Each has a price and a promise to be a clean and quiet addition to the family.

Crested geckos, bearded dragons and pygmy chameleons wait for adoption in glass tanks.

Honduran milk snakes, boas and pythons curled inside clear plastic boxes await the scrutiny of potential owners. Yellow bellied cooters and Russian tortoises bask in humid terrariums.

The vendors come to the Lake County Fairgrounds the second Saturday of each month.

There are hawkers of cages and tanks, heat lamps and feeding tongs. The breeders are here too. Snakes Unlimited, Serpent City, BF Constrictors, "We breed beauties," reads their sign.

Ask them about colors and patterns of snakeskin, and you'll get a quick lesson in genetics.

They talk about recessive mutations and the difference between heterozygous and homozygous genes and how albino snakes get that way. These guys know their stuff.

But most customers are asking the mundane questions. "What if they don't finish their mealworms," asks a concerned mom with a new bearded dragon. "How many mice do they eat at one time," says a guy in a Green Bay Packers jersey.

Even though a ball-python can sell for nearly $2,000 (about $500 per foot), the show's organizers say most of the sellers break even.

It's a love for the animals, says Ron Levin. One of the founders of the show, he admits reptiles aren't warm and fuzzy like kittens and don't have much personality. But they are beautiful creatures and are easy to care for.

And unlike a yipping, yapping schnauzer, "snakes are really quiet," he says.