Victorians are lucky when it comes to wildlife shows and displays. They have a huge reange of companies and animal types on display to choose from.
A show can be fun or it can be downright boring. Sometimes this depends on the people watching the show and how interactive it is. But there is one kind of show that seems to keep almost any crowd entralled and that is one that involves animals or wildlife and of almost any kind. As it happens, it doesn't really matter what the animals are, most people like animals and in a live show setting, they will hold the attention of all but the most difficult of audiences. In Melbourne, the snake man Ray Hoser invented the concept of a reptile party, which is why he owns the registered trademark for reptile party. However there are now a range of other kinds of alternative wildlife entertainment options for kids in Melbourne.
These include birds of prey, octopus, possums, Koalas, spiders, Kangaroos, Wallabies and even penguins. The downside of these non-reptile wildlife shows is that they do not have the hands-on aspect of the reptile party shows. While you may be able to pat one or two of the other kinds of animals, you will not be allowed to hold the animals in the same way that you can with the reptile show. At a good reptile party, every child can hold a reptile at the same time. No one gets bored. the kids are all thoroughly engaged!
You will never see 20 kids holding 20 parrots at the same time at a kids party, no matter how tame the birds are. A typical reptile show or kids reptile party lasts for between an hour to an hour and a half, but there are lots of variables which determine the ultimate time frame of the event. But no matter how long the party or show takes, you wil generally find the kids will be mesmerized and enthralled throughout. In fact the biggest problem for the reptile handler is getting the animals back off the kids at the end!
The most common question handlers get is, can I keep the snake?
Few other entertainment or show options will keep the children (or adults for that matter) as entertained as a snake or reptile show. This also explains why reptiles at adult parties are also popular. You see them at 21sts, 20th parties and the like. Also they are good clean fun and rarely offend anyone!
It is also worth noting that not all reptile shows are alike. In Melbourne, only one venomous snake show is guaranteed safe and this is the snake man's. This is because only the snake man has the expertise to have vet certified surgically devenomized snakes, meaning that there is no risk of a venomous snake bite to either handler or spectator. We call these snakes venomoid, or venomoids if talking about more than one.
The added advantage is for the snake's welfare. None are attacked with metal sticks or brutal, bone-breaking tongs and instead are handled by hand, which is ultimately the most pleasant way for the snake to be handled. Of course if you see a snake handler free-handling a venomous snake at a display, it is wise to assume that the snake is either devenomized, or the handler is probably an idiot.
Yes, there is a long line of so-called professional snake handlers and alleged reptile experts who have been killed by their pet snakes.
Many have died doing public displays or snake shows. However the snake man, Ray Hoser and his company, reptile parties, have an unmatched perfect safety record spanning more than 50 years!
Even if you live in Victoria or elsewhere in Australia and are a long way from Melbourne, chances are you have a large number of choices for reptile shows or other forms of animal show.
Besides local snake wranglers, there are always entertainers and wildlife handlers who will travel into the bush, even though they may charge you more than their usual rate to do so.
Of course, if a wildlife show is not available, you can always go with a staple such as a jumping castle, animal farm or a clown. But these days the choice is far wider and may include bowling, rock climbing, laser tag skirmish, limo rides and other very different themes to parties or shows. In fact you may even want a puppy party! We can't tell you what happens at one of these as we haven't yet seen one in action. But if it means cleaning up lotsw of dog poo, they may not be such a good idea!