Thousands of snakes, lizards, turtles, amphibians, arachnids and isopods have taken over a Placer County events center this weekend, as the 6th Annual Reptilian Nation Expo spreads across more than 100,000 square feet of vendor booths, live enclosures and educational displays. More than 100 vendors are on hand selling everything from enclosures and feeders to specialty supplies and merchandise for exotic pet owners.
The expo runs Saturday and Sunday at the Roebbelen Center at The Grounds in Roseville, a $34 million, 160,000-square-foot multi-use sports and event facility at 700 Event Center Drive, according to Placer Valley Tourism. As CBS News reported, this year's sixth annual gathering includes thousands of reptiles, thousands of amphibians, thousands of arachnids and thousands of isopods spread across the venue's booths.
Live Demonstrations and a Hands-On Petting Area
Beyond the retail tables, the Roseville expo features live educational stage presentations involving alligators, crocodiles, turtles and snakes, along with an animal petting area where attendees can safely hold live animals, per ABC10. Saturday's hours run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with VIP entry starting at 9 a.m., while Sunday hours run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children and military members, with VIP tickets priced at $40, the station notes.
Reptilian Nation Expo isn't a one-off local event. The company runs a national trade show circuit, with major multi-day commercial expos scheduled across the country in 2026 in cities including Roseville, San Antonio, Atlanta and Oklahoma City, according to the expo's own event listings.
A Regional Hobby With Deep Roots
Roseville's gathering follows in the footsteps of the long-running Sacramento Reptile Show, which draws more than 18,000 attendees annually and eventually relocated to Cal Expo after outgrowing smaller hotel ballrooms over its two-decade history, as reported by The State Hornet. Hoodline covered an earlier iteration of that Sacramento show back in 2018, when it was still held at the Sacramento Convention Center.
The appetite for these expos tracks with national trends. Roughly 6 million U.S. households now own at least one reptile, part of a broader pet industry that reached $158 billion in total spending in 2025, according to the American Pet Products Association. That steady growth in reptile ownership helps explain why touring expos continue to draw heavy vendor participation and public turnout in suburban hubs like Roseville.
California's Strict Rules on Exotic and Native Species
Large commercial reptile expos in California operate under a tight regulatory framework. Under California Code of Regulations Title 14 Section 671, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife prohibits the unpermitted commercial importation, possession or transport of restricted species such as crocodilians, snapping turtles and venomous snakes. Separate rules under Title 14 Section 43 require any commercial vendor or breeder selling or propagating native California reptile species to hold a valid Native Reptile Propagation Permit issued by the department.
Native desert tortoises face even stricter protections. Under California Fish and Game Code Sections 5000 through 5001, it is illegal to take desert tortoises from the wild, sell them, or transfer captive tortoises without official permits and state-issued identification tags attached to their shells, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has stated. The agency has also flagged California as a hotspot for illegal exotic animal smuggling, prompting increased interdiction efforts by state and federal wildlife officers at borders and transport hubs, according to a department law enforcement report.
Hoodline has previously reported on the sharper edges of that enforcement push, including a case involving an Oxnard man sentenced for reptile smuggling and a border bust in which officers found 39 live pythons stuffed in a truck cab. Closer to home, Hoodline also covered rising rattlesnake activity across the Central Valley this spring as warming temperatures woke wild snakes earlier than usual. Vendor compliance with the state's permit and tagging requirements at events like the Roseville expo remains an open question that organizers have not addressed publicly.
