Okay..So I want to start my own program...I need a little guidance please..

Well I have decided that I would like to start my own "Reptile Education Program". This program would mainly consist of reptiles and sharing information to both kids and teenagers about various species of reptiles..including their diet, breeding, care, and different types of that species...

I put an ad on craigslist explaining about my program idea and that I am currently accepting donations of both reptile supplies and reptiles and that I was also looking for volunteers for when the business starts up..so far I have 1 volunteer plus me and my friend...so there's already 3 of us..I've so far also been offer the following:

2 adult rosy boas
a skink and bearded dragon
a Monitor lizard

I have responded to the owners of the rosy boas cause I am interested in them..and I also am showing interest in the skink..but since money is extremely limited..I'm currently not accepting any large lizards or large snakes since I know their needs can be costly to set up..anyway..

My question here is...How do I go about getting this program started? Do I need a license to do this or do I just start going to places that hold summer camps now and try and get my name out there? What is the best way to get my name and education program out there so people can contact me? Also..How much should I charge places that want me to attend? Basiclly I just really need some business guidance..let me know..I know in the past I had stated I wanted to make a reptile shop...well I still do...but that is much later on...I figure this is a good way to start...get my name well known and a good chance for me to learn more about reptiles..

I don't have any advice but I wish you the best of luck.

Indemnity insurance would be a necessity, I imagine.

Depending on your state will depend on what if any permits are needed. I would start by contacting your state wildlife section. A friend of mine does education shows and she does have to have insurance in case something goes wrong. The more animals that you have available for people to chose from the more money that you can generally charge. I would start off small, maybe even offer to do the first few for free or get the group to pay for gas, that can give you some practice rounds. I know that the friend of mine that does programs goes to Boyscout/Girlscout events, daycares, schools, YMCA summer camps etc. She generally has a list of animals available for programs and the people in charge of the group decided what they want her to bring.....price should also depend on the size of the group, the distance traveled, and how long the program will go on. I'll be happy to help you out more, just email or pm me.

PM sent..thank you for helping me out like this :0)

my local reptile society puts reptile shows on for free, at various events like trade shows, fairs, and educational centers. It's really fun.

No one person owns all the animals (there is one member who always brings, like, 8 different snakes. He's a retired guy, and really loves doing the shows). I bring FinFang sometimes, but not all the time. Having people there just to watch the kids and snakes is quite important, we've had kids walk out with animals before (usually just to find their mom to show them, but still. You got to watch them like a hawk) or even just do stupid things with them. The events we do usually have people coming and going all day, so we tend to talk to people on an individual basis rather than have one big presentation. It works well for us, but I do have to say "no, they aren't poisonous" about 20 times a day -_-

I've seen this guy at the local reptile shows, and even though it's the same show over and over- I just love it!

http://www.reptilesafari.org/grouptour.html

He's an excellent public speaker, who really gets the audience involved. The show I've seen involves having people guess what animal kills the most people annually (deer) and he has people guess how many people spiders kill annually (zero to one) then compares this to dogs, and then he gets an arachnophobic person out of the audience (adult) and "saves them thousands by helping them overcome their fear of spiders without paying a pychiatrist!" (it's hilarious, he holds his spider, Rosey in one hand and holds the hand of the scared person in the other and walks around and around while he talks- he says he's holding hands so they can't run away!) At the end he proclaims the person the queen of spiders and asks what the queen gets to wear- a crown! Which is Rosey! Then he talks about what rodents do- contaminate our food supply and spread disease, and asks what animals kill rodents, cats, and talks about how there are animals protecting us from rodents while the cat is sleeping (snakes) and talks about how many rodents a snake eats in a year, and asks the audience to finish the sentence "The only good snake is a _____snake!" They always say dead, and he goes on about how it should be LIVE snake. Then he talks about what percentage of snakes are venomous (10%) Then he gets a volunteer and talks about the different venomous snakes in Florida, and he has them laying on their back on a big cooler, and teaches everyone the coral snake saying, about red touch black, friend of Jack, red touch yellow, kill a fellow, and then sets a tri-colored snake on the belly of the person on the cooler, and the audience goes crazy! Of course it's a milksnake. At the end, he gets three boys and three girls and lines them up, holding their arms straight out in front of them, and tells them, "Repeat after me! I will not scream. I will not cry. I will not run away. I will not look behind me!" and then from behind them gets a big- 10-12 foot burm out of a huge cooler and walks to the front and sets it in their arms. Then talks about how gentle burms are, but they are not the pet for everyone, and if you have one and it gets too big, you are not to release it in the Everglades, and what to do with it, and to think about the size a snake is going to be as an adult before buying a pet. I love watching him because he gets the audience _so_ involved, and it's fun, but very educational.