Pets in the Classroom

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Pets in the Classroom
By Sharon in CA

My first year teaching (15 years ago) I just had to have a pet in the room. So, I started an aquarium stocked with livebearers, such as platies and guppies. This is fun for the students because they can actually watch the
fish having their babies - they pop out in a little ball then swim away. It helps to have plenty of plants so that all the babies aren't consumed as food (or get a small maternity tank). About 8 years ago I was given a pair of zebra finches by our custodian who raised them - and I have had finches in my room ever since. The orginal pair died last year and now I have a new pair. You

need to be sure you have a large enough cage as they throw lots of seed out when they eat. But, as long as you have a dustbuster and a broom its not bad. The males have a lovely little song and most of the day they just "chirp" along. You will always have students who take some time getting used to the "noise", but eventually it just becomes part of the environment (I have never had a problem). Also, if they are happy, the hen will lay eggs periodically which will, hopefully, hatch. You don't need to do anything - they are very self-sufficient. The students really enjoy this part - seeing the birds go from egg, to featherless chick to fledglings falling out of the nest.

Last year I finally had my first mammals in the classroom. I had always fought this because of the anticipated odor. I purchased a pair of dwarf hamsters from a parent who started breeding them. They are much freindlier and social then the larger hamster and love to be held. They can live in pairs (be prepared for babies!) or same sex pairs or groups. Find a breeder instead of the pet store because they will have been handled more, which means no biting. We start holding our babies as soon as their eyes are open so that they make better pets. The students love our hamsters and are only occasionally bitten (when they don't handle them properly).

Good luck to everyone trying pets for the first time - it really adds to the classroom environment.