Instructor Micha Petty with Sulcata

Starting and Running a Reptile & Amphibian Rescue

  • 6 hours
  • 66 lessons
  • Certificate

Starting and Running a Reptile & Amphibian Rescue is a self-paced course for people who have become the person others call when a reptile, amphibian, or small exotic animal needs a home, and who are asking honestly whether that should become a rescue.

It covers everything about running a rescue except the animal care itself: whether and how to start, choosing a model, researching the laws that apply to you, liability and insurance, intake and adoption, the systems that keep a large collection healthy, emergency and fire planning, volunteers, boundaries, funding, recordkeeping, and how a rescue ends well. Reptiles and amphibians are the center, with invertebrates and the small birds and mammals that arrive at any exotic rescue.

The course is written from a working rescue in Louisiana. It teaches you how to find the rules that apply where you live rather than pretending one set of rules fits everyone, and an appendix orients readers outside the US. It is not legal, tax, or veterinary advice, and it is not wildlife rehabilitation training.

Completion earns a certificate of completion. There are no quizzes or assignments; optional self-led activities throughout build toward a written operating plan, and a library of generic templates and worksheets is included.

Good to know before you enroll

  • It is yours to keep. Buy the course once and you have access for as long as the course exists, including future revisions.

  • No deadlines. There is no cohort and no expiry. Work at whatever pace your life allows.

  • Refunds. There is a 14-day refund window, provided you have not worked through more than about a fifth of the course. The details are in the Refund and Returns Policy.

  • Splitting the payment. A credit-based payment plan is available at checkout.

  • If cost is the obstacle. Tuition assistance is available. Ask us.

  • What the certificate means. Finishing the required coursework earns a certificate of completion. It documents completion of The Herpetology Collective’s educational program. It is not an academic degree, professional license, government credential, or permission to handle wildlife outside the laws that apply where you live.

Course content

  1. Unit 1: Orientation

    1. Locked: S-1.01: What this course is, and isn't
    2. Locked: S-1.02: How to use this course: activities, the outside-the-US pointer, and the attachments

  2. Unit 2: Should You?

    1. Locked: S-2.01: Why people start rescues, and why most shouldn't (the honest version)
    2. Locked: S-2.02: What a rescue actually does all day
    3. Locked: S-2.03: The cost nobody budgets: time, money, relationships, and mental health
    4. Locked: S-2.04: Your own animals vs. rescue animals: the line that keeps you sane
    5. Locked: S-2.05: Burnout, compassion fatigue, and personal risk

  3. Unit 3: Choosing a Model

    1. Locked: S-3.01: Foster network, home-based, or facility
    2. Locked: S-3.02: Adoption-forward vs. sanctuary, and the mix in between
    3. Locked: S-3.03: Species scope: herps, inverts, and the "misc small exotics" question
    4. Locked: S-3.04: Setting a capacity ceiling before the first intake
    5. Locked: S-3.05: Pets vs. wildlife: deciding whether rehab is part of your mission
    6. Locked: S-3.06: The "no" list: boundaries you write down before you need them

  4. Unit 4: Making It Legal

    1. Locked: S-4.01: How to research your own laws (state, county, city, HOA)
    2. Locked: S-4.02: Entity choices: informal, fiscal sponsor, LLC, 501(c)(3)
    3. Locked: S-4.03: Tax basics for a small animal nonprofit, and the questions to bring to a preparer
    4. Locked: S-4.04: Liability, waivers, and insurance
    5. Locked: S-4.05: Permits: exotic animal, venomous, and the wildlife rehabilitation licensing pathway

  5. Unit 5: Intake, Triage, and Disposition

    1. Locked: S-5.01: Intake policy and the surrender conversation
    2. Locked: S-5.02: Intake forms and what each field is for
    3. Locked: S-5.03: Triage, quarantine, and when to call the vet
    4. Locked: S-5.04: Euthanasia and the animals you can't save
    5. Locked: S-5.05: Adoption standards, the application, and follow-up
    6. Locked: S-5.06: Transfers, networking, and the rescue you refer to when you can't help
    7. Locked: S-5.07: What to tell the public about wildlife: the triage script

  6. Unit 6: Running the Place

    1. Locked: S-6.01: Recordkeeping: one record per animal, paper and digital
    2. Locked: S-6.02: Managing a large collection: tasks-of-the-day and the reporting form
    3. Locked: S-6.03: Feeding logistics at scale: feeders, rodents, produce, supplements
    4. Locked: S-6.04: Facilities: building-level climate, racks, quarantine space, water, waste
    5. Locked: S-6.05: Biosecurity and cleaning systems

  7. Unit 7: When Things Go Wrong

    1. Locked: S-7.01: Emergency planning: power, heat, cold, storm, evacuation
    2. Locked: S-7.02: Fire safety specifically
    3. Locked: S-7.03: Remote monitoring and the "someone must respond" protocol
    4. Locked: S-7.04: The continuity packet: what has to exist if you're unreachable
    5. Locked: S-7.05: Personal safety: bites, venomous policy, zoonoses, first-aid kit
    6. Locked: S-7.06: Finding and keeping veterinary resources

  8. Unit 8: People

    1. Locked: S-8.01: Finding, screening, and onboarding volunteers
    2. Locked: S-8.02: Volunteer documents: waivers, procedures, and permission for personal variation
    3. Locked: S-8.03: Boundaries with the public, surrenderers, and adopters
    4. Locked: S-8.04: Officers, a board, and the paperwork that keeps a nonprofit alive
    5. Locked: S-8.05: Outreach and education programs: ambassadors, booths, presentations
    6. Locked: S-8.06: Gaining exposure: social media, press, and working with shelters and animal control

  9. Unit 9: Money

    1. Locked: S-9.01: Funding models and what actually works at small scale
    2. Locked: S-9.02: Donations, receipts, and in-kind gifts
    3. Locked: S-9.03: Grants: realistic expectations
    4. Locked: S-9.04: Earned income: education, merchandise, services
    5. Locked: S-9.05: A budget you'll actually keep

  10. Unit 10: Endgame and Resources

    1. Locked: S-10.01: Exit strategies: succession, wind-down, transferring animals, closing well
    2. Locked: S-10.02: What happens to the animals if something happens to you
    3. Locked: S-10.03: Suggested further reading and organizations
    4. Locked: S-10.04: Appendix: Outside the US
    5. Locked: S-10.05: Attachments library

  11. Attachments Library: Templates and Worksheets

    1. Locked: A-00: Attachments library — read me first
    2. Locked: A-01: Pet / Exotic Animal Acceptance Form
    3. Locked: A-02: Wildlife Acceptance Form
    4. Locked: A-03: Field Collection Form (office use)
    5. Locked: A-04: Avian Acceptance Form
    6. Locked: A-05: Adoption Agreement
    7. Locked: A-06: Donation Receipt
    8. Locked: A-07: Captive Birth / Hatch Record (office use)
    9. Locked: A-08: Wildlife Release-Site Permission
    10. Locked: A-09: Continuity ("Away") Packet Template
    11. Locked: A-10: Shelter Maintenance Tasks Reporting Form
    12. Locked: W-01: Capacity Ceiling Worksheet (S-3.04)
    13. Locked: W-02: Legal Research Worksheet (S-4.01)
    14. Locked: W-03: Emergency Plan Worksheet (S-7.01)

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