Bookings are not reserved in our calendar until you receive a booking form or confirmation of previous information (for repeat bookings) so our office can create an invoice for your booking.
Reservations in our calendar may be released at any point if we do not receive the booking form/confirmation of information (for repeat bookings) back in a timely manner or an invoice was sent out and the payment terms were not met.
Our animals are extremely well socialized and trained. However, it must be understood that no amount of socializing and training can make animals completely predictable and safe. Thus there is some level of inherent risk each time someone interacts with an animal.
Animals may bite, scratch, hit, cause allergic reactions or illness, defecate and/or urinate, or otherwise cause damage to persons or property.
Hands on Exotics is not liable for any damage or loss to persons or property caused in part or whole by our animals, staff, vehicles, or equipment.
Hands on Exotics staff hold the right to stop any booking at any time if, at any point, staff do not feel that it is a safe environment for people or for the animals. In such a case, payment is still due in full.
For private events (birthday parties, weddings, etc.), a 25% non-refundable deposit is due within 48 hours of receiving the invoice and the final balance is due 7 days before the booking date.
For bookings made by institutions (schools, camps, organizations, nursing homes, etc.), a 25% non-refundable deposit is due upon booking for bookings over $500. Payment is ideally to be due 7 days prior to the date of service. However, in consideration of administrative processing times where needed, payments must be received within 30 days after services are rendered.
Failure to meet any payment deadlines may release the hold on your reservation or be treated as a cancellation.
Accepted Methods of Payment for all Bookings: MasterCard, Visa, and e-transfer. Business cheques and EFTs accepted for bookings made by institutions only. Cash or personal cheques are NOT accepted.
MasterCard/Visa: Payment can be done by clicking the ‘Review and Pay’ button in the invoice email sent to you. The dollar amount field can be edited to pay only the deposit amount first or the full amount as needed. Payment can also be done by calling our office during office hours.
E-transfers: Direct the e-transfer to info@handsonexotics.com with the invoice # in the notes. Then send a separate email with the password to the same email.
Corporate Cheques: Cheques can be mailed prior to the event, given to the handler day of, or mailed after services rendered but must be received within 30 days of the booking.
Any charges due to failed payments (ex: bounced cheques) are the responsibility of the customers.
With greater than 96 hours notice, cancelled bookings can be refunded minus the non-refundable deposit. Bookings can be rescheduled at no penalty.
With less than 96 hours notice but more than 24 hours notice, there will be no refunds for cancellations. Reschedules will be minus the 25% deposit.
Cancellations/reschedules made within 24 hours notice of the booking date/time are not entitled to a refund and client is responsible for the full amount. For outdoor bookings, we do not offer refunds if the weather is unsafe for the animals and no adequate alternative is provided.
All reschedules are subject to availability and must be within 1 year of original booking.
Featured and add-on animals are guaranteed for your booking unless we are unable to bring them due to any changes in their health/behaviour. In those rare circumstances, we will try to contact you to find a suitable alternative if we know beforehand; otherwise if it is too late on the day of, our handlers will bring a similar substitute animal.
While we do our best to fulfill requests, but we cannot customize our packages as it is nearly impossible to do so on busy days and in consideration of the animal’s welfare
An animal’s availability to come to your booking depends on a lot of factors including:
Handler training and animal’s preference for specific handlers
Animal’s mood and health including schedule time-off shows
Animal’s ability to get along with other animals in the package
In consideration of fears/phobias, you are welcome to make requests for us to not bring a certain animal or certain type of animal.
By requesting none of a type of animal that is typically a part of the package you booked, you agree to forfeiting that portion of the package
We will make an effort to substitute/replace with other animals when possible, but this cannot be guaranteed
For example, if you ask for no reptiles and your package includes 1-2 reptiles, a substitution may not be able to be made on a busier day, and therefore, you will have fewer animals attending your booking
We need a space to offload that is as close as possible to the venue entrance.
Parking is the responsibility of the client. Any parking costs incurred by Hands on Exotics will be billed back to the client.
Events can be held outdoors. Many of our bookings are held outdoors in the summer. If you want the animals to be outdoors let us know and we will make sure to bring the right animals for this situation (i.e. birds that won’t fly away), provided that the temperature outside is appropriate for the animals (between 15 and 29 degrees). For outdoor shows in the summer:
The animals MUST be in FULL shade for the duration of the presentation
Our handlers require access to water
There must also always be an indoor option in case weather is not cooperating with us.
In the case of bookings with only a single handler, we will need one of the following requirements:
The room where the presentation will take place must be closed and vacant until the presenter is done offloading. OR
An adult must be present where we are offloading who will be in charge of making sure no one is approaching the animal carriers.
No pictures of the animals are permitted while they are in their carriers.
Food is not allowed to be served or eaten during the presentation. This is partially for sanitary reasons, but also due to the fact that the animal’s behavior changes with food around and they may get into food that is harmful to them.
Please have all participants wash or disinfect their hands after the presentation.
Depending on the type of animals you book, we will discuss space requirements. Most parties can take place in cramped apartments without difficulty, but some animals require more room. We will happily go over this with you when you book. Apart from that we bring everything we need, including a tarp to minimize poop problems.
For most bookings we aim to arrive 15 minutes before the start time to offload and set up. For larger bookings this time is much longer and we will tell our clients when they can expect our arrival.
We make every effort to be on time. However, it must be understood that there are often elements well beyond our control including traffic, weather, and road accidents that occasionally result in late arrival times.
Once in a while we will cancel bookings in extreme or emergency situations; this includes extreme snow storms that jeopardize the safety of our animals on the road. In such a case we will attempt to reschedule your booking. If rescheduling is not possible we will refund 100% of the booking cost.
Have Any Question?
Do not hesitage to give us a call. We are an expert team and we are happy to talk to you.