festival

[Snake lover 3-25]

so i'm bringing some of my snakes..... don't know how many yet..... to a town festival it's outside and should be a good temp.... maybe 70-85??? :D i'm just looking for any sugestions as to what kind of setup to put them in and where to put them.... shade, sun, ect. o

and also what to tell people and what limits i should set for them to keep the snakes safe......

[Zephyr]

I did something like this last year for a cancer fund raiser: It ended up being 55 in the morning when I brought everything. I set up a tent for everything and everybody looked freezing... then the sun came out and the people started piling in; the temps went from 55 to the high 80's in no time. Just bring a simple set up that leaves the snakes in good view and access; give them plenty of hides to encourage them to come out.
Make sure people use hand sanitizer before and after handling them.
FEEDING DEMONSTRATIONS WILL BE INSTANT HITS.

[Snake lover 3-25]

lol ok thanks:D but yeah i was thinking hand sanitizer.... purel??? does it have any things that are unsafe for snakes??? but i think i'm going to bring maybe my 4???? largest snakes, and maybe a few babies?????.... is that a good idea??? the babies would just be for looking.... but i don't have a tent so they might just be out on a table under a nice shaddy tree......

lol feeding.... never thought about that..... :) you have good ideas!!!!:D

[Zephyr]

lol ok thanks:D but yeah i was thinking hand sanitizer.... purel??? does it have any things that are unsafe for snakes??? but i think i'm going to bring maybe my 4???? largest snakes, and maybe a few babies?????.... is that a good idea??? the babies would just be for looking.... but i don't have a tent so they might just be out on a table under a nice shaddy tree......

lol feeding.... never thought about that..... :) you have good ideas!!!!:D
I brought one of my male easterns, Fatty, and my albino checkered female.
Bring only the ones who will tolerate handling; Fatty's a little attention hog so she ate while other people were holding her, which made things interesting.
Altogether, I had my male beardie, a dekay's, my lavender corn snake, a giant cave roach, 3 hissers, and a leo gecko. The whole thing was a massive hit.
Like I said, feeding demos get everyone's attention.

[Snake lover 3-25]

ok thanks:D yeah.... that's what i thought.... so i'll just bring my fav. 4:D:D they are way OVER handled.... so i think it'll work out pretty well:D

[Garter_Gertie]

Get baby butt-wipes for cleaning hands. Not Purel stuff - too wet and CONTAINS ALCHOHOL. Try and find unscented, or least scented butt-wipes.

[Garter_Gertie]

I suggest no babies. Peepers and Jeepers were the DICKENS in trying to get out of their little plastic carry-all animal-thingy at the State Fair. Fast? For sure.

I never let anyone touch P & J, unless I already had one in my hand. As yearlings, they were still way too squirmmy and unsettled to let anyone handle or try to get out quickly if someone wanted to see them speciffically.

I suggest ONLY your very most calmest, laid-back, least "snake-like" snakes. Particularly since this is going to be their first time with LOTS of people around.

And never ever ever let anyone else hold. Let them touch - no face/tail - while you hold, but never let them hold. Even if they say they have their own snakes and know what they're doing.

[Loren]

so i'm bringing some of my snakes..... don't know how many yet..... to a town festival it's outside and should be a good temp.... maybe 70-85??? :D i'm just looking for any sugestions as to what kind of setup to put them in and where to put them.... shade, sun, ect. o

and also what to tell people and what limits i should set for them to keep the snakes safe......

Dont know if you already did your festival, Shanley, but anyhow,
When I do shows outside I make sure I will have shade. Sun on a glass or plastic cage can quickly overheat it (reptiles can easily recover from being 20 degrees colder than usual, but can die from 20 degrees too hot). I never leave the animals unattended (have some I trust watch them if I go to the restroom), and make anyone who handles them use hand sanitizer, especially kids. I am not afraid to say no to people that want to hold a certain animal- I allow it on a case by case basis. If there are a lot of people swarming around me, I generally limit animals getting handled because its too hard to supervise while also supervising the other cages ( I sometimes have over 30 cages on display).
Anyhow, just some basics on my ways of doing things. I havent had hand sanitizer hurt any animals as far as I know, but I do make sure it dries off my hands before handling any.
If you have to drive far, be careful about sun coming in the car window and cooking the cages as well.
Have Fun. :)

[Loren]

The car we use to have, ready to leave for a show (other than having to secure the tanks with towels and rope). Those are borrowed display tanks by the way- I dont keep them in those little things all the time.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/car_loaded.JPG

And the table they were set on at the show ( I had to crop this pic way down because of the people in it- I dont like to post people without their permission).
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/new_melones_c_a_s_t_program_6-9-07_3_.jpg

[GartersRock]

Cool pics!!!!! ;)

[Snake lover 3-25]

ok so i ended up bringing the babies..... but they were in their regular cage (so as not to be stressed) and they were strictly for looking only..... the kids LOVED them it was great:D the snakes ended up getting 'pet' around 50 times altogether.... and held over 25 times:D i also brought the turtle. i was AMAZED at how many people LIKED them!!!! i told just about every thing i knew about them and all the parents had their kids hold them even if they were too afraid.... i guess they are so common around here that everyone wanted to have their kids like them and not kill or be afraid of them :) it was a very good day..... :D even though the weather sucked!!!:(

and guess what!!!! next year i get a tent!!! and i'm doing a feeding demonstration that'll get put in the 'official' schedule!!!!!:D

[Zephyr]

ok so i ended up bringing the babies..... but they were in their regular cage (so as not to be stressed) and they were strictly for looking only..... the kids LOVED them it was great:D the snakes ended up getting 'pet' around 50 times altogether.... and held over 25 times:D i also brought the turtle. i was AMAZED at how many people LIKED them!!!! i told just about every thing i knew about them and all the parents had their kids hold them even if they were too afraid.... i guess they are so common around here that everyone wanted to have their kids like them and not kill or be afraid of them :) it was a very good day..... :D even though the weather sucked!!!:(

and guess what!!!! next year i get a tent!!! and i'm doing a feeding demonstration that'll get put in the 'official' schedule!!!!!:DWay to go Shanley!
The director for the fund raiser I attended demanded and encore as well. XD

[Snake lover 3-25]

:D it was fun:D can't wait till next year:D

[GartersRock]

Cool!! Congrats!

[anji1971]

Sounds like a great time, Shanley! Awesome that you'll be doing it again next year.:)

[Lori P]

Well done Shanley! I know you made a positive impression on a lot of people and helped them learn that snakes are GOOD... awesome job. :-)

[jitami]

That is very cool Shanley! Nice job!!!

[Loren]

Good Job Shanley!