So my sister is a certified riding instructor at this awesome therapy horse ranch. This place is great in that they offer programs for "children and adults with disabilities, those who have been abused or neglected, the military and the economically compromised". My sister has shared amazing stories of children gaining mobility or social growth simply by riding and interacting with the horses.
This facility is offering up a summer day camp, and my sister asked me if I wanted to do a little seminar on reptiles and to show a few off. Immediately, I had a list going through my head of who in my collection would be good to give a positive experience for those attending. I've never really done this before, closest would be when friends/family come over and they want to see what I have, so this would be a great experience and thing to do. The facility recently built a small classroom onto the barn, to allow for lessons and crafts in a climate controlled area, so there would be a safe place to display and store the reptiles.
My sister wants me to bring the "fancy" ball python, refering to my pied boy, but he can get nippy and I feel that his temperament wouldn't be safe. I would much rather bring those that I know are more stable, especially since some of these children put more trust in animals than they do people. Though I would love to show off one of the Brazilian Rainbow Boas since they are absolutely amazing to look at, and even though they are nippy I may be able to get away with just keeping one in a display case since both are still fairly young/small.
A list of who I'm thinking are definites to bring:
-Dash, Leachianus: he's pretty mellow and I always use him when someone wants to pet a leachie.
-A crested gecko: not sure which one as I do have a few that are good with handling.
-Adult normal female ball python: she's great with handling and her size can make up for her lack of "fanciness"
-Sheltopusik or European Legless Lizard: why not bring a lizard that looks like a snake.
-Giant African Millipede: can't show off reptiles without showing off a creepy crawly.
I would have about 30 minutes to talk and share, so not sure if the list would be good, too many, or not enough. I wish Abigail (RTB) was a little bigger then I'd bring her as she has a really great temperament, may just bring her anyways as a back up if I run out of animals before running out of time. I'll write up little info cards just in case I get a little stage fright and blank out, could wind up saying something silly like "Leachies make great snakes".
Anyways, I'm very much excited and felt the need to share. If anyone reading this has any tips they would like to share, feel free to share them, I'll take all the help I can get. (Here's some pre-
as thanks)