Pressilla Greenmyer of Shady Cove shares the chance to hold a ball python Saturday with Collin Metcalf (11), Micheal Savino (6) and Carson Metcalf (9) during the Medford Metro Reptile Expo in Central Point.

A slithering line of visitors were waiting to see the Medford Metro Reptile Expo at The Jackson County Expo Saturday morning, getting the chance to see, hold, interact with or even purchase numerous reptiles.

Held for the first time in Southern Oregon and organized by Northwest Reptile Expos, the event offered a rare opportunity for attendees to see countless reptiles and other critters up close.

Geckos, snakes, lizards, chameleons and even tarantulas were on display for onlookers of all ages to ogle.

The show was held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Attending with her nephews, Priscilla Greenmyer of Shady Cove had seen the reptile expo in Portland previously and couldn’t miss out on the chance to see the reptiles up close again with family.

“When I heard it was coming to Medford, I absolutely couldn’t miss it.” Priscilla Greenmyer said, adding, “We got to come in and see a lot of live snakes and lizards and things, and they actually let you hold everything which is really cool as well as long as you’re nice and sanitized and safe.”

“We’ve seen a lot of stuff,” her 9-year-old nephew, Carson Metcalf, said.

Six-year-old Michael Savino agreed.

“I’ve been seeing tarantulas, pythons, bearded dragons, leopard geckos,” Savino said.

On what the two boys’ favorite critters they’d seen on the day, “the snakes” was Savino’s answer, and “probably the blue tarantula” was Metcalf’s answer.

The family was considering adopting a scaly friend for themselves to bring home.

“If my nephews have it their way, we will be going home with something,” Greenmyer said.

“We were actually going to maybe get a bearded dragon or a leopard gecko,” Metcalf said.

A key focus for Northwest Reptile Expos is partnering with reputable vendors to ensure the health and safety of each animal.

“We’re a captive bred show so we only let vendors in who breed their own stuff, so people can’t go to these big wholesalers and buy a bunch of stuff they stole out of the jungle and bring them in here and try to sell them,” said John Deaton, owner of Northwest Reptile Expos with wife Cece Deaton. “We really emphasize that quite a bit, so anything you get out of this place, people raised it with care.”

Northwest Reptile Expos has held three yearly shows in Portland and Seattle since 2005, and the organizers were excited to bring their animals, products and services to the Southern Oregon audience first the first time.

Based on the reception and line snaking out of the door, the organizers are certain to return again in 2025.

“We’ll be coming back here every March and start doing an annual show,” Deaton said.

“We have a little bit of everything here; you’ll see more species in here than you’ll see in the zoo,” Deaton added.

Checking out the animals, reptile lovers Dave and Heidi Wade of Shady Cove were seeking out their newest pet.

“We’re reptile enthusiasts, so we have quite a few and we’re looking for a specific one and we figured we’d come out here and see if we can fund what we’re looking for,” Dave Wade said, adding, “We have two bearded dragons, a leopard gecko, a day gecko, two skinks, an alligator lizard and a uromastyx.”

The couple was on the hunt for a female citrus leatherback bearded dragon to join their scaly family of pets.

“They have a lot of personality, they’re fairly easy to talk care of and they don’t make a lot of messes,” Heidi Wade said of what she loves about reptiles. “We actually have a room in our house that’s dedicated to our lizards; they have a whole bedroom all to themselves.”

Beyond the pets for sale and opportunities to hold and interact with the critters, the event also included many groups on the educational and outreach side of the reptilian world.

One of which was Jungle Things Oregon, an animal rescue service based in Roseburg centered on caring for reptiles.

“We are one of two licensed reptile rescues in the state. We also have all of these wonderful rescue animals that we get from all over the state,” said Crystal Saunders, medical director for Jungle Things Oregon.

The animal rescue houses “everything ranging from a 16-foot reticulated python, a 7-foot asian water monitor, a 6-foot Gaboon viper and all kinds of fun stuff,” Saunders added.

Considering the general lack of knowledge on caretaking for reptiles and the misunderstood nature of snakes and other creatures, a lot of the animal rescue’s outreach involves teaching proper ways to care for the animals and breaking the prejudice against them.

The organization participates in numerous education opportunities such as visiting local classrooms with the reptiles and teaching people about all things reptilian.

“One hundred percent it’s the animals; I would be lying if I said I’m a people person, it’s why I do animals,” Jungle Things Oregon owner Anna Provansal said of what drives her and her volunteer team. “Just watching their quality of life come back and seeing them persevere through, that’s what does it for me personally.”

To learn more about Jungle Things Oregon, visit junglethingsoregon.com.

For more information on Northwest Reptile Expos, visit nwreptileexpos.com.