Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok so, a few years ago i started organizing something called Third Dimension Reptiles. Long story short, it's an educational outreach program aimed at teaching kids about reptiles and giving them the ability to respect them just like any living thing should be. so now, here it is wednesday and on monday i have my first shows. i'm doing three of them for about 140 3rd graders. so you can imagine how many kids their will be in each one. i have it pretty well planned out, but i also know how well things can go according to plan, lol. so pretty much i am asking for any suggestions on how to handle things, especially anything that might not go as smoothly as planned. so far i plan on taking, 2 green igs(about 4 ft., very friendly), a sudan plated lizard, a beardie, a leopard gecko, green anoles, cuban knight anole(definately a look dont touch herp for them!), golden geckos, longtail lizard, 2 baby balls, 1 adult ball(het. albino), a gulf hammock ratsnake, an eastern kingsnake, a baby cali king(albino striped), gold treefrogs, and an eastern painted turtle. oh and i have app. 45 minutes but i was told more time wouldnt be a problem. any suggestions on how to get all these herps into a '92 geo storm would also be appreciated lol. sorry for such a long post, i am just quite nervous about it (more excited really). thanks for any suggestions!

I include a picture of stitches from an iguana bite and a talk on salmonella and proper hygeine. A talk about feral iguanas in Florida and the problems caused by irresponsible owners is good also.

Congratulations on your first show!! I've been doing educational presentations for about 9 years now so I have a few tips for you.

First of all, you are taking way too many animals for the amount of time that you have available. For a 45 minute presentation I usually take about 6-8 different species. I organize a 90 minute presentation by geographical origin. I will start with one or two species native to our state (Eastern boxie, Garter or Rat snake), then one that is native to the US but not necessarily my state(Rosy boa or Everglades Ratsnake). Next I'll move south to Mexico, Central and S. America with Green and Spinytail iguanas, a Common boa, or a Tegu. Then I might move on to Australian species (Bearded, Frillie, Carpet Python), Calendonia with Cresteds, then to Africa (Ball python, Sulcatta tort), Madagascar with an Oplurus. I normally finish up by wowing them with one of my 20 pound Cyclura Iguanas.

I try to present the most interesting facts about each animal, such as a particular part of their anatomy or an interesting way that they use their environment. I point out the anatomical differences between snakes and lizards. I touch on conservation issues, both domestic and abroad.

Your groups are large and it would be very difficult to give them much opportunity to touch. I would suggest that you leave that for last and let them touch the iguana or a snake on their way out of the presentation. I will stress that you keep the business end, or ends, of the animal under your absolute control the entire time.

As for packing, transport as many animals as you can in bags and then place the bags in an insulated box or cooler. Disposable Zip-loc or Glad containers work well for small lizards and snakes and these can be stacked in the box also.

Best of luck with the presentations. Have fun with it. Second and Third graders are a lot of fun!!