A super classroom pet!

Home

Chat

Blogs

Collection

Directory

Home : 2005 : May : 26

A super classroom pet!
By Lisa

I teach 3rd grade and have always made a point to have a class pet. I have gone the route of gerbils, hamsters, fish.....The children have loved them all! But with all classroom pets, there is a lot of planning (i.e., weekend
feeding and/or "weekend adoption" arrangements, holiday planning, temperature considerations, cleaning, etc.).
Recently, a family gave my classroom a collared lizard. I have found the ideal pet! Lizards make a great classroom spectacle. "Ranger" likes to come to the front of the tank to greet children. He is active during the day with digging and jumping from plants to rocks.

And he's gentle enough for me to take out of the tank for a hands-on session. It's also great during science class. How often can you have a real reptile in class when you're teaching about them. He is easy to care for. You only need to buy crickets every few weeks. Tanks are easy to clean. They're quiet. And just plain fun to watch. Feeding days are a thrill for all the children.

If you can handle the squimmies, snakes are also great classroom pets. We have 2 corn snakes as home/classroom pets. It gives the children a great opportunity to get to know a "taboo" animal. My students have learned to respect and not to fear (unnecessarily) what a snake is. They enjoy being held and only need feeding every other week.

For all reptiles, lamps, heating sources, etc. can be put on timers. You don't have to worry about it during weekends. The tanks are easy to take home without the concerns of odors and nocturnal noise that some classroom pets create.

Before saying "NEVER!", consider the reptiles. Many classes have fuzzy things, be different...Be popular! My classroom becomes a classroom for many teachers wanting to show our pets to their classes.....even the middle school and high school departments!