sloth encounters

UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 1, 2024

We have permanently discontinued our sloth encounters.

With a new year beginning, we always take the time to reflect on our past year and what our goals are for the year ahead.

After much consideration and prayer, we have made the difficult decision to retire from doing animal programs and sloth encounters.  We have been USDA licensed for over 13 years and have dedicated our lives to doing animal rescue and education.  

Many of you have seen us travel with the same animals year after year.  Lillian our kinkajou is around 20 yrs old, Coco the coatimundi is 13, Bogota our Columbian tegu has traveled with us for 10+ years, Rosie the red-tailed boa is close to 15 yrs old, our corn snake is over 10 years old, etc.  These animals have all worked with us for years and absolutely deserve retirement in their later years of life.  We always take the commitment to any new younger animals very seriously, and with Bryan's and my age, we don't feel that obtaining new animals for our programs are in the best interest of the animals or us.  

In the14 years that we have been in business, we have felt blessed to be able to work with some of the most amazing species and have met so many incredible amazing families along our journey.
We hope that if you ever learned anything about us during a program, that at the end of the show you walked away saying those two really love their animals and the animals love them.   

We have done thousands of shows and I can remember each and every one.  We are so thankful for all of the support and love over the years as we took a small idea and it grew faster and bigger than we could have ever imagined.  

All of these years our motto was "it's not about us, it's about the animals".  You rarely saw a picture of Bryan or I.  If we felt a show was too loud or an animal was too nervous, we would not bring them out.  It's always been about them and what's best.  This decision is no different.

So today, we are being true to our word we have given to our animals , including the sloths.  Willow had recently shown some signs of digestive issues and we promised and prayed on her that if she recovered that we would stop all encounters.  As she continues to show signs of improvement...we are staying true to our promise.

We apologize to all of you that may be disappointed, that we were not able to get to, that have been on our waiting list.  Fortunately, it was just a waiting list and we never asked for deposits to be on that list.  Through your disappointment, please just know that this decision was made with our animal's health as a priority and if you are a true animal lover, you will understand our need to discontinue our encounters.  

Thank you for your patience, your understanding and for your shared love of all God's critters.

Terri & Bryan
Our Zoo To You

  Our sloth encounters are $75 per person, maximum of 4 people and no one under the age of 10 years old.  We do not allow any unpaid visitors. Sessions include holding, feeding and interacting with multiple sloths.  We also take photos throughout the experience and print some out for you to take home.  Typical encounters last approximately an hour.  When attending a sloth encounter, please do not wear any perfumes or scented sprays.   We also recommend dressing in layers (thicker long sleeve shirt when holding Willow w/ option to remove heavier top layer when entering the sloth's rainforest room where it can reach 90 degrees w/ high humidity).  Closed toed shoes are required and no shorts please.

UPDATE 11/28/23

OUR WAITING LIST IS CURRENTLY CLOSED

WE ARE CURRENTLY ON #220-260 on the list.

Our sloths are currently breeding and we have slowed down our sloth encounter schedule. We will continue to monitor their behavior day to day and if we feel it will not jeopardize their health, we will continue to reach out to those on our current waiting list.  We will refrain from opening up the list to new names at this time since our female sloths may be bred and we do not want to risk stress during the months of pregnancy. 

With breeding behavior going on and the possibility one or both of our female sloths being bred, we cannot guarantee holding during an encounter.  

Please remember that if you are on the list, when we reach out to you with a date that works for you, you have 24 hours to send payment via Venmo or Paypal.  If payment is not received, we move on to the next name and remove you from the list.  If you do not have the money at the time we reach out, please communicate that with us and we will keep you on the list and move on.  If that is not communicated and we are "ghosted", your name will be removed from the list.  

Thank you for your continued support and patience.  We only book 3 days a week of encounters and maximum of 2 sessions per day.  We will not risk the sloth's health and book any more per week than stated above.  Willow, Asher and Ivy mean the world to us and their well-being is our top priority!

CANCELLAITON POLICY

There are no refunds.  This is similar to buying your spot at a concert, once you reserve your seat, we cannot refund your money.  We do however allow one re-schedule, IF you contact us more than 24 hours in advance.  If you cancel a second time, there are no refunds or reschedules.  If you cancel with less than 24 hrs notice, there are no refunds and no reschedules.  If you cannot make a date, you are able to give your place to someone else as long as it is for the same number of people and no one under the age of 10 years old - but please communicate the change of names with us.  

Gift Certificates that were issued prior to the Covid pandemic will no longer be honored or refunded.  They were originally issued with an expiration date of 6 months from purchase, yet we honored them for a year due to Covid.  We are sorry if you did not take the opportunity to use them, but are unable to honor them due to the length of time since they were issued and our schedule no longer having the availability.   We appreciate your understanding.

Asher is our adult male sloth.  He is about 5 years old and has been doing encounters since he was a baby.  He enjoys interacting with people and LOVES his food!