Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to the Eden Oasis FAQ page. Whether you are looking to book a unique birthday party, organize an educational school visit, or arrange a calming, accessible SEN animal handling session, you'll find everything you need to know below.
If you have a question that isn't answered here, please feel free to contact our team directly.
🏫 Information for Schools & Educational Workshops
Do your school animal workshops align with the UK National Curriculum?
Yes, our educational animal visits are carefully structured to support the UK National Curriculum, particularly within Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stages 1 and 2 Science. We can tailor our sessions to focus on specific classroom topics such as:
Habitats, Adaptations, and Environments
Diets (Herbivores, Carnivores, and Omnivores)
The Five Senses and Animal Textures
Invertebrates vs. Vertebrates
How many children can attend each workshop?
Schools - Up to 30 children can attend each workshop. However, groups of 15 or less are recommended.
In groups of 15 or less, all children in attendance will get the opportunity to handle 5-8 of our amazing animals.
Groups of more than 15 all the children get the opportunity to handle 4-6 of our amazing animals.
Nursery and Pre Schools -Maximum group size of 10-15 children per 25 minute session. This is to ensure the safety of both the children and our animals. The children will meet 4-5 animals.
What areas do you cover?
Eden Oasis provides exotic animal workshops in Essex and surrounding areas. All animals are safely transported with heating and ventilation. Mileage charges may apply to areas outside of Essex. Please call for further location information. Distance traveled is limited due to the welfare of our animals.
Are your handlers DBS-checked and fully insured?
Yes, Eden Oasis is a fully licensed and professional organization. All of our staff members hold enhanced DBS checks, we are fully insured for public liability, and we possess the required animal activity licensing. We can provide copies of our risk assessments, insurance certificates, and licenses to school administration teams upon request.
Animal Discovery Sessions FAQ’s
Where is Eden Oasis located, and do you accept walk-ins?
Eden Oasis is located at Pelham Lodge in Sandon, Chelmsford, Essex. We operate strictly on an advanced booking basis for private experiences, workshops, and therapy sessions. Because we prioritize the welfare of our animals and ensure a calm, uncrowded environment for our guests, we cannot accommodate walk-in visitors. All sessions must be booked ahead of time via our online booking system.
What kinds of animals will we get to meet?
Our wonderful family of resident animals includes a diverse mix of mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates! Depending on the type of session you book, you can look forward to meeting and interacting with our friendly prairie dogs, pygmy goats, skinny pigs (hairless guinea pigs), tortoises, lizards, snakes, and fascinating insects.
How many people can attend each workshop?
Our sessions run with 18-20 people.
How do I check availability and book a session?
All up-to-date availability, seasonal workshops, and slot times are managed through our official online booking platform. You can browse available dates and secure your tickets by visiting our Bookings Page.
Can I get a refund if I can no longer attend?
All bookings are non refundable but we can move your tickets if given 48 hours notice. After this time we will not be able to move your ticket or refund, this rule allows us to keep running in small groups. You are more than welcome to pass your tickets on to someone else you know.
🎂 Information for Parents & Birthday Parties
What age groups are your animal experiences suitable for?
Our hands-on animal experiences are incredibly adaptable and suitable for all ages, from toddlers discovering textures for the first time to teenagers and adults. For private birthday parties and mobile animal encounters, we tailor our talks and handling safety instructions to perfectly match the age group attending.
How Do I book a Birthday or Private Session?
Please send us an email - edenoasis@outlook.com and we will be happy to help.
Where do the sessions take place?
Eden Oasis provides private/birthday experiences in our private jungle themed room based in Essex CM2 7TB.
Do you offer mobile animal parties near Chelmsford and across Essex?
Yes! While we host exclusive private sessions on-site in Howe Green, we also bring the magic of Eden Oasis directly to you. Our mobile animal handling parties are available for hire across Chelmsford, Braintree, Colchester, Brentwood, and the wider Essex area. We bring a safe, curated selection of animals, protective flooring, and full supervision to a hired venue. NO HOME ADDRESSES
Are your animal encounters safe for children?
Absolutely. Animal welfare and child safety are our top priorities. Every encounter is fully supervised by an experienced, trained animal handler. We provide clear, child-friendly safety briefings before any handling begins, use gentle, socialized animals, and provide hand-sanitizing stations that all participants must use before and after touching the animals.
Will I get every animal I request?
Four - Seven days before the experience you have the option to choose the animals you would like to meet.
Please see ‘Meet Our Team Page’ to view the available animals.
All animals used in the experience are at our discretion in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act. We reserve the right to make changes to the animals chosen should any animal become unwell.
How do you care for your animals? - The welfare of our animals is paramount. At the events the animals will be displayed in mini versions of their home enclosures/vivariums. Our processes exceed legal requirements and guidelines.
Fully DBS Certified - Animal Welfare Licensed - 20/00434/PERANI - Fully Insured
Terms & Conditions & Important Notes
Please see below, Terms and Conditions and Important Notes relating to Eden Oasis workshops/events.
General terms
All bookings are subject to these terms, which supersede any previous terms.
There must be suitable parking near to the venue to allow for the safe transportation of animals to and from the experience.
In the event that an animal/s cannot be supplied Eden Oasis reserves the right to make a substitute.
Pregnant women who take part in an animal experience should first seek advice from their doctor.
All participants under the age of 18 years must be supervised by a responsible adult over the age of 18 years old throughout their Animal Experience.
We are committed to safeguarding young people's welfare. Our Safeguarding policy is available upon request.
Please allow 5-10 minutes either side of the approximate times stated on your booking confirmation. Times will vary depending on the level of interaction the children have with the animals, the behaviour of the children, and the number of children attending on the day.
You will need to have checked the animals page for information on restrictions of animals regarding age and venue size prior to booking. This is for the safety of the children and the animals themselves.
We reserve the right to request a photograph of your venue to ensure that it meets the criteria for an animal experience.
We request your animal choices 4-7 days prior to the experience.
For the welfare of our animals travel is restricted to no more than 1 hour approx from our base in Chelmsford, Essex. All animals are safely transported with heating, heat mats and ventilation.
In the event of an occurrence outside of our control, Eden Oasis does not issue refunds and reserves the right to cancel and/or rebook.
Eden Oasis reserves the right to amend terms at any time without notice.
Booking and Payment
Provisional bookings are welcome although this does not constitute a confirmed booking until the following terms are fulfilled:
A non refundable deposit has been paid to secure your booking.
You need to complete the 'Contact Us' section of the Eden Oasis website.
We will then contact you directly to discuss your details and requirements.
If you wish to go ahead, deposits are made payable via Bookwhen, PayPal or via BACS.
A Booking Confirmation email will be sent upon receipt of the deposit. The booking confirmation start time is the time the animal experience will commence.
Once booking deposit is paid:
You will be contacted five-seven days prior to the event to discuss which animals you would like.
Full payment is due in cash on the day, on arrival, or one day prior to the workshop via PayPal / BACS.
On the day, please allow a set-up time of approximately 30 minutes prior to the start of the animal experience.
Cancellation policy
If you wish to cancel your booking the following conditions apply:
Should you cancel your animal experience for any reason your deposit is non-refundable.
If you opt to cancel and re-book a date which is within one month of the original booking date your deposit will be deducted from the final payment.
Unfortunately, if you cancel on the day of the event any subsequent booking will incur a further deposit.
Birthday Experience Terms Please Read Before Booking
The deposit is non-refundable.
Can be booked on any weekends/evenings.
Under threes welcome but some animals will be stroke only.
All birthday animal experiences will take place within our private experience room located CM2 7TB. Ample parking and toilets on site.
All birthday experience bookings are subject to availability. Please contact us before booking if you require a specific date.
Between 6 and 8 animals will be available at each birthday animal experience. 6-8 Animals are chosen by you a week before the birthday experience. We always try our best but can not guarantee every animal you pick will attend due to animal welfare.
Animal experiences are for a maximum of 15 children ( If your birthday group is larger please contact us )
Eden Oasis reserves the right to re-book a birthday animal experience in line with current government covid-19 guidelines.
Private Experience/ Voucher Terms Please Read Before Booking
Can be booked on any weekends/evenings excluding school holidays
All gift vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.
(If Covid-19 restrictions are still in place time will be extended accordingly)
All animal experiences will take place within our private experience room located CM2 7TB.
All experience bookings are subject to availability.
8 animals will be available at each animal experience.
Eden Oasis reserves the right to re-book an animal experience in line with current government covid-19 guidelines.
Covid-Information
We offer a 6 person private Covid animal experience whilst adhering to the following government guidelines.
A Discussion with attendees ahead of the visit to ask that social distancing guidelines (2m or 1m with risk mitigation) are maintained by workers and attendees, if possible.
During the booking process a member of our team will contact the party booker to discuss the experience and Covid-19 guidelines.
Our animal handler will wear a visor and relevant PPE during the entire experience.
To minimise movement around the workshop, participants will be asked to sit on the floor at least 1m away from one another in a large semi-circle. We will bring fun floor spots to show where the participants will be sitting.
Eden Oasis do not provide food for participants at their animal experiences.
We will avoid transmission during events by minimising the sharing of equipment and frequent cleaning of objects and surfaces.
Equipment is kept to minimum and where any equipment is shared, strict sanitisation guidelines are adhered to.
Our animal handler will remove any waste from the venue and ensure that it is disposed of appropriately.
The animal handler will adhere to all Covid-19 government guidelines with respect to hand washing and will provide animal friendly hand sanitiser. Participants must wash their hands for 20 seconds prior to starting the experience and once again at the end. Our hand sanitiser must be used throughout.
