talkmagic.co.uk

Hi all, im new, just signed up and was wondering if any could point me in the right dirrection etc.

I have never done any magic but i have been perfoirming for the past 10 years in schools etc so can learn quick and adapt to kids levels etc. I own an animal handling company and am in the middle of comming up with a holloween story (spooky story) with live animals. Ive a number of ideas but nothing core yet. I have been looking at some of the chick and dove pans to make some of the animals appear. I have a south african white faces scops owl thats the same size as a pigeon and although there are dove pans wondered if there was something a bit more exciting/pretty looking to maybe make her appear from? maybe a painted box? oriental perhaps? I have alsorts of animals rom lizards and snakes to spiders and insects etc..and was hoping you people of magic may have something to mind and know where to turn to/buy from? is there any magicans that use snakes in there performance and where can i get the props?
Ive spent hours looking at sites on the net but keep going around in circles. any help ...much needed.
regards,
Pintoki.

From previous discussions, I think the general consensus is to steer away from animal magic as it can be seen to be somewhat disturbing for the animals themselves. There's at least one case we know of a dove production which went wrong and instead of an animated flapping bird appearing, a rather lifeless corpse was produced – and this was at a children’s party !

Some previous threads on or around the topic of magic with animals which may help, or not...

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic35171.php
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic35236.php
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic28100.php
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic18583.php
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic26230.php
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic21924.php
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic21908.php
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic36343.php

(Sorry about that last one !!)

understandable.
I wasnt going to be keeping the animals in tight boxes etc though. i was thinking i could show the owl and then pretend to put her away in her owl box but instead load her into the said magic item then a little later make her appear.

or a spider from a chick pan. they are use to small enclosures and would be safe.
Im not looking to do a full act of magic animals just a couple of things. possibly with cockroaches and other inverts.
thanks for the links ill check them out.

The animals I use are use to being taken to places in travel containers and being handled by myself and others where aproprate. It would be good to have a box made the same size as the owls travel box and make her vanish / appear. She wouldn't even know the difference just think she's being brought out to see every one. Can anyone supply a design for such a box that I could enlarge to required size. My falcon box has air holes in it but you can't see them from a distAnce and have an internal flap so no light gets in but air does. If I could do a trick where I open the box and it's empty close the door and open it again and she's they that would be great. Problem is as said I don't know magic and how to build it.
I could do something with a chick pan and a hissing cockroach! Inverts are a little different to vertabrates.