been there- done that- several times over!



we did quite a few events last year and have nearly every other weekend booked up from april to september this year.



A few of the animals we use are well used to being around tons of people- about 6 of the animals we use, have been to shows 4 years in a row, the shows last from 6-9 hours, and some are 4 hours drive one way.



We have several vehicles we take to these shows, to accomidate the animals, paperwork, tables, signs, blah blah blah.



we generally try to get to the event about an hour before people start arriving, lets us get everyone set up and settled in after a long drive. We bring tanks, or for the burms we use XL or XXL dog crates with plexy over the front door on the inside- so they don't rub thier nose raw- learned the hard way last year.



everyone has water available in thier cages. We take 2 of most animals, 2 red tails, 2 beardies, 2 turtle/tort.s and 2 balls or 2 corns/rosys/etc...



we rotate through the day- we only have 1 animal per person out of a cage at a time. you dont want some kid running off with your beardie because its 'cool'...

We have 2 people for 1 big snake.



We take photos of people 1 for 3$ 2 for 5$-- gets us about 1.50$ a pic-- we make about 40$ at an average 1,000 person event- covers gas for 1 car...



As for the stress- thats why we rotate them through the day- sometimes one animal will be out for 2 hours straight, but may not be back out the whole day--



Our big burms are out pretty much the entire day. If we get a down time (around lunch)-- everyone gets fresh water and some rest time. we throw a sheet over the cages so there isn't anything going on around them.



a lot of it is watching your animals. I can tell when they've had enough. if they start moving faster, or jerking, or trying to get away from the people- they need a break-- who knows your animals better than you?



we put our kids through a lot- and they are spoiled at home and at the events.



i like school events- especially class room events- theres not a ton of kids/people (30 or so?) and its much shorter-- great way to get them aclimated to the activities.

our events are mostly adoption events where there are 30 other rescue groups- we tend to be the attention hogs -- if i had to pick between a weenie dog and a 14 foot python- i'm python all the way!





anyway- start small- it'll be stressful for you too. I sleep like a ROCK from april to sept. its a LOT more work than you can imagine!



good luck- and i'm always a fan of others that are for proper education.



let me know if you have any other questions- i've got a lot of tips and tricks- just don't know what info you need.



Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

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