ATLAS Education

Below are our hours for the month of August!
💚 WEEKDAYS - Schedule a Tour (no walk ins)
💚 SATURDAYS - Walk Ins (no tours)
💚 SUNDAYS - Closed

🎟General Admission 🎟
Adults (13+) $8.00 (plus tax)
Children (3-12) $5.00 (plus tax)
Infants & Toddlers (2 & Under) FREE

🌎Location📍
7272 KS-4 Hwy Suite A Meriden KS 66512
Note: We are in the shopping center between the old Apple Market and Murray's Flooring.

🐀Feeding Experiences 🐀
We feed our small snakes every 2 weeks and our large snakes once a month. All of our snakes are fed frozen thawed rodents, so you don't have to worry about watching a live animal get eaten. You can find these days marked with a 🐀 icon below. We do our feedings on Saturdays at 5pm to allow the public to be able to watch and learn about how a snake eats their food. Due to the behaviors snakes exhibit when the scent of their food is in the air, we don't allow any of our snakes to be interacted with between 4pm-6pm on feeding days to ensure the safety of our team and our customers. If you're lucky, you may even have the chance to feed a snake 😉During this timeframe, our lizards, turtles, and tortoises are still available for interactions

🐍 8 / 8 : Small & Large Snakes @ 5PM
🐍 8 / 22 : Small Snakes @ 5PM

🐀Frozen Feeders🐀
We have frozen feeder rats and mice available for purchase. Reach out via email, phone, or right here on Facebook to place an order!

Mice: Pinky, Fuzzy, Small, Medium, Large, XL

Rats: Pinky, Fuzzy, Pup, Weaned, Small, Medium, Large, XL, 2XL, 3XL

We love doing Library events!!

Good morning everyone!

Just a reminder that our shop is closed today, but that doesnt mean you still cant enjoy some reptile fun! We will have a booth set up at the Wyandotte County Fair this afternoon/evening with one of our animal ambassadors that is actually not located in our shop. This will be a unique time to come meet her! 💚🕷🐍🐢🦎

We are late on posting this - our apologizes!

Below are our hours for the month of July!

💚 WEEKDAYS - Schedule a Tour (no walk ins)
💚 SATURDAYS - Walk Ins (no tours)
💚 SUNDAYS - Closed

🎟General Admission 🎟
Adults (13+) $8.00 (plus tax)
Children (3-12) $5.00 (plus tax)
Infants & Toddlers (2 & Under) FREE

🌎Location📍
7272 KS-4 Hwy Suite A Meriden KS 66512
Note: We are in the shopping center between the old Apple Market and Murray's Flooring.

🐀Feeding Experiences 🐀
We feed our small snakes every 2 weeks and our large snakes once a month. All of our snakes are fed frozen thawed rodents, so you don't have to worry about watching a live animal get eaten. You can find these days marked with a 🐀 icon below. We do our feedings on Saturdays at 5pm to allow the public to be able to watch and learn about how a snake eats their food. Due to the behaviors snakes exhibit when the scent of their food is in the air, we don't allow any of our snakes to be interacted with between 4pm-6pm on feeding days to ensure the safety of our team and our customers. If you're lucky, you may even have the chance to feed a snake 😉During this timeframe, our lizards, turtles, and tortoises are still available for interactions

🐍 7 / 11 : Small & Large Snakes @ 5PM

✨Community Events✨
7/21 - We will have a booth set up at the Wyandotte County Fair! This evening's theme is "Family Night" so bring your family and come out for an amazing night!

7/25 - We will be back at Wyandotte County Fair with a booth set up. If you didn't get a chance to see us on the 21st, this is your chance!

🚫🐢STOP TURTLE RACES🐢🚫

‼️Negative Effects Turtle Racing Has on Native Wildlife‼️

➡️ Stress

Wild turtles are not domesticated animals. Being handled by dozens of people, surrounded by loud crowds, bright lights, and constant movement causes intense stress for them. Repeated or prolonged stress can weaken their immune system, making them more susceptible to illness.

Signs of stress include:

- Rapid Breathing
- Attempting to Escape
- Refusing Food Afterward
- Remaining withdrawn in their shells for extended periods of time

➡️ Risk of Injury

During races, turtles can suffer injuries from:

- Being dropped by participants or spectators
- Being stepped on in crowded areas
- Flipping onto their backs, which can cause overheating if they cannot get themselves upright
- Tape, stickers, paint, or markers applied to their shells
- Adhesives can damage the shell’s outer protective layer when removed, and paint or glues may contain harmful chemicals

➡️ Overheating & Dehydration

Many races are held during warm summer festivals. Turtles can quickly overheat on hot pavement or in direct sunlight and may easily become dehydrated if they are not provided access to shade and water.

➡️ Reduced Reproduction

Female turtles disturbed during nesting season may abandon nesting attempts or lay fewer eggs. Since turtles mature slowly and produce relatively few surviving offspring, losing even a few breeding adults can affect local populations.

➡️ Disease Transmission

When many turtles are gathered together, they can easily spread diseases amongst each other and even some diseases to humans...

- Salmonella
- A bacterial infection that can be passed between almost any animal and human
- Ranavirus
- A DNA virus that causes severe infections in amphibians, reptiles, and fish. This virus as a mortality rate of 90%-100%, giving it the potential to eliminate entire species if not controlled.

➡️ Displacement From Home Ranges

Turtles are philopatric which means they have a tendency to remain in or return to its birthplace or familiar local area. They will create a mental map of their home range - taking note of favorable food, ample water sources, and shelter from predators. When they are taken from these areas, it causes them to become very disoriented.

➡️ Increased Mortality After Release

When turtle races are over, turtles are left with injuries, exhaustion, dehydration, diseases, disoriented and/or left in unfamiliar habitats where they struggle to find essentials needed to survive. On average, 50% of the turtles released back into the wild after these races do not end up surviving through the season.

We are closed today to celebrate Independence Day 🇺🇲 We hope you all have a fun and safe holiday!

We have been getting a ton of precipitation in NE KS lately. This has caused the turtles to be out traveling more. It has been heartbreaking to see so many comments on social media about people hitting them on purpose because they dislike the animal so much or because they think it's funny to see their bodies break... These guys are needing to get across the road for a reason (food, shelter, etc...) and the task of crossing a road where vehicles are traveling at very fast speeds is a terrifying and difficult task for them. These guys can't move as fast as we can, and they are just hoping they can get across without being ran over. When you see a turtle crossing the road, they're not there to purposely ruin your day, to get in your way, and they're not "out to get you".... In fact, these guys want absolutely nothing to do with you.

If you see a turtle crossing the road, please be a kind human and do your best to avoid hitting them, and if you're able to safely stop - please help them cross the road so they don't have to be scared of getting hit.

🚫🐢STOP TURTLE RACES🐢🚫

Yesterday at the Old Settlers Reunion, someone walked up to our booth carrying an ornate box turtle. Across it's shell was a strip of tape with a participants name still written on it from the turtle race held earlier that morning.

They told us they had found the turtle crossing a road a few streets away and didn't know what to do, so they brought it to us. Thank you to this family for being caring enough to take the time out of your day to help this little one.

We had a different family come to our booth asking us questions about turtles. They had taken a turtle from the wild, kept it in their home for 3 weeks prior to this event, and then released it into the wild after the event because they didn't want to keep it. Imagine that.... 3 weeks a wild animal was taken from its home, not getting the proper care they require in the wild, forced to participate in a stressful event, then placed back in the wild like nothing happened.

These were not the only turtles this happened to for this event.

Turtles are wild animals that depend on familiar home ranges to survive. Removing them from those areas, even temporarily, can create unnecessary challenges and expose them to dangers they should never have to encounter. This turtle was scared and trying to escape our care for 4 hours straight - trying to find a way back home where she could feel safe and secure - before she finally got so tired she couldn't keep trying.

Wild turtles don't exist for our entertainment. NO wildlife does. They have homes, territories, and an important role they play in our ecosystems. They are not props, toys, or placed on this earth for our entertainment.

We understand that the turtle race specifically at Old Settlers Reunion is held with good intentions and as a long-standing tradition... but as we learn more about wildlife and animal welfare, we also have an opportunity to create better traditions. This provides us an opportunity as a community to do better and to teach our children to be caring and compassionate for wildlife animals.

Imagine replacing turtle races with live wildlife demonstrations, conservation activities, and hands-on educational experiences that inspire children while keeping wild animals safe.

We believe that is a tradition worth building.

If you see a turtle race being held in your community - please DO NOT participate!

If you want to have fun holding and petting a turtle - visit our shop instead of the wild 🐢

Tonight is the last night of the Old Settlers Reunion, which means it is the last night you get the opportunity to see our animal ambassadors at the Oskaloosa Square until 2027!

Visit the ATLAS Education booth to say hello to our live animal ambassadors and even get a unique hands-on experience with them! 💚🐍🐢🦎

We will be on the main stage this evening with a live animal ambassador to share some amazing facts about them and afterwards you can come by our booth for a unique hands-on experience with them! 💚🐍🐢🦎