As some of you may know, I plan on becoming the owner of an Educational Outreach Program for animals once I graduate from college. The college I plan on attending - which is only around 15 minutes from my house - actually has their own outreach program! (It doesn't appear to be very large. Most people don't even know it's there.) I'd like to rescue most of the animals that I have in my programs. It wouldn't feel right purchasing common animals when I often see them being rehomed and abused by others. I've already started my collection of ambassadors and already booked two programs at nearby schools! Current Collection: 1.0 African Fat-Tailed Gecko 0.0.1 Correlophus sarasinorum 1.0 Gargoyle Gecko 0.0.1 Leachianus Gecko (Temporarily with me, soon going to friend.) 0.1 Leopard Gecko 0.3 Mourning Geckos 1.0 Axolotl 0.0.1 Eastern American Toad 0.0.1 White's Tree Frog 1.0 Blood Red Parrot Cichlid 1.1.0 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches I'll also be rescuing a Kei Island Blue Tongue Skink tonight. She was kept in a small glass aquarium with no substrate, with only a plastic tub with a rigid hole cut in it and two bowls for scenery. I'll also be purchasing a small colony of millipedes soon. My elderly female Narceus gordanus passed away recently, so I may establish a colony of them in here honor, but I'm not exactly sure yet. I was wondering how many programs you guys have attended. I'd also like to know what species you saw in these programs. (Most species are your generic small mammals - hedgehogs, ferrets, chinchillas -, as well as an assortment of reptiles and amphibians, along with some birds - BOP and parrot-like birds are most common - and usually millipedes, tarantulas, and scorpions.
I have seen many great animal outreach programs - you have many of the common species already! Here are some recommendations: -Snakes are a must have, especially ones that may be held. -I think parrots would be the only feasible bird option for a program like this unless you get some rescue natives (which I doubt). -Small mammals are great, I recommend skunks.
Once I'm in my own place I'll defiantly be getting snakes. Commonly kept things like ball pythons, corn snakes, and BCI are often rehomed. There are also other kinds of snakes that I'd like to get for programs as well - Hog Island boas are my favorite! - like Kenyan sand boas, as they are great ambassadors. I'm hoping to be able to open my home to native birds eventually, they're really common in educational programs. I'd like to try and get a place around Milwaukee, due to the lack of a solid educational program and all the people that live there. I'm going to look for a little bit of land so I can eventually build smaller buildings and enclosures for larger species, including native birds! For some "exotic" mammals, I'd like to take in skunks - which will soon be sold at a Pet Store in Milwaukee, along with chipmunks, foxes, and STOs - as well as rehab opossums, kangaroos, wallabies, capybara, and whatever other misfits may float my way. One of the most common things I see online is these Educational Programs that really don't know how to properly care for their animals. I see these programs that have TONS of animals, but they don't even know how to properly care for them all, despite how smart they try to make themselves appear. I'd rather have fewer animals in great conditions rather than tons of animals in poor conditions. (Sugar gliders in awful cages and improper diets also grind my gears. They're up there for being the most misunderstood animals when it comes to ambassador care.) I also want to focus on teaching people about the individual personalities of the animals I have. I LOVE storytelling and I think one of the best ways to make people appreciate a species is to make them fall in love with the individual they meet.
A group that always draws attention is raptors, be it hawk, owl, or falcon. However they are a more space intensive species that have a fair bit of permitting requirements. Also larger species have a fair injury risk to the keeper. Large lizards like iguana and tegu are also popular and often in need of rehoming. Turtles and tortoises are a universal favorite as well.
You might want to reach out to the woman who started Tucson Reptile Museum. She started as someone who just had cool reptile pets, but with people always wanting to see them, she started basically what you're looking into doing. She's easy to reach on facebook. https://tucsonreptilemuseum.com/
I would like to rescue a tegu due to their docile nature and impressive size. Iguanas are one of the most common rehomes I see, I would assume I'll eventually get one. I may get monitors as well. The only monitors I would consider would be Ackies and possibly a White-Throated. I'd like to get lots of tortoises in the future, I think they're amazing! I wouldn't wanna get any turtles outside of snappers or softshells. I'm not a fan of any others.
Tegu are nice, and relatively docile. Boy do they have power though if they're feeling feisty! Tortoises are pretty cool, and long-lived. Snappers and softshells are not good candidates for ambassador programs though due to their tendency to bite, and hard.
All the programs I had planned are canceled due to the virus, so there's nothing new with the programs themselves. I still have everything on the list above besides the Leachianus, which went to my friend. Since then I've gotten 1.0 Domestic Rabbit and 0.0.1 Kei Island Blue Tongue Skink as well.
