Wow – what a ssspectacular year we have had here at Reptiles Alive LLC.  Between September 30, 2010 thru October 1, 2011  we performed 857 educational live animal shows for approximately 55, 500 people of all ages.

As always, we had great fun at all the venues we traveled to including:  schools, libraries, birthday parties, scout meetings, libraries, camps, nature centers, animal shelters, senior centers, and tons of  fairs, festivals, and special events.

We added two new animals to our collection this year.  A Pacific gopher snke we named “Carl Spackler” was donated to us by a former staff member and an anerythristic corn snake we name “Anakin” was an unwanted pet that we were able to provide a home to.  Both animals were quarantined for 3 months while we assessed their health, but now, both snakes are a permanent part of our education collection.

Carl Spackler the Gopher Snake

Anakin the Anerythristic Corn Snake

Look for the Gopher snake to star in our “Deserts Alive!” show and for the anerythristic corn snake to help you find out the special secret of the black rat snake in our “Backyards Alive!” show.

Two of our animals passed away this year.  Mr. Pituophis (aka Vader) the Bull snake and our little buddy Schneider the Schneider’s skink.  We loved both of them.  Mr. Pituophis was a big bluffer:  he would huff and puff and hiss, but he was so tame that he was used in making videos with actors who were afraid of snakes!   Schneider was so personable and seemed to always love the attention from our keepers and other people too.  What a great lizard!  We miss them both very much.

Are you in charge of booking assemblies for your school?  If so, this article will help make the whole process easier for you, your school and your performers.

Step 1:  Find Performers

Animal programs, musicians, puppet shows, and all kinds of educational performances for schools are available across the United States.  In most locations, there are programs run by school districts or arts councils that offer performers who have been screened and selected to perform in schools.  (One of the best in the Washington DC metro area is the Fairfax County Creative Arts Program (CAPS).)  Asking past assembly coordinators, teachers, and parents for referrals can also lead you to great shows.

Step 2:  Coordinate with your school for budget and dates

Find out what your budget will be before contacting performers.

Double check dates  for assemblies with your school.   Multi-purpose rooms, gyms, cafeterias, and auditoriums are all busy places in the school year – so be sure the room you intend to host your assembly is available on the dates and times you want.

Step 3:  Contact the performers

When calling or emailing potential performers, have the following information ready for them:

• Your name, phone number & email address
• Your school’s name and address
• The age and number of students that will be attending the assembly(s)
• The dates and times you are looking at (try to have a few options)

Step 4: Questions to ask the performer before booking

What does the performer charge? Your total cost will be based on the number of shows you want, the number of students attending the shows, your location, and the timing of your shows.

Are there any requirements/restrictions for the performance? Requirements may include:  close parking, indoors vs. outdoors, stage, grade level, maximum audience size, etc…

Is the performer properly insured/licensed for the type of show they are performing? Insurance is a must, especially for live animal shows.   Licensing is not required in all jurisdictions, however, it is smart to know if your area requires permits before hiring performers to come into your school.  Performers that include mammals (even a magician with a live rabbit) in their shows must have a permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  In Virginia, all performers exhibiting live animals  (including birds, fish and reptiles) must have a Permit to Exhibit Wildlife from the VA Department of Game & Inland Fisheries.

Can the performer provide at least 3 references for you to contact? The best way to find out if the performers you are hiring will be safe, reliable, educational, and fun is to ask the people that have previously hired them.  And the best performers will be happy to provide you with references.

Step 5: The Booking Process

Contact the performer as soon as you are able to commit to a booking.  Popular assembly performers can get booked up months or even a year in advance, so the earlier you can book your shows, the better.  However, only book when you are ready to commit to the date, time, and cost.  Clients who cancel or change their bookings are a hard ship to professional performers.

After you make a booking, a professional performer will send you a contract, invoice, or letter of agreement.  Read the paperwork they send you carefully.  Verify the show date(s), time(s), location(s), and agreed to fee is listed correctly.  Note if a deposit is required, when payments are due, and what payment types are accepted.

Be sure to check for a cancellation policy and for any other requirements (such as close parking) that performers may need.  Contact the performer as soon as possible if you have any questions about the contract or show set up requirements.

Send the signed contract and/or deposit in a timely manner.  Performers could cancel a booking if the client fails to send in the required paperwork or deposit on time.

Now that your show is booked, the next step is getting ready to host your school’s assembly.  Look for that information in our next posting.

Happy School Year!

Copyright 2011 Reptiles Alive LLC

www.ReptilesAlive.com

You are in the garden.  As you bend down to pick a tomato, you see a:  snake!  Whoa – that snake has a triangular shaped head!  Is the snake venomous?

Many people mistakenly believe that all snakes with triangular shaped heads are venomous.  And not just people: a recent study in Spain has even shown that predators such as hawks and eagles will often avoid snakes with triangular heads!  Valkonen, J., Nokelainen, O., & Mappes, J. (2011). Antipredatory Function of Head Shape for Vipers and Their Mimics PLoS ONE, 6 (7) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022272

The fact is, however, that many harmless snakes mimic the viper-like head shape when they are frightened.   Harmless snakes including garter snakes, rat snakes, and water snakes will flatten their heads and bodies when they feel threatened.  And snakes in the garden feel threatened when they see people.

So is there an easy way to know if a snake is venomous or harmless?  No, not really.  Herpetologists and snake experts learn to identify snakes using a variety of physical characteristics.  There is also individual variation within species: albinism, melanism, and pattern variations that occasionally occur can cause confusion when trying to  identify a snake.

At Reptiles Alive, we suggest that people  just leave all snakes alone.  If you leave snakes alone, snakes will leave you alone.  That way it  does not matter whether the snake is venomous or not  – even venomous snakes will leave you alone if you don’t bother them.

Snake Head Shapes Compared © John White - Virginia Herpetologica

Harmless Northern Brown Snake © John White – Virginia Herpetological Society

Harmless Eastern Garter Snake © John White - Virginia Herpetological Society

Harmless Northern Water Snake © John White - Virginia Herpetological Society

Special thanks to John White and the Virginia Herpetological Society for the great pictures!

Every year we get calls from gardeners about snakes trapped in their soft plastic landscape netting.  Landscape netting is often used to protect fruit and vegetables from nibbling deer, birds, and rabbits.  Unfortunately, it can be a death sentence to snakes, birds, and small mammals.

Tony carefully restraining the first Copperhead while his coworker cuts away the netting

Small animals become trapped in the net and as they struggle to free themselves,  get even more tangled up.  The netting not only traps the poor animals, it also causes very serious injuries due to the thin plastic cutting into their skin and muscle.

If a human does not intervene, it is a long, slow and sad death for any trapped creature. Some animals are lucky – they are found and rescued.  Recently our very own TuataraTony was called upon to rescue two copperhead snakes that had become entangled in landscape netting in a garden in Great Falls VA.

Tony (right) and his coworker helping to free the second trapped Copperhead Snake

Tony and other professional Naturalists, Wildlife Educators and Animal Rehabilitators are experts at handling all sorts of animals.  If you find a creature in need of rescue, contact your local animal control agency for help.

Alternatives for protecting crops do exist: Fences 8 feet tall or taller will protect areas from deer.  Using chicken wire, wire mesh, kennel fencing, or snow fencing attached to fence posts will protect against most animals, including rabbits.

If deer are your main problem, you might also consider an electric fence. Motion sensors that trigger a blast of water can scare off birds and other wildlife from fruit trees and bushes. And a good old fashioned scarecrow (especially if it has bright, shiny, moving parts) is always a festive addition to any garden.

Here are some great links for more suggestions on how to save your garden without hurting snakes or other wildlife:

• http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/animal-pests
• http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/fencing
• http://www.ehow.com/how_2339880_keep-birds-varmints-out-organic.html

posting by CobraCaroline

Wildly Exciting.

That is how I describe the last 15 years.

In July 1996 I signed the documents and secured the permits and licenses to officially create a business that was then known as “The Reptile Lady.”

I had been working 3 separate jobs the past year, all at the same time:  park naturalist; zoo educator;  and snake removal technician.  And I was performing live reptile shows at schools, birthdays and other events on the side using non-releasable reptiles I received working as a wildlife rehabilitator.  WHEW!  That was a lot of work!

Since I was so into snakes and reptiles,  people starting calling me “the reptile lady.” In July, I decided to make it official.

I quit my three other jobs to focus exclusively on being “The Reptile Lady” full time.

At first,  I was a one person company.  I had a collection of about 20 animals including a boa constrictor named Franki Valli, a savanna monitor named Dion, and a tokay gecko named Freddie Boom Boom Cannon.  I had all the animals set up in a room that a friend helped me to remodel to accommodate the small zoo.  I spent every day answering the phone, caring for the animals, and performing the shows.

“The Reptile Lady” quickly became a very popular show.  In 1996 I performed 152 shows and reached approximately 4000 people.  I almost doubled that number 1997:  I did 267 shows and reached approximately 15, 550 people.   By 1998, it became obvious that I needed help to keep the business growing – I was now doing over 350 shows per year, caring for 30 exotic animals, and doing all of the office work.  It was tons of fun – but in order to grow, I had to hire some good people.

Since I was going to hire staff people, (and some of those people might be males who might not want to answer the phone by saying “Reptile Lady”) I decided to rename the business “Reptiles Alive! LLC”.

Next, I relocated the animals and business into a larger location that had lots of room for spacious animal enclosures, a nice cleaning area, storage, and office space.  I also built an out door tortoise enclosure.

And then the big step:  I hired the first two employees:  Jeff Streicher and Jennifer Pullen (now Rafter).  I was so lucky to have them!  Jeff and Jennifer proved to be just as dedicated to reptiles and wildlife education as I was.

Over the last 15 years, I have had the pleasure of working with many other great people.  Some of our former staff people are now working as field biologists, scientists, and one of our former keepers is now the Senior Keeper at the National Zoo Reptile Discovery Center.

We currently have a team of top notch wildlife educators and animal keeper.  They perform over 800 shows a year for an average of 60,000 people.  In addition, they care for a collection of approximately 60 animals including pythons, boas, alligators, monitor lizards and other amazing creatures.  And last but not least, the staff at RA also get to help with the glamorous work in our office.

Without our awesome staff and our awesome fans, Reptiles Alive would not be where we are today.  Thank you ALL!  And here’s to another sssspectacular 15 years of wildly exciting live animal shows with Reptiles Alive!

Ssssee you in 2026!