Education Animal
Handling Policy
Overview
Animal handling is a very exciting volunteer opportunity. However, with this exciting opportunity comes
much responsibility. This is a limited activity that must be met with approval of the Director of Education
and Volunteer Coordinator. As an animal handler, take pride in what you are able to do by following the
“Education Animal Handling Policies” and respecting the animals you are trained to handle. The following
are general guidelines that all animal handlers must abide by.
Training
Training of Animal Handlers will consist of multiple observed handling sessions and a sign off by the
Volunteer Coordinator and/or Director of Education and Volunteers. Every potential Animal Handler will
go through an initial training, which will cover the location of supplies and a basic overview of handling the
individual species being trained on at the time. Following the initial training, potential Animal Handlers
must complete an indicated number of supervised handling sessions. The number of sessions required per
animal is determined by the handling level assigned to each animal. Once completion of required supervised handling sessions, potential Animal Handlers must be signed off by all parties indicated at the bottom
of the handling guidelines for each animal. Volunteers are asked to sign off on themselves to verify they
feel comfortable with their new position as Animal Handler. Staff retains the right to deny animal handling
opportunities or increase the number of required handling sessions due to animal health, behavior and overall safety concerns for handlers, zoo guests and/or the animal.
Level
Level 1:
Handling Levels
Animal
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
African Giant Millipede
Red-footed Tortoise
Desert Tortoise
Required Sessions
3
3
3
3
Level 2:
Rat
Inland Bearded Dragon
Bull frogs
African Hedgehog
Armadillo
Scorpion
4
4
4
4
4
4
Level 3:
Sugar Gliders
Snakes
Ferret
Skink
6
6
6
6
Level 4:
Opossum
Chinchilla
Staff Discretion Only
Staff Discretion Only
Interested Volunteers must contact the Volunteer Coordinator
to schedule times for handling sessions.
Guidelines for Using Education Animals in Programs
1. Animals should be secured in a carrier when traveling between locations. Proper
ventilation should be provided. When transporting exothermic animals like amphibians and
reptiles, provide adequate warmth to carrier.
2. Traveling display cages should always be disinfected after each use. Provide natural habitat
appropriate for the species.
3. Volunteers must be approved and have passed the animal handling guidelines for the
animals prior to using them in programs or guest experiences.
4. Students/guests are never allowed to touch an education animal unless a hand washing
station is readily available.
5. Students should be instructed to touch animal properly with the two finger touch only.
6. Individual education animals should not be used every day. For instance, use one hedgehog
one day and another hedgehog another day.
7. Return the education animal to tank immediately upon returning to zoo. Never leave an
animal in closed up vehicle.
8. Contact Keeper before going down for animal handling training or to pick up animal for
program. The Keeper has the final say as to whether the animal is available on any specific
day. Contact Keeper again upon return of education program.
9. If animal is showing any signs of stress due to temperature or visit, return it to the security
of its enclosure immediately.
10.Upon return of the animal, complete the sign in book recording the response of the animal.
11. Animals in quarantine are not to be handled by volunteers.
Guidelines for Using Education Animals in Visitor Experiences
1. Staff and volunteers are authorized to use education animals in programs and in the park
with prior approval from the Director of Education or Volunteer Coordinator.
2. When using the animal in a program or as a visitor experience never refer to the animal by
their house name. We do not want to encourage the idea that these are pets.
3. Be age appropriate:
Younger guests: ask them what they see, encourage the child to make hypothesis as to why
the snake is smooth… With teens and adults share the conservation status and what they can
do to help the conservation effort
Uniform Guidelines for Animal Handling
When you are aware you are coming in for a program or animal handling training do not apply
perfume or wear long necklaces that may become entangled.
If there is a possibility you may be handling the opossums, wear a long sleeve shirt.
Session Dates
Animal
Session 1
Date
Cockroach, Madagascar
Hissing
Trainer Inials
Date
Millipede, African Giant Trainer Inials
Date
Tortoise, Red-footed
Trainer Inials
Date
Trainer Inials
Date
Tortoise, Desert
Trainer Inials
Date
Rat, Domesc
Trainer Inials
Date
Bearded Dragon, Inland Trainer Inials
Date
Frogs
Trainer Inials
Date
Scorpion
Trainer Inials
Date
African Hedgehog
Trainer Inials
Date
Armadillo
Trainer Inials
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5
Session 6
Session Dates
Page 2
Level 3
Date
Sugarglider
Trainer Inials
Date
Snake, Gopher
Trainer Inials
Date
Snake, King
Trainer Inials
Date
Trainer Inials
Date
Ferret
Trainer Inials
Date
Skink
Trainer Inials
Date
Opossum
Trainer Inials
Date
Trainer Inials
Date
Chinchilla
Trainer Inials
I am comfortable handling all Level Four animals: _____________________________Date___________
Staff Approval:___________________________________
Education Animal
Handling Policy
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
House Name: NA
Birth Date: Varied
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
NA
Animal Restraint:
Cockroaches should be restrained with great care. They should be resting in one
hand which is cupped, applying slight pressure just behind the head with thumb.
Animal Presentation: Roaches should be displayed in hands
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
Flighty movements (continual movements to get away)
Hiding
Constant Hissing
Travel Logistics
Small plastic aquarium with lid inside a Styrofoam box with a strap to secure the lid.
No special bedding needed. Piece of wood to cling to if traveling long distances.
Keep out of direct sunlight
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Visitor Experience:
Generally speaking this is a touchable animal. Handler must be near a wash
station before allowing guests to touch this animal while on grounds. Handler must
remind guests to wash hands after touching this animal.
Wash Stations:
Kids County, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Anthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Blattaria Family: Blattidae
Gromphadorhina portentosa
Description: Cockroaches are found on every continent, including Antarctica. They are considered the most
primitive of insects because they have not changed in the last 250 million years.
Size: 2-3 inches long
Weight: .2 to .3 ounces
Habitat: Floor of tropical forests, near river banks, around logs or trees.
Distribution: Madagascar
Diet: Various plant and animal matter
Life Span: In captivity 2 years
Status: Stable
Special Characteristics:
• Males have a set of protrusions resembling two humps on their head. They use these horns to ram other
males when establishing or defending their territory.
• Along the sides of its body is a row of holes called spiracles used for respiration. When the Hissing Cockroach is threatened, it depresses its abdomen sending air out of its spiracles producing a loud hissing noise
scaring the predator.
• The hissing noise is also used as a means of communication during courtship and mating and by males to
defend their territories from other males.
• All insects have three body segments: the head, thorax and abdomen. The Hissing Cockroach has an outer
shell that extends over the head and the entire body for protection.
• Unlike some cockroaches, the Hissing Cockroach does not have wings.
• Nocturnal
• The cockroach is invaluable for recycling a large majority of the earth’s dead and decaying plant and animal matter. Without the cockroach, tropical forests would smother and die from dead and decaying vegetation.
• Lives in large colonies. One male will dominate and hold a territory with several females. No other male is
allowed in. If another male enters, it is pushed out of the territory by the dominate male. Females may come
and go within these male dominated territories.
• Besides the normal insect predators, the Hissing Cockroach must deal with a tiny cockroach mite that feeds
on its body.
Reproduction:
• Mating occurs throughout the year, but only if the climate is warm.
• After separating, the female stores fertilized eggs in her ootheca, an inch long, yellowish egg case. The
ootheca may be kept inside or outside the body of the female.
• At least 60 days later 15-40 cockroach babies called nymphs are born.
• Nymphs will molt 6 times in 6 months before becoming sexually mature. Adults do not molt again.
Education Animal
Handling Policy
African Giant Millipede
House Name: NA
Birth Date: Varied
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
NA
Animal Restraint:
Millipedes should be placed in a cupped hand. They are allowed to walk from one
hand to another.
Animal Presentation: Millipede should be displayed in hands
Groups of 25 or less may be allowed to hold millipedes. This should be done
with great care and supervision. Participants should hold both hands out flat,
and their hands MUST be resting on a table or the floor. The trained handler
should then gently place the millipede on the participant's hand for no more
than a few seconds before picking them back up. Animal handlers will be
trained to perform this task.
Signs of Stress:
Curling up
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
Travel Logistics
Small plastic aquarium with lid placed inside a Styrofoam box secured with a strap.
Soil - same as in their enclosure
Keep out of direct sunlight
NOTES:
If it appears any millipede is molting, do not use them.
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Visitor Experience:
Generally speaking the millipedes are a touchable animal. Handler must be near a
wash station before allowing guests to touch this animal while on grounds. Handler
must remind guests to wash hands after touching this animal.
Wash Stations:
Kids County, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum
GIANT AFRICAN MILLIPEDE
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropda Class: Diplopoda Order: Spirostreptida, Family Spirastreptidae
Archispirostreptus gigas
Description: The Giant African Millipede is the largest species of millipedes.
Size: 11-12 inches long
Width: When fully grown they are typically as big a round as a thumb
Habitat: Tropical and Subtropical Forest floors.
Distribution: Africa
Diet: Decaying plant matter
Life Span: In captivity Giant African Millipedes typically live 7-10 years
Status: Stable
Special Characteristics:
African Giant Millipedes are coved with a thick black cuticle.
There are two pairs of legs to each body segment. Every time an adult molts it adds more segments
containing 2 more pairs of legs. Typically adults have 100-400 sets of legs.
• They breathe through tiny pores along the side of the cuticle called spiracles.
• Millipedes are active mostly at night. They cannot close their spiracles so they are in danger of drying
out during the day.
• They move their strong legs in a wave-like motion to burrow under leaves and other organic material.
• They tend to spend most of their time living in underground burrows and chambers.
• Millipedes secrete an irritating liquid when they feel they are threatened.
• Another defense mechanism is to curl into a tight spiral whenever they feel threatened.
• They have 4 legs per segment while the centipede has only 2 per segment.
•
•
Reproduction:
Male millipedes have gonopods in place of their legs, usually on their 7th body segment from the head.
The gonopods are modified legs used for transferring the spermatophore to the female. In some millipede species, the gonopods are visible, while in others they are hidden.
• The female makes a nest of compressed soil just below ground level
• A few weeks after mating, the female lays hundreds of eggs in this nest. The eggs do not become fertilized until after laying, and are covered with a tough, resistant coating to protect them from predators
and poor environmental conditions.
• Sometimes the female will guard the eggs until they hatch 3 months later.
• The young are abandoned after hatching, but grow quickly.
•
Hatchlings have 3 pairs of legs and a few body segments and will take several years to grow to full
size.
•
Education Animal Handling Policy
Red Footed Tortoise
House Name: Nadia, Clara, Mabel
Birth Date:
1990 Nadia (yellow V on nose and 3 red spots on head)
1984 Clara (Light orange spot on head) & Mabel (Only yellow on head, no orange)
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
None required
Animal Restraint:
Tortoises should be picked up with two hands placed behind the front legs. Fingers
should be firmly gripping under the plastron (bottom shell) with thumbs over the
carapace (upper shell)
Animal Presentation: Tortoises should be held as mentioned above with head directed away from guests.
Guests may touch the tortoises shell and back leg. Do not allow guests to touch the
tortoises head. And never allow anyone to knock on their shell.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
NOTES:
flighty movements (trying to get away)
labored breathing
legs stretched out - unsupported
Travel Logistics
Plastic Rubbermaid tub
Dry mulch or a towel
Travel enclosures should be placed in a Styrofoam cooler for travel during cooler
weather. If container is too large for cooler, warm vehicle and quickly place tub inside vehicle. Extreme weather conditions should be considered when working with
any reptile.
Guests should be reminded to wash their hands after touching this or any other rep
tile. Reptiles can carry the salmonella bacteria and all should be treated as such.
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Visitor Experience:
Handler must be near a wash station before allowing guests to touch this animal
while on grounds. Handler must remind guests to wash hands after touching this
animal. Never set a reptile on public railings, tables, benches, etc.
Wash Stations:
Kids County, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum
SOUTH AMERICAN RED FOOTED TORTOISE
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata, Class: Reptilia, Order: Chelonia Family: Testudinidae
Geochelone carbonaria
Description:
Size: 10-14 inches long
Weight: Up to 20 pounds
Habitat: moist savannas & forests
Distribution: South America; introduced on some Caribbean islands
Diet in the wild: grasses, fallen fruits, succulents, carrion
Lifespan: 40-50
Status: This tortoise is not listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species but is listed on CITES: Appendix II which means they cannot be exported from their native lands without a special permit.
Special Characteristics:
• Red-footed tortoises are named for the red spots (scales) visible on their front legs.
• As red-foots mature, both sexes develop a unique mid-body constriction (some have referred to it as a
"waist") that, from a top view, gives the tortoises a decidedly hourglass appearance. This "hourglass" figure is more developed in males than in females.
• Nomadic rather than territorial and follow food sources;
• Red-foots can tolerate long periods of time without food and water
• They are called the farmers of the rainforest because they disperse seeds.
• These tortoises are hunted for food and for their shells. During Lent they are consumed in huge amounts.
• Tortoises have no ears but respond to low frequency sounds.
• They have blood vessels and nerve endings in their shell and can feel pain.
• The red spots on the legs attract the mates. The brighter the spots, the more attractive the male.
Breeding and Reproduction
• Red-footed tortoises mate mainly during the rainy season but year round in captivity. Males distinguish
other males from females by watching their head movements. If no responsive head movement is seen after two tortoises encounter each other, the male assumes that the stranger is a female.
• Male to male combat is important to induce breeding
• The female digs a cavity in which to deposit her eggs or deposits them in leaf litter.
• A female may lay a group of 2-15 eggs at one time. (A group of eggs is called a clutch.) Several clutches
may be laid during the nesting season.
• Incubation is 105-202 days
******The bumps on their back are not normal. They were caused by eating too much protein when they
were young.
Education Animal Handling Policy
Desert Tortoise
House Name: Mongo, Noreen
Birth Date:
1985 Mongo
1960 Noreen
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
None required
Animal Restraint:
Tortoises should be picked up with two hands placed behind the front legs. Fingers
should be firmly gripping under the plastron (bottom shell) with thumbs over the
carapace (upper shell). Noreen has had surgery in the past, so please be gentle with
her plastron.
Animal Presentation: Tortoises should be held as mentioned above with head directed away from guests.
Guests may touch the tortoises’ shell and back leg. Do not allow guests to touch the
tortoises head or knock on the shell
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
NOTES:
Visitor Experience:
Wash Stations:
flighty movements (trying to get away)
labored breathing
legs stretched out - unsupported
Travel Logistics
Plastic Rubbermaid tub
Dry mulch or towel
Travel enclosures should be placed in a Styrofoam cooler for travel during cooler
weather. If container is too large for cooler, warm vehicle and quickly place tub inside vehicle. Extreme weather conditions should be considered when working with
any reptile.
Guests should be reminded to wash their hands after touching this or any other rep
tile. Reptiles can carry the salmonella bacteria and all should be treated as such.
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Handler must be near a wash station before allowing guests to touch this animal
while on grounds. Handler must remind guests to wash hands after touching this
animal. Never set a reptile on public railings, tables, benches, etc.
Kids County, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum
DESERT TORTOISE
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata, Class: Reptilia, Order: Chelonia Family: Testudinidae
Gopherus agassizii
Description: The Desert Tortoise is the official reptile of both California and Nevada.
Size: Carapace up to 19 inches
Weight: 8-15 pounds
Habitat: desert washes, oases, rocky hillsides, canyon bottoms
Distribution: United States - Nevada, Arizona, California, Utah;
Mexico - Baja, Sinaloa, Sonora
Diet: herbivorous - grasses, cacti, desert blossoms
Life Span: 50-80 years
Status: Threatened
Special Characteristics:
Desert tortoise populations are in trouble due to habitat loss and destruction. Their habitat is destroyed by
motorcyclists who crush their shells and burrows. Cattle and sheep often overgraze the land. Miners build
“tailings” ponds in which the tortoises drown.
• Desert tortoise populations have also been threatened by a deadly respiratory illness carried by pet tortoises
released into the wild.
• Desert tortoises dig huge burrows where they seek relief from the desert’s extreme heat. Some burrows are
up to 32 feet long. If the average human were to accomplish a similar feat, he or she would have to dig a
tunnel 115 feet long!
• It spends up to 95% of the time underground.
• The front of the plastron extends into a projection known as the gular horn which is more pronounced in
males. The males use it in fighting to overturn each other.
• They obtain most of the water needed from their food.
• They will dig catchment basins in the soil and may be found waiting by them when rain appears imminent.
• They also ingest rocks and soil for the minerals.
• Adults can live over a year without water.
• They can store water in their bladder and are able to tolerate high levels of urea in their blood to keep from
losing moisture through excess urination.
• A common way tortoises defend themselves is to empty their bladder if they are picked up or handled.
This can lead to their death from dehydration if they cannot find water soon.
•
Reproduction:
• Females dig funnel-shaped nests in sandy soils. Females lay 2-3 clutches (groups) of 5-6 eggs each year.
• Temperature of the developing eggs determines the sex of the hatchlings.
• Incubation is 90-120 days.
• Survival rate for juveniles is only 2-3%. Ravens have caused more than 50 percent of juvenile Desert
Tortoise deaths in some areas of the Mojave Desert.
• Sexual maturity is a function of size rather than age, but can take up to 15 years.
Education Animal
Handling Policy
Domestic Rat
House Name: Perry (solid brown head) and Winslow (white with gray spots)
Birth Date:
June, 2011
Handling Attire:
Animal Restraint:
Handling Guidelines
Leather gloves, if necessary
Hold animal with both hands in a cupped manor with thumbs and indexes over the
shoulders of the animal. These two fingers should be in front of its front legs.
Animal Presentation: Rats can be presented in multiple ways. First, they may be presented using both
hands cupped side-by-side extended toward the audience. Keep one or more fingers
on or near their back for quick restraint if needed. The other way to present them is
to cross your arms and keep them flat against your body. The rat may then rest or
move about along your arms.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
NOTES:
Flighty movements (frantic movements)
Begin to nibble/bite handler
Travel Logistics
Pet carrier
Towel
Mammals must be provided with water sometime during travel if they will be off zoo
grounds for longer than 3 hours.
If the rat(s) are in a position that makes them hard to get to in their enclosure, grab
the entire box or item that they are in and move it to an easily accessible area in their
enclosure.
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Visitor Experience:
Handler must be near a wash station before allowing guests to touch this animal
while on grounds. Handler must remind guests to wash hands after touching this
animal.
Wash Stations:
Kids County, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum
Norway Rat
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Mammalia Order Rodentia Family Muridae
Rattus norvegicus
Description: The domestic rat is also known as the Norway rat, brown rat or common rat. Originally native to
central Asia, it can now be found from city to crop field on every continent except Antarctica.
Size: Head and body 8-10 inches long, tail 6-8 inches long
Weight: 10-18 ounces
Habitat: Sewers, storm drains, vacant buildings, basements, garbage dumps, salt marshes, fields and woodlands
Range: Every continent except Antarctica
Diet: Almost anything ranging from grains to garbage to other rodents
Life Span: 3 years
Status: Stable
Special Characteristics:
• Nocturnal
• Scaled or naked tail is used for balance and also helps control body temperature.
• Their feet do not have thumbs.
• Poor eyesight and colorblind.
• Social mammal with very good sense of smell
• Very clean animals, rats will spend several hours per day grooming.
• Can survive 14 days without food and will resort to cannibalism if no other food is available.
• Home range is 50 meters, but will travel 2-3 miles for food
• Some of its predators are snakes, owls, hawks, weasels, minks, domestic cats and dogs
• The rat is the most destructive animal in the world. In the United States, each year, they consume and
damage foodstuffs and property valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
• Rats cannot vomit.
• Came to the United States with the early colonists
• Lives in groups of 15 to 220 individuals
• Can swim 1/2 mile in open sea and tread water for 3 days.
• Ancient Romans looked at rats as good luck charms.
• Rats are routinely worshiped and fed in the Karni Devi, a temple completely devoted to them. These thousands of wild rats never gave any of their worshipers infected Bubonic fleas even during the plague years –
scientists suspect this is because being territorial they kept invading rats (and their fleas) out of the area.
Reproduction:
• Sexually mature at 3-4 months.
• The dominant male defends his territory and harem of females from other male rats.
• Gestation is 21-23 days.
• Females, does, are capable of mating 18 hours after giving birth and reproduce until they are about 2 years
old.
• Regardless of who the mother is, the females care for all the young collectively. The males, bucks, are not
involved with the care of the pups.
• Litters number from 6-8 per year, with an average to 7 pups per litter.
• The young are independent at about 4 weeks.
Education Animal
Handling Policy
Inland Bearded Dragon
House Name: Darwin (f)
Birth Date:
2005
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
None required
Animal Restraint:
Dragon should be held with it’s head at your elbow and back legs and rear at your
fingers. Place other hand on shoulders and apply slight pressure.
Animal Presentation: Dragons should be displayed on the PVC sleeve when possible. Head should be
facing you going up the arm. Place other hand on shoulders when necessary.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
NOTES:
flighty movements, clawing (trying to get away)
puffiness
Travel Logistics
Pet carrier
Dry mulch or towel
Travel enclosures must be placed in a Styrofoam cooler for travel during cooler
weather. Warming the vehicle is also recommended before placing the animal in it
for travel. Extreme weather conditions should be considered when working with any
reptile.
Guests should be reminded to wash their hands after touching this or any other
reptile. Reptiles can carry the salmonella bacteria and all should be treated as such.
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Visitor Experience:
Handler must be near a wash station before allowing guests to touch this animal
while on grounds. Handler must remind guests to wash hands after touching this
animal. Never set a reptile on public railings, tables, benches, etc.
Wash Stations:
Kids County, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum
INLAND BEARDED DRAGON
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata, Class: Reptilia, Order: Squamata, , Family: Agamidae
Pogona vitticeps
Description: The Bearded Dragon is named for the “beard” of spiky scales that cover the area of the throat
and ear openings.
Size: 16-24 inches in length; the tail comprises about half the length of the animal
Weight:
Habitat: scrub areas and dry coastal forests
Distribution: Australia
Diet: Omnivorous- grass, fruit, flowers, other lizards, insects, mice
Life Span: 10 years in captivity
Status: Not endangered in the wild.
Special Characteristics:
During mating or territorial displays, males may inflate and darken the skin in the throat area. The “beard”
of spines helps to enhance their “menacing” appearance to predators or rivals.
• Bearded dragons have an unusual “arm waving” behavior. A lizard will stand on three legs while waving
its arm in a circular motion. This behavior is used in acknowledging other individuals that are at a distance. It is also employed by females during mating season as a display of submission
• Very territorial and establish social hierarchies in which aggressive and appeasement displays form a normal part of their social interactions.
• The male head bobs to show dominance to both smaller insubordinate males and females that he would
like to mate with.
• They are opportunistic feeders and have a large stomach since food is sometimes difficult to find.
• The Inland Bearded Dragon has also become one of the most widely kept lizards in captivity. Many bearded dragons are bred in captivity.
• Like other reptiles, bearded dragons enjoy basking in the sun
• Since the 1960s, Australia has strictly prohibited exports of any native wildlife.
•
Reproduction:
Bearded Dragons come into sexual maturity during their second year and remain prolific through their fifth
or sixth year.
• A female may lay as many as 10-25 eggs in a burrow. There can be as many as 9 clutches per year.
• Females have been known to store sperm and are able to lay many clutches of fertile eggs from one
mating.
• The eggs typically hatch in 8-11 weeks.
•
Education Animal
Handling Policy
African Bull Frog
House Name:
Dolores Umbridge 2005
Handling Attire:
Handling Guidelines
Wash hands, dry and then drench in 24 hour water.
Animal Restraint:
Frogs should be picked up around the midsection of their body with one hand, then
supported in the palm of the handler's other hand.
Animal Presentation: Frogs should be displayed in their travel enclosure only.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
flighty movements (trying to get away)
labored breathing
Travel Logistics
Clear, plastic critter carrier
Bedding:
Place towel in the bottom of clear plastic carrier and dampen with 24 hour water.
Set black sleeve over the frog for shelter.
Special:
Travel enclosures should be placed in a Styrofoam cooler for travel during cooler
weather. If container is too large for cooler, warm vehicle and quickly place tub I
inside vehicle. Extreme weather conditions should be considered when working with
any amphibian.
NOTES:
Guests should never be allowed to touch amphibians. In general, amphibians breath
through tiny pores in their skin. Oils on human skin have the potential of clogging
these pores.
AFRICAN BULLFROG
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Anura Family: Ranidae
Pyxicephalus adsperus
Description: The African Bullfrog is one of the largest frogs in Africa.
Length: 4-9 inches
Weight: 3 pounds
Habitat: Near waterways, rivers, streams, and other wet spots in open country or arid and semiarid areas
Distribution: Throughout Central, Eastern, and South Africa.
Diet: The African bullfrog will eat almost anything that it can fit into its mouth. This includes insects, small
fish, mice, and even small birds. It may even eat lizards or other frogs, if it can overpower them. It is also
known to eat poisonous snakes such as the spitting cobra.
Life Span: 40 years
Status: Least Concern
Special Characteristics:
• It has a chubby round body and big broad head, with a large mouth.
• Its front feet have short blunt toes, with no webbing, while its hind legs are strong and are used to dig holes where
it hides itself. Its hind feet are webbed.
• Juveniles have several yellowish stripes on their backs, which fade as they mature. This coloring allowed the bullfrog to blend into its surroundings and lie in wait for its prey undetected.
• They don't have teeth, but their strong jaws are lined with points like a saw blade which are also used to fight off
predators.
• It will swell up its body to make itself look even bigger and more intimidating. Its aggressive behavior and a tendency to defend itself by attacking intruders with mouth agape can often protect it from predators such as larger wading birds, pelicans, Nile monitor lizards, driver ants, mammals, and even humans (who consider this bullfrog a delicacy to eat).
• During the dry season the African bullfrog hibernates underground for up to 10 months or even as long as 2 years.
It is protected by the mud it has burrowed into, as well as a mucous cocoon which becomes hard once it dries. When
the rainy season returns, the rains seep into the ground and soften the cocoon, allowing the bullfrog within to free itself
and emerge from the mud.
• It spends much of its time either sitting quietly or burrowed partly into the mud near watering holes or other wet
areas, hidden from its prey by the mud. It waits until something appealing wanders close enough to its hiding place,
and then lunges out to grab its victim.
• Since they cannot swallow, they used their forelimbs, tongue and eyeballs to push their food down their throat.
• When not hunting the bullfrog will just spend its time sitting in puddles or in shallower water.
• The African bullfrog has a good sense of smell, hearing and sight.
• Bullfrogs use their loud, roaring bellow calls to locate one another, especially during mating season.
Reproduction:
• During the short rainy season, the frogs quickly find mates. Then each female lays as many as 4000 eggs in a
muddy pool.
• In just two days, the eggs hatch into tadpoles.
• The males will stay around the tadpoles to protect them from predators. They will even dig canals between
puddles to keep them from drying out.
• In less than three weeks, the tadpoles become little adults. Then they make hogs of themselves, gobbling prey until
the rains stop.
• They mature at 1 ½ to 3 years but it takes 20 years to reach their full size.
Education Animal
Handling Policy
African Hedgehog
House Name: Spike and Chester
Birth Date:
2009
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
Leather gloves
Animal Restraint:
Hold animal with both hands in a cupped manor with thumbs and indexes over the
top of the animal.
Animal Presentation: Hedgehogs should be presented using both hands cupped with large groups. For
smaller groups the hedgehog can be placed on the floor with students sitting on the
floor forming a circle. Immediately have public use hand sanitizer after touching the
hedgehog. Still advise them to use soap and water after the presentation.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Hissing, clicking
tightly balled up
Travel Enclosure:
Pet carrier
Bedding:
Bedding from their enclosure
Special:
Mammals must be provided with water sometime during travel if they will be off zoo
grounds for longer than 3 hours. Extreme weather conditions should be considered
NOTES:
Do not put them on any public surfaces because they can shed Salmonella.
Advise public to wash hands after touching.
Wash Stations:
Kids Country, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum entrance.
Travel Logistics
EAST AFRICAN HEDGEHOG
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Insectivora Family: Erinaceidae
Atelerix albiventris
Description: The African Hedgehog, also called the Four-toed Hedgehog, is smaller than the European
hedgehog. They are covered dorsally with a uniform coat of spines which have alternate light and dark rings.
Cream colored fur surrounds the face and covers the ventral surface and flanks. Ears are broad and roundish.
Size: 5-8 inches
Weight: ½ - 1 ¼ pound
Habitat: Savannahs and semi-arid zones
Range: Northern half of Africa from Senegal to Somalia and Tanzania
Diet: Omnivorous. They eat insects and other small invertebrates, small vertebrates, carrion, and some
vegetation.
Lifespan: 10 years
Status: Least Concern
Special Characteristics:
• They have 5 toes on the front feet but only 4 toes on the hind foot.
• Hedgehog quills are not barbed or poisonous. However, hedgehogs will apply a foamy saliva to their quills
which may serve many purposes: an irritant to predators, a natural insect repellent since they are unable to
clean their skin well, or an attractant to potential mates. Also, when encountering a new or strong smell or
substance they will often lick the substance, produce the foamy saliva, and apply it to all or part of their
quills. This is called self-anointing.
• Hedgehogs are very resistant to insect toxins, chemical poisons, and snake venom.
• They are primarily nocturnal, using their excellent senses of hearing and smell to hunt at night.
• They eat 1/3 of their body weight each night.
• When frightened, they can roll up into a tight ball and look very much like a sea urchin. They roll up by
tightening a large, flat muscle called the mantle that stretches from head to tail.
• They have a short, stubby tail, but this is rarely seen since they keep it tucked up close their bodies.
• They have a quiet, gentle disposition.
• When the desert gets really hot, their food supply goes underground. Estivation, or sleeping through the
hottest part of summer, keeps the hedgehog alive.
• Hedgehogs are solitary animals. When two hedgehogs meet they growl and snort at each other, and butt
heads.
• Because they are not a rodent, they have no body odor.
• Large owls and raptors with well-protected feet and sharp claws are some of the only natural enemies of
hedgehogs. The natives use their skin or spines as fertility charms.
Reproduction:
• Sexual maturity 1-2 years
• Gestation 35-37 days.
• Hedgehogs give birth to one to seven babies which are born with the spines just below the skin. Spines
start to appear within 24 hours.
• The young are born blind and open their eyes in 14 days.
Education Animal
Handling Policy
Prehensile-tailed Skink
House Name: Tiny (female)
Birth Date:
2004
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
None required
Animal Presentation: Skink should be displayed on the PVC sleeve. Head should be facing you going up
the arm. Place other hand on shoulders and apply slight pressure.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
flighty movements, clawing (trying to get away)
labored breathing
Travel Logistics
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
Crate
Towel
Travel enclosures must be placed in a Styrofoam cooler for travel during cooler
weather. Warming the vehicle is also recommended before placing the animal in it
for travel. Extreme weather conditions should be considered when working with any
reptile.
NOTES:
Guests should be reminded to wash their hands after touching this or any other
reptile. Reptiles can carry the salmonella bacteria and all should be treated as such.
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Visitor Experience:
Handler must be near a wash station before allowing guests to touch this animal
while on grounds. Handler must remind guests to wash hands after touching this
animal. Never set a reptile on public railings, tables, benches, etc.
Wash Stations:
Kids Country, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum entrance.
PREHENSILE-TAILED SKINK
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Family: Scinidae
Corucia zebrata
Description: Known by many other names such as Giant skink, Solomon Island skink, monkey-tail skink, it is
the largest of the skinks
Size: 32 inches in length
Weight: 14-28 ounces
Habitat: Tropical rainforests
Distribution: Solomon Islands
Diet: Herbivorous
Life Span: 7-9 years in the wild and 20 in captivity
Status: although it is not currently listed on the IUCN there is concern due to deforestation
Special Characteristics:
• Spends little time on the ground
• Nocturnal, they hide in tree cavities during the day.
• Its large powerful claws and long prehensile tail enable it to cling to trees.
• This tail acts like an extra appendage, allowing the skink to climb and hang on to trees. The tail makes up
half of the body length.
• It is usually found in the oldest trees in primary forests.
• The skin of the prehensile-tailed skink is smoother and shinier than any other lizard’s and the scales are
smooth, flat, and overlapping.
• The body of the prehensile-tailed skink ranges in color from dark green to almost black. Black, yellow, and
shades of green decorate the back, tail, and belly in random spots or stripes. These color patterns and slow
movement help camouflage the prehensile-tailed skink from its enemies.
• Unlike other lizards, the prehensile-tailed skink does not have the ability to regenerate its tail should it break
off when caught by predators.
• The strong jaws and short tongue aid in grasping its prey.
• Individuals are identified by smell
• One of the few reptiles that lives in a social group called a circulus.
• Territorial disputes erupt between males.
Reproduction:
• The prehensile-tailed skink is ovoviviparous–meaning the female produces an egg that is retained within the
mother's body until it is ready to hatch after 6-7 months.
• Usually a single birth.
• The baby is 6-9 in. long and stays with the mother for about 6 months after birth.
• The father will also defend the baby–something unusual in the reptile world.
• Mature at 3 years old.
Education Animal Handling Policy
Sugar Glider
House Name & Birth Date:
Gizmo (m) - 2/20/08
Bonzer (m), Bloke (m), Lolly (f), Mathilda (f) - 1/01/2011
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
Lightweight leather gloves
Animal Restraint:
Sugar gliders should be restrained with great care. They should be resting on one
hand with their head between index and middle finder and the thumb and ring finger
directly behind their forelimbs.
Animal Presentation: Sugar gliders should be displayed in hands whenever possible. Letting them rest on
your upper chest is allowed. However, do not allow them to crawl up and down your
body. Never let them climb into hair or on backs. This is a non-touchable animal
with groups larger than 30 individuals.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Continually biting
Flighty movements (continual movements to get away)
Labored breathing
Travel Enclosure:
Travel Logistics
Pouch from their permanent enclosure in a plastic aquarium or Neodesha.
Bedding:
Pouch will serve as the bedding
Special:
Mammals must be provided with water sometime during travel if they will be off zoo
grounds for longer than 3 hours. Extreme weather conditions should be considered
NOTES:
One volunteer/staff person will work with animals one at a time. The animal
currently being held must be properly secured in its enclosure, travel or permanent,
before handling another animal.
Visitor Experience:
Sugargliders are not to be used in open areas. Only enclosed areas such as the
Museum Lobby or Discovery are allowed
Wash Stations:
Kids Country, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum entrance.
SUGAR GLIDER
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Diprotodontia, Family: Petauridae
Petaurus breviceps
Description: Sugar Gliders are one of over 240 species of marsupials and one of ten species in the Petrauridae family.
Size: 5-7 inches from nose to tip of tail
Weight: 3-4 oz.
Habitat: Forests of all types
Range: Indonesia, New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia
Diet: omnivorous, especially found of the sweet sap which can be found in the eucalyptus tree. Their diet also includes
pollen, nectar, insects and their larvae, arachnids, and small vertebrates
Lifespan: 14 yrs in captivity
Status: Least concern
Special Characteristics:
• Most are grayish in color, with well-defined black stripes from eye to ear, and nose to rump. The underbelly is white
or off-white, without stripes. The gliding membrane, or patagium, usually has a "normal" amount of fur on the
dorsal side, and on the underside a small amount of finer hair. When not in use, the patagium typically looks like a
wavy line along the sides of the glider.
• The patagium allows the glider to glide in the air in a horizontal fashion (rather than acting as a parachute to soften a
vertical descent) for up to 55 yards.
• The long tail is used as a rudder to steer when gliding.
• Gliders have scent glands in multiple places on the body, including the: forepaws, hind paws, chest, forehead, anal
region, inside of the ears, and mouth. The glands most commonly used for group recognition are the forehead and
chest glands, and the mouth and paw glands are mostly used for territory marking.
• If the weather in a particular area ever becomes too cold or there are long periods of food scarcity, sugar gliders are
able to fall into a state of brief hibernation.
• Arboreal and nocturnal they make their homes in the hollows of trees.
• Live in groups of 7-12 individuals. The members of the group are both male and female, and may or may not be related.
• There is usually one dominant male in each colony of sugar gliders, who is responsible for most of the marking of
the territory and the group
• Gliders use scent as a means of colony recognition and communication. By scent alone, gliders can distinguish nongroup members, and also the condition of the other glider.
• By sleeping in the same tree hollow, the group members' individual scents mingle, making a distinct "group scent".
• Sugar gliders can also communicate through the variety of sounds they can produce, such as an alarm call which
sounds like the barking of a small dog. The territory size of a colony of sugar gliders is around 2.5 acres.
Reproduction:
• Female gliders come into estrous every 29 days, and become ready to mate again about 12 days after a joey leaves
the pouch permanently.
• Sexual maturity in sugar gliders occurs late in the first year of life for females and early in the second year for males.
• Reproduction occurs in the wild only in the warmer months when insects are plentiful.
• Non-monogamous, with both males and females seeking out multiple partners
• Most wild gliders will have one litter a year, but occasionally two. Litters in the wild usually consist of only one
joey.
• Gestation usually lasts around 16 days, the baby weighs about 0.19 grams at birth.
• The joey will use its forepaws to climb to the mother's pouch, using gravity as a means of navigation. The young
first leaves the pouch after 70 days, and after about 111 days, they leave the nest and become independent shortly
thereafter.
Education Animal Handling Policy
Gopher Snake
House Name: Carl
Birth Date:
July 2001
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
None required
Animal Restraint:
Grab snake behind head gently but firm. Fingers should be positioned on the two
sides of its head during restraint instead of above and below. With other hand
holding snake body for support.
Animal Presentation: Snakes should be held with the head directed away from guests. Animal handlers
should keep one of their hands no further than 1/4 of the body length away from the
head. This will allow some free movement for the snake to keep it more relaxed, yet
does not allow it freedom to strike any great distance. Guests may touch the lower
back. Do not allow guests to touch the head or be within striking distance of the
head.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
flighty movements (trying to get away)
labored breathing
hissing or striking
hiding
Travel Logistics
Styrofoam Box
Place the snake in a pillow case that is large enough for you to tie it shut. Place the
pillow case in the Styrofoam box.
Since reptiles are ectotherms, extreme weather conditions should be considered when
taking them on programs. In addition, this bull snake is rather active. Handlers will
want to get the snake out a little before they bring it out to the group so it can calm
down a bit if possible.
NOTES:
Guests should be reminded to wash their hands after touching this or any other rep
tile. Reptiles can carry the salmonella bacteria and all should be treated as such.
Visitor Experience:
Handler must be near a wash station before allowing guests to touch this animal
while on grounds. Handler must remind guests to wash hands after touching this
animal. Never set a reptile on public railings, tables, benches, etc.
Wash Stations:
Kids Country, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum entrance.
Gopher Snake
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Order Squamata Family Colubridae
Pituophis catenifer
Description: Also known as the bull or pine snake, it is one of the largest snake species in the United States.
Size: 5 foot average, may exceed 9 feet. Males are generally larger than females.
Weight: 2-4 pounds
Habitat: Open grasslands, woodlands, brushlands and farmlands, prairies, semi-desert areas
Distribution: Predominantly Central United States, from southern Canada to north eastern Mexico
Diet: Mice, rats, rabbits, ground squirrels, gophers, prairie dogs, ground nesting birds, bird eggs
Life Span: 16-20 years
Status: Common
Special Characteristics:
• Non-venomous
• Becoming aggressive when threatened, they will lift up their heads, hiss and shake their tail to imitate a
rattlesnake.
• Each snake has a unique pattern on its head making identification of individual snakes possible.
• Slow moving
• Colors include yellowish-brown (with 41 or more reddish-brown to black body blotches), cream and
brown, and an albino variety with red eyes. Tail is boldly marked with bands of black or dark brown with
tan.
• Considered a beneficial snake due to the large numbers of rodents that they eat.
• Usually hunts in morning or evenings. In the heat of the summer they are most active at night.
• Can live several months without food.
• Will seize prey in mouth and constrict if it is a large prey.
• They are good climbers and swimmers.
• During cold winters they will hibernate in communal dens.
Reproduction:.
• After reaching sexual maturity at the age of three years, mating occurs after emerging from hibernation in
the spring.
• On average, the female produces clutches of 3 to 12 leathery eggs, but may produce as many as 20 eggs.
• The female leaves the clutch and the eggs hatch 60 to 70 days after they are laid. The babies are 12 to 18
inches long.
Education Animal Handling Policy
Common King Snake
House Name: Tanner
Birth Date:
April 2003
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
None required
Animal Restraint:
Grab snake behind head gently but firmly. With other hand hold snake body for
support.
Animal Presentation: Snakes should be held with the head directed away from guests. Animal handlers
should keep one of their hands no further than 1/4 of the body length away from the
head. This will allow some free movement for the snake to keep it more relaxed, yet
does not allow it freedom to strike any great distance. Guests may touch the lower
back. Do not allow guests to touch the head or be within striking distance of the
head.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
NOTES:
flighty movements (trying to get away)
labored breathing
hissing or striking
hiding
Travel Logistics
Styrofoam Box
Place the snake in a pillow case that is large enough for you to tie it shut. Place the
pillow case in the Styrofoam box.
Since reptiles are ectotherms, extreme weather conditions should be considered when
taking them on programs.
Guests should be reminded to wash their hands after touching this or any other rep
tile. Reptiles can carry the salmonella bacteria and all should be treated as such.
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Visitor Experience:
Handler must be near a wash station before allowing guests to touch this animal
while on grounds. Handler must remind guests to wash hands after touching this
animal. Never set a reptile on public railings, tables, benches, etc.
Wash Stations:
Kids Country, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum entrance.
Common King Snake
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Order Squamata Family Colubridae
Lampropeltis getulus
Description: There are 7 to 10 subspecies of the common king snake. They benefit the human population by
controlling rodent and frog populations, and by killing other snakes such as rattlesnakes and cottonmouths. .
Size: 3 to 6 feet long
Weight: Up to 3 pounds
Habitat: Grasslands, woodlands, farmlands, forests, marshes, valleys, deserts, river bottoms
Range: North America from Atlantic to Pacific coasts
Diet: Small mammals, lizards, birds and their eggs, small turtles, turtle eggs, frogs and other snakes
Life Span: Up to 30 years
Status: Not generally considered endangered; listed under the State Special Concern category by the
Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Special Characteristics:
• Non-venomous constrictor
• Diurnal (active during the daytime, rests at night), nocturnal in the heat of the summer
• Terrestrial, but excellent swimmers and climbers
• Natural immunity to venom of cottonmouths, rattlesnakes, copperheads and other North American pit
vipers
• Black head, body and tail speckled with a profusion of yellow, cream or white spots
• Constrictor
• Gives off a smelly musk when alarmed, may also bite
• Vibrates tail and may sound like a rattlesnake if in dry leaves or grass
Reproduction:
• Sexually mature at 3 to 4 years.
• The female produces clutches of 2 to 24 eggs between May and August.
• The eggs hatch 47 to 81 days.
• The babies are 8 to 13 inches long.
Education Animal
Handling Policy
Domestic Ferret/European Polecat
House Name & Birth Date:
Izzy
Teddy
June 25, 2009
May 1, 2009
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
Gloves
Animal Restraint:
Hold animal with both hands in a cupped manor with thumbs and indexes over the
shoulders of the animal. These two fingers should be in front of its front legs.
Animal Presentation: Ferret can be presented in multiple ways. First, they may be presented using both
hands cupped side-by-side extended toward the audience. Keep one or more fingers
on or near their back for quick restraint if needed. The other way to present them is
to cross your arms and keep them flat against your body. The ferret may then rest or
move about along your arms.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
Flighty movements (frantic movements)
Begin to nibble/bite handler
Travel Logistics
Pet carrier
The towel from their enclosure
Mammals must be provided with water sometime during travel if they will be off zoo
grounds for longer than 3 hours.
NOTES:
If the ferret(s) are in a position that makes them hard to get to in their enclosure, grab
the entire box or item that they are in and move it to an easily accessible area in their
enclosure.
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Visitor Experience:
Generally speaking this is a touchable animal. Handler must be near a wash
station before allowing guests to touch this animal while on grounds. Handler must
remind guests to wash hands after touching this animal.
Wash Stations:
Kids Country, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum entrance.
FERRET
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Carnivora, Family Mustelidae,
Mustela putorius furo
Description: Domestic ferrets were first bred from the wild at least 2,500 years ago. For hundreds of years
the main use of ferrets was for hunting, or ferreting. They became popular as pets in the 1970’s. In the U.S.,
ferrets rank third in popularity as pets, behind only dogs and cats.
Size: Ferrets have bodies of 15 to 18 inches long, with tails of 5 to 6 inches.
Weight: They weigh about one pound.
Habitat: Ferrets in the wild were found in temperate grasslands.
Range: The black-footed ferret was originally found from Southwestern Canada to Northern Texas.
Diet: Prairie dogs, mice, ground squirrels and other small animals.
Life Span: Ferrets can live up to 18 years, but the average life span is 8
Status: Ferrets are kept as pets, and are in plentiful supply. The Black-footed Ferret was considered extinct
in the wild by 1987, but has since been re-introduced in several areas.
Special Characteristics:
• Domestic ferrets are descended from the European Polecat and related to weasels.
• Ferrets are still used for hunting (called ferreting) in some countries, including the United Kingdom and
Australia, where rabbits are considered a nuisance. Caesar Augustus sent ferrets to the Balearic Islands to control the rabbit plagues in 6 B.C.
• From 1860 until the start of World War II, ferrets were used to protect grain stores from rodents.
• Ferrets spend 14 to 18 hours a day sleeping. They are “crepuscular”, meaning they are most active during
dawn and dusk.
• NASA has used ferrets to run wires and cables through large conduits. They quit using them because they
have a tendency to stop in the middle to take a nap.
• Since ferrets share many anatomical and physiological features with humans, ferrets are also used extensively in biomedical research.
• Like many carnivores, ferrets have scent sacs near their anus. Secretions from these are used in scent
marking. Like a skunk, a ferret can release this scent when startled or scared
• Male ferrets are called hobs, females are jills, young are called kits, and a group of ferrets is known as a
business.
• Ferrets are skillful climbers and good swimmers.
Reproduction:
• Both males and females mature at one year of age.
• Ferrets usually mate in March and early April.
• In about 45 days the female bears 6 to 8 young.
• In the wild, ferret kits are born in an enlarged prairie dog burrow. They live there about three months, then
separate from their mother about 3 months later.
Education Animal
Handling Policy
Armadillo
House Name & Birth Date:
John Deere (JD)
2/10/2010
Handling Guidelines
Handling Attire:
None
Animal Restraint:
Hold outer edge watching your fingers near the open. Can pinch if snaps shuts.
Animal Presentation: People may touch the back. DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO TAP ON ARMOR!
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Flight, rolling into tight ball.
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
Travel Logistics
Ice chest with holes in lid.
The towel from their enclosure
Mammals must be provided with water sometime during travel if they will be off zoo
grounds for longer than 3 hours.
NOTES:
Very susceptible to cold
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Visitor Experience:
Generally speaking this is a touchable animal. Handler must be near a wash
station before allowing guests to touch this animal while on grounds. Handler must
remind guests to wash hands after touching this animal.
Wash Stations:
Kids Country, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum entrance.
Southern Three-Banded Armadillo
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cingulata Family: Dasypodidae
Tolypeutes matacus
Description: Armadillo is a Spanish word meaning “little armored one”. Closely related to anteaters and sloths, armadillos generally have a pointy or shovel-shaped snout and small eyes.
Size: 12-14” in length and the Tail 3”
Weight: 3 pounds
Habitat: Plains and grasslands
Distribution: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay
Diet: Feeds on beetles, ants, termites and fruit
Life Span: 12-15 years
Status: Near Threatened due to overhunting for their meat and white fat
Special Characteristics:
• The armor is formed by plates of dermal bone covered in relatively small, overlapping epidermal scales called "scutes", composed of bone with a covering of keratin.
• The thick armor regulates the body temperature by trapping a layer of air that insulates keeping it warm in the cool night and
helps it retain body moisture.
• The bands are separated by flexible skin covering the back and flanks.
• When they feel threatened they roll into a ball to protect the soft underparts, leaving only a very small opening between shell
edges. If the animal is prodded through the opening, it quickly snaps fully shut like a steel trap
• The three-banded armadillo is the only armadillo that will close into a complete ball.
• The large front and rear portions of the shell are not attached to the skin on the sides, providing ample free space to fit the head,
legs and tail into the shell when the animals are rolled up.
• Strong legs and huge front claws are used for digging, and long, sticky tongues for extracting ants and termites from their tunnels.
• They walk on the tips of their foreclaws, even when they are running, while they walk on the soles of their hindfeet.
• A baby three-banded armadillo is called a 'pup'. The females are called 'zed' and males 'lister'. A group is called a 'fez'
• They mark their territory with scent secretions from glands on its face, feet and rump.
• Armadillo headplates are unique to each armadillo, like human fingerprints.
• They have poor vision but an excellent sense of smell.
• Mainly nocturnal, but can be active during the day.
• Solitary
• They have the ability to remain underwater for as long as six minutes. Because of the density of its armor, an armadillo will sink
in water unless it inflates its stomach and intestines with air, which often doubles its size and allows it to swim across narrow bodies
of water.
• Does not dig burrows but uses those built by other species
• Sleeps 16 hours a day.
• Because of their low metabolic rate and lack of fat stores, cold is their enemy, and periods of intemperate weather can wipe out
whole populations.
Reproduction:
• Gestation period is about 120 days.
• The single pup is generally born between November and January.
• The pups are born fully formed, resembling miniature adults, and can walk and roll into a ball immediately from birth.
• The shell hardens after a few days of birth.
• Pups are weaned at 55 days, and are sexually mature at 9 - 12 months.
Education Animal Handling Policy
Virginia Opossum
House Name:
Dot (pink on ears) and Dash (solid ears)
Handling Attire:
Handling Guidelines
Thick, long cuffed gloves
Animal Restraint:
April 1, 2013
Virginia opossums must wear harnesses at all times during public encounters. In
addition, opossums may be restrained by resting them on one of the handler’s hand
with the other grasping right above the shoulder blades firmly with thumb and index
finger.
Animal Presentation: Virginia opossums need to be displayed in hands or walking with leash and harness
at all times. Do not allow them to crawl up and down your body. Never let them
climb into hair or on backs. Walking with leash and harness should only be resorted
to if every program participant has seen it or if engaged in general guest interaction.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals. The only direct contact they may have is touching those
animals deemed appropriate by Zoo Staff. You go through special training to
have this opportunity.
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
Mouth open for an extended period of time
Continual biting
Flighty movements (continual movements to get away)
Labored breathing
Opossums only play dead in extreme situations. This should never be the case when
trained handlers are with the opossum.
Travel Logistics
Pet Taxi (Be sure that when in holding, people do not have access to the Pet Taxi.)
Towel
Mammals must be provided with water sometime during travel if they will be off zoo
grounds for longer than 3 hours. Extreme weather conditions should be considered.
NOTES:
One volunteer/staff person will work with animals one at a time. The animal
currently being held must be properly secured in its enclosure, travel or permanent,
before handling another animal.
Visitor Experience:
This is a NON-TOUCHABLE animal during Animal Encounters. A walking harness
should be used. Position yourself in a grassy area so guests cannot walk up behind
you.
Wash Stations:
NON-TOUCHABLE
Virginia Opossum
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Marsupialiaa Family: Didelphidae
Didelphis virginiana
Description: About the size of a house cat, the Virginia Opossum has short legs, an opposable big toe
without a claw, a long pointy nose, hairless ears and a scaly prehensile tail.
Size: 15-20 inches
Weight: 9-13 pounds
Habitat: Terrestrial and arboreal, it lives in all areas but prefers wooded land.
Distribution: United States east of the Rocky Mountains and along the coast west of the Rockies from
British Columbia, Canada into Mexico and Central America as far south as Costa Rica.
Diet: Fruit, insects, eggs and small vertebrates.
Life Span: 1-3 years in the wild and 5-7 in captivity.
Status: Common
Special Characteristics:
• The Virginia Opossum is the only pouched mammal (marsupial) in North America.
• Its fur is long and gray or brown with numerous white guard hairs throughout.
• The tail is used as a fifth hand for gripping and carrying objects and for keeping their balance, but they
cannot actually hang upside down with it.
• With 50 sharp teeth, they can be fierce fighters if cornered.
• Opossums have the ability to play dead for up to 4 hours. During this time, the opossum will breathe
slowly, stiffen, emit the smell of death, and even drool to fool predators. Most of their predators will loose
interest and walk away.
• Solitary, slow moving and nocturnal
• They build nests out of leaves packed into tree hollows.
• They are resistant to snake bites.
• Due to a low internal body temperature they are resistant to rabies.
• They have an inquisitive nature and are intelligent.
Good hearing, night vision and sense of smell.
Reproduction:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gestation 13 days when the young will crawl into the pouch.
Can carry 7-13 babies in her pouch.
The joeys are carried and nursed in the mother Opossum's pouch for about 70 days. Then for another 1-2
months, they are carried on her back whenever they are away from their den or shelter.
When traveling, the kids hang on the fur with all four little hands and at the same time wrap their tails
around mom's tail.
At 4 months they are on their own.
Can have a litter twice a year.
Education Animal
Handling Policy
Chinchilla
House Name:
Birth Date:
Fernando
9/10/2010
Handling Attire:
Gloves
Animal Restraint:
Hold animal with a firm yet gentle grip on the base of the tail. Ribs are very fragile
and can crush easily!
Handling Guidelines
Animal Presentation: Present with back to people. May gently pet tail only.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to handle animals.
Signs of Stress:
Squirmy and biting.
Travel Logistics
Travel Enclosure:
Pet Taxi
Bedding:
Newspaper or towel
Special:
Chinchillas are very sensitive to high temperatures and may suffer severely from heat
stress. 80 degrees is uncomfortable, temperatures over 90 could kill a chinchilla.
Cold is not a problem, as long as it's above freezing.
NOTES:
One volunteer/staff person will work with animals one at a time. The animal
currently being held must be properly secured in its enclosure, travel or permanent,
before handling another animal.
On Grounds Animal Encounters
Visitor Experience:
Handler must be near a wash station before allowing guests to touch this animal
while on grounds. Handler must remind guests to wash hands after touching this
animal. Handlers must learn fact sheet information for this animal.
Wash Stations:
Kids Country, Giraffe Station (including Restroom 2), Zoo Entrance (Restroom 1),
Museum entrance.
CHINCHILLA
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Chinchillidae
Chinchilla lanigera
Description: Chinchillas are prized for their fur which is so dense and thick that fleas cannot penetrate it.
Size: 14-15 inches, Tail 3-6 inches
Weight: up to 2 pounds.
Habitat: above 16,000 feet
Distribution: Andes mountains of Chile
Diet: plants, fruit, seeds and small insects.
Life Span: 20 years captivity, 10 years wild
Status: Vulnerable. The chinchilla had been hunted almost to extinction in the wild but is currently on the rebound due to protection laws. It’s raised commercially for fur around the world, although international trade of
wild chinchillas is restricted by CITES.
Special Characteristics:
• Chinchilla fur is at least one inch deep and is dense because 60 to 80 hairs grow from each follicle. It has
more hair per square inch than any other mammal. Strands are so fine they are virtually invisible to the naked
eye. It is 30 times softer than human hair
• Regular dust baths are necessary to remove oil from the fur.
• It takes 150 pelts to make a full-length coat.
• Colonies live in holes, crevices or burrows between rocks.
• Family groups within the colony usually consist of 2-5 members. These small groups are called herds.
• Mainly active at night but likes to bask in the morning and late afternoon sun.
• They get all the moisture it needs from the vegetation it eats since there are few sources of water.
• They bond for life and the female, which is bigger, is aggressive towards the male during breeding season.
• To survive, they use a variety of defenses including spraying their enemy with urine and the ability to shed
clumps of fur onto which the enemy has latched.
• They are agile jumpers and can jump 5 feet above their head.
• Chinchillas make a variety of sounds. The most common is a "barking" sound that they make to indicate
that they're scared and to warn other chinchillas of danger.
• Chinchillas were first bred in captivity at the end of the 19th century, but it was not until 1920 that
commercial breeding began.
Reproduction:
• Gestation is 3 ½ months
• Can have up to 3 litters per year, but usually only 2
• Litter size is usually 1-2
• At birth the young are fully furred and have open eyes and a full set of 20 teeth. They eat solid food within 2
days of birth.
• Weaned at 6 weeks.
Education Animal Handling Policy
Emperor Scorpion
House Name:
#1,
October 29, 2012
Handling Attire:
Gloves
Animal Restraint:
Scorpion will sit quietly on hand.
Handling Guidelines
Animal Presentation: Scorpions need to be displayed sitting on gloved hand. Do not allow them to crawl
up and down your arm.
Under NO circumstance should program participants or zoo guests be allowed
to touch or to handle animals. This is a NO TOUCH animal
Signs of Stress:
Travel Enclosure:
Bedding:
Special:
Standing up on puffed out legs.
Tail curled tightly over the back.
Travel Logistics
Small plastic container with lid
Soil, same as their enclosure
Keep out of direct sunlight.
NOTES:
One volunteer/staff person will work with animals one at a time only. The animal
currently being held must be properly secured in its enclosure, travel or permanent,
before handling another animal.
Visitor Experience:
This is a NON-TOUCHABLE animal during Animal Encounters.
Wash Stations:
NON-TOUCHABLE
Emperor Scorpion
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Arachnida Order: Scorpiones Family: Scorpionidae
Pandinus imperator
Description: Although not the longest, the Emperor Scorpion is the largest of the scorpions and has a dark
body ranging from dark blue/green through brown to black.
Size: 6-8 inches
Weight: 2 ounces
Habitat: Tropical forests and open savannas
Distribution: West Africa
Diet: Insects, arachnids, mice and small lizards
Life Span: 5-8 years
Status: The emperor scorpion is threatened by over-collection for the pet trade, and by continuing destruction
of its habitat through deforestation
Special Characteristics:
• Has poor eyesight but uses sensory hairs that cover the pincers and tail which enable the scorpion to detect
prey through air and ground vibrations.
• Fluoresces greenish-blue under ultraviolet light.
• The front part of the body consists of 4 sections, each with a pair of legs. Behind the fourth pair of legs are
comb-like structures that are used to sense the texture that are longer in males.
• The long tail curves over the body ending in a large receptacle called the telson containing the venom
gland.
• They use the pincers to kill and manipulate prey, reserving the sting for larger prey or for use in selfdefense.
• They burrow into termite mounds, beneath the soil and hide beneath rocks and debris.
• Scorpions have existed for over 300 million years and have remained relatively unchanged.
• Nocturnal, they are very sensitive to light and sudden illumination.
They are social and have been found in colonies of up to 15 individuals.
Reproduction:
The emperor scorpion engages in an elaborate courtship dance in which the male holds on to the female’s pincers and moves around to find a suitable place on the ground to deposit his spermatophore. Once deposited, he
maneuvers the female over the area so she can receive the sperm.
• Gestation is 7-9 months.
• Ovoviviparous, the female gives birth to 9-32 live offspring.
• The young climb on the mother’s back and remain there until the first molt.
• The young are born white and will darken with each molt.
• Mature after 6-7 molts which can take several years..
• Mother emperor scorpions have been known to have cannibalistic tendencies and sometimes eat their young
in times of food shortages.
Animal Bite Protocol
The trainer should remind the handler that animals can be unpredictable. Although all of the animals in the
Education Animal Collection have been trained to be handled by qualified staff and volunteers, they have
the potential to scratch or bite if scared, angry or handled improperly. The trainer should remind the
handler that, “Any animal with a mouth can bite.” And if the handler ever gets asked if the animal they are
handling bites, the correct response is, “Any animal with a mouth can bite. Even though these animals
have been handled a lot they do have the potential to bite which is why we ask that you do not allow their
heads to be touched and keep the mouth directed away from the guest.
If an animal bites:
1. If the animal bites the handler they should calmly and quickly put the animal back into the carrier and/
or holding. Then they must contact the Volunteer Department immediately and assess the need for first
aid. The volunteer staff will fill out an accident report. If the skin is broken contact the Volunteer
Department who will then immediately get with the Curator staff, veterinarian and head keeper. If this
happens on a weekend and the Volunteer Staff is not on-site, immediately contact the Director of
Operations.
2. If a visitor gets bitten by the animal, the handler will assess if first aid is needed. If it is determined to
need first aid the handler will call a code Medical. The Volunteer and Operations staff will respond
immediately. The accident form will be filled out. If the skin is broken contact the Volunteer
Department who will then immediately get with the Curator staff, veterinarian and head keeper. If this
happens on a weekend and the Volunteer Staff is not on-site, immediately contact the Director of
Operations.
The handler must be aware of the importance of respecting the animal and paying the utmost attention to
the animal. If an education animal bites, and breaks the skin it will be put down and tested for rabies.
Disciplinary Action
Any volunteer who does not follow the Animal Handling rules and policies established by
RHZ may face disciplinary action ranging from a verbal warning to dismissal from the
program. Such actions will be determined by the Director of Education and Volunteer
Manager and/or Curator. Any abusive actions toward any of the animals, staff, or volunteers at
RHZ will result in immediate and permanent dismissal from the Zoo and its programs.
The use of RHZ animals to startle or scare other volunteer/staff members, even if meant
in a playful manner, will NOT be tolerated.