What should go on a basic husbandry exam?

[Khrysty]

As some of you may have read, I've finally got means enough to start my leopard gecko surrender/rehab program. One of the requirements for prospective owners wanting to adopt an animal that's been surrendered, and for owners who have entered into the rehab program, is that they must pass a general or basic husbandry exam. I have one written up but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

What do you guys think NEEDS to be on there? And how about the format? Right now the test is in multiple choice but do you think that will make it too simple?


(if you haven't read about it, you should. Let me know if you think I should modify anything. Go to the page marked "surrender/rehab" on my site)

 

[wakeskate420]

temps!!! and heating questions too

 

[M_surinamensis]

if you haven't read about it, you should. Let me know if you think I should modify anything. Go to the page marked "surrender/rehab" on my site

If you are running a legitimate operation, then you should* have all of that information available. Your tax exempt non-profit status identification number as you are soliciting donations, whatever permits and licenses are required to run a rehabilitation facility in your state, proof of your legal standing as an organization that allows you to take ownership of an animal and deny it to its original owner if they request that it be returned.

Important stuff, that distinguishes credible operations from amateur efforts and fly by night for profit donation and flipping scams.

*and in some cases are actually obligated to

 

[Khrysty]

Ah, excellent point. I will get the ball rolling on that and in the mean time take off the donation button.

As for the program itself, there are written contractual agreements involved that will be signed by myself, the former (or current, depending on the program) owners, and a witness before the animal is actually surrendered into our care. Though it isn't notarized, a written contract stands up in court, if it ever came down to that.

 

[M_surinamensis]

Ah, excellent point. I will get the ball rolling on that and in the mean time take off the donation button.

As for the program itself, there are written contractual agreements involved that will be signed by myself, the former (or current, depending on the program) owners, and a witness before the animal is actually surrendered into our care. Though it isn't notarized, a written contract stands up in court, if it ever came down to that.

Good deal, good deal.

As far as the federal government is concerned, you can solicit as many donations as you want but end up having to report them as income unless you have created a designated non-profit organization. They have some requirements about the financial details of the operation being available to the public.

State governments and local laws can be all over the place when it comes to the legality of animal rescue and rehabilitation and the soliciting of donations to support those efforts. Their requirements and criteria are tremendously variable so you definitely want to make sure you're compliant with whatever information disclosure is required to maintain good standing and the rehab status with them as well- whatever they may require.

You seem pretty together about the subject and you mentioned that you had finally launched the project so I kind of assume you're as compliant as you need to be with all the paperwork filed, but people coming across the website without the added context of having seen your posts here won't have the benefit of that additional information.

 

[Khrysty]

Thanks for your help. Do you see anything else I may have overlooked?

 

[M_surinamensis]

The page mentioned some of the paperwork that you use; the surrender agreement, the adoption application but those documents were not something I could find on the site. They'd probably be pretty helpful for anyone who finds you through a web search and is interested in participating in one capacity or the other. I may have overlooked them though, I was kind of glancing and skimming.

 

[Khrysty]

The page mentioned some of the paperwork that you use; the surrender agreement, the adoption application but those documents were not something I could find on the site. They'd probably be pretty helpful for anyone who finds you through a web search and is interested in participating in one capacity or the other. I may have overlooked them though, I was kind of glancing and skimming.

No, those aren't up yet but they will be in the next few days. I'm triple checking the wording of everything before it goes up. When it does the documents will be linked on that page and available for download.

 

[thegeckoguy23]

Try making it a flash player download thing those are very helpful.



Jake

 

[miiike]

I would ask the questions to be answered, not chosen. You can take a lot more away from someone who has to sit down and write out answers than you ever could by looking at a sheet marked A, B, A, D, A.

 

[Stl_Greaser]

You can do some of the questions multiple choice and some of them fill in the blank. Like some of the more important ones should be fill in.(minimum size enclosure, temp gradient, feeding and supplementing). Sounds like a pretty cool thing to do also. Good luck and how far is Moline form St. Louis for when we want an other gecko?

 

[Khrysty]

You can do some of the questions multiple choice and some of them fill in the blank. Like some of the more important ones should be fill in.(minimum size enclosure, temp gradient, feeding and supplementing). Sounds like a pretty cool thing to do also. Good luck and how far is Moline form St. Louis for when we want an other gecko?

St. Louis is about 4 hours away from here. Might be a fun road trip.

 

[Stl_Greaser]

North or south? We will be heading up to Decature for a car show in October. I think the car show we go to used to be in Moline actually! You ever hear of the Hunnert Car Pileup?

 

[Khrysty]

Hah, I'm not sure the direction..you could mapquest it if you wanted And yeah, I've heard of it but I've never been.

 

[Khrysty]

Alright, this will probably be tweaked in the coming weeks but I've got a general idea of what I want my basic husbandry exam to look like.

There is a practice test that people can do here. It's much simpler than the actual test is, but has the same stuff on it. It's just that the actual exam is much more detailed. For anyone interested in reviewing/seeing/helping me with the actual exam, PM me with your email and I'll send you the PDF.

 

[Pokersnake]

Hmm. I only got one wrong. Only because I wouldn't consider housing males and females together as a good thing. I guess they could cohabit, but I would be afraid of unwanted breeding and aggression.

 

[Khrysty]

Hmm. I only got one wrong. Only because I wouldn't consider housing males and females together as a good thing. I guess they could cohabit, but I would be afraid of unwanted breeding and aggression.

On the actual exam, the question looks like this: Under what circumstances may male and female leopard geckos be housed together?

I'm looking for something along the lines of: only temporarily when both animals are up to breeding weight and only for breeding purposes OR the both animals are up to breeding weight and the male shows no breeding response toward the female and there is no aggression or bullying from either party

 

[Dog Shrink]

Ah, excellent point. I will get the ball rolling on that and in the mean time take off the donation button.

As for the program itself, there are written contractual agreements involved that will be signed by myself, the former (or current, depending on the program) owners, and a witness before the animal is actually surrendered into our care. Though it isn't notarized, a written contract stands up in court, if it ever came down to that.

Just a word on adoption contracts and testing potential adopters... Make sure you know your state's laws regarding PROPERTY as animals are considered property. Also askinga person to take and pass a "test" may be illegal. Asking an indepth questionaire that addresses the many needs of herps could be a better idea to find out their knowledge. With my many many years working with rescues there is a LOT of stuff in their adoption contracts that are not enforceable in court simply beause they go against state law or are simply not enforceable according to state law as you have it written. Stuff like "we can take the dog back if you don't feed X brand food" Can't be enforced, or for those who adopt that do their own shots and use alternative means of flea control or heart worm meds aside of the traditional spot ons or heart guard (or other brand), they can't take the dog back even if it is in their contract. You can not tell a person how to care for their property. Once it is transferred ownership, the new owner can pretty much do what ever they like with the animal as long as it is legal and not animal cruelty. A lot of adoption contracts are pretty much completely unenforceable except when it comes to points of spay/neuter (which you obviously won't need to deal with), leaving an animal tied out severalhours a day, etc. A lot of those things have now been incorporated into local and statelaws.

You should be able to find out your local or state laws by going to city hall, contacting your local attorney general's office for consumer protection rights, or thru teh better business bureau. My suggestion would be to look at some other herp rescues with 501(c)3 status and use their contracts as a mock up for yours.

 

[Khrysty]

Just a word on adoption contracts and testing potential adopters... Make sure you know your state's laws regarding PROPERTY as animals are considered property. Also askinga person to take and pass a "test" may be illegal. Asking an indepth questionaire that addresses the many needs of herps could be a better idea to find out their knowledge. With my many many years working with rescues there is a LOT of stuff in their adoption contracts that are not enforceable in court simply beause they go against state law or are simply not enforceable according to state law as you have it written. Stuff like "we can take the dog back if you don't feed X brand food" Can't be enforced, or for those who adopt that do their own shots and use alternative means of flea control or heart worm meds aside of the traditional spot ons or heart guard (or other brand), they can't take the dog back even if it is in their contract. You can not tell a person how to care for their property. Once it is transferred ownership, the new owner can pretty much do what ever they like with the animal as long as it is legal and not animal cruelty. A lot of adoption contracts are pretty much completely unenforceable except when it comes to points of spay/neuter (which you obviously won't need to deal with), leaving an animal tied out severalhours a day, etc. A lot of those things have now been incorporated into local and statelaws.

You should be able to find out your local or state laws by going to city hall, contacting your local attorney general's office for consumer protection rights, or thru teh better business bureau. My suggestion would be to look at some other herp rescues with 501(c)3 status and use their contracts as a mock up for yours.

The contract is only for entering into the programs, not what happens after. It's to protect THEM from ME, not the other way around. After they've been adopted, I don't claim rights to remove the animal from their new (or old) owner's care if they're doing something wrong. Once they leave my care, they're not mine anymore. I do try and keep up correspondence for 12 months after they're adopted, but if they don't cooperate, it isn't within my rights to hunt them down and confiscate the gecko. I just wanted to make that clear.

 

[Dog Shrink]

So you mean to be a care giver on your end of the rescue. That makes more sense. You're testing your potential "fosters" I presume.