I went to Petco today to start thinking about an addition to our class pet family. I already have a 10 gallon fish tank with silver mollies. I wound up buying a betta that I put in a glass vase with a bamboo plant. (He needs a name... any suggestions??) However, I need to step out of the aquarium, so to speak! I'm not into the furry animals (gerbils, hamsters, etc.) so I was thinking about going on the reptile side. I'd like whatever I get to be pretty managable, easy to take care of and keep clean. I was looking at the leopard geckos, tree frogs, but I just don't know what would be best! I've had a hermit crab before, but he kind of creeped me out when I found him out of the cage and out of his shell!! He had other shells, he just wouldn't go into them. He died shortly after that.
So, what pets do you have or have you had and recommend?? Thanks!!
I would recommend not getting anything that eats crickets. I had tadpoles that turned into frogs and buying live crickets was such a pain. I had to go to the store once a week, many of them would die or get loose. ( I still don't know how they got out.) Plus the crickets need food and a gel to drink from. I would love a lizard, but I think that the food is a big pain. There is one that I know of that eats only fruits and veggies:Egyptian Uromastyx
I really liked having frogs ( mine were bull frogs ) if it wasn't for the feeding!
I love having turtles and they are even easier than fish because you don't have to worry about water quality as much. Mine are in a large (30 gal) aquarium that was divided into part dry gravel and the rest water deep enough for them to swim with a filter. I usually keep a green plant in there, but they will eat it so have to be careful that it is not toxic. They eat turtle food available at a pet store or Walmart - very clean and no smell. You can get crickets or minnows to enrich their diet and I did this occasionally because it was kind of interesting, especially to the boys. Unfortuantely my principal has decided that any pet besides fish are a liability so I cannot take my turtles (or hamster or lizard) back to school this year. My daughter is thrilled that everybody gets to stay home.
I didn't keep him at school. He belonged to my son. He did eat crickets, but we didn't have any trouble keeping them. I thought it was fun to watch him go after them. He also ate cale and other fruits and vegetables. You could buy little cans of food at the pet store, but I thought the fresh food was better for him.
I took him to school to show my class, but the school nurse put a thing in my box about salmonella. Reptiles, especially turtles and lizards can carry salmonella, so we aren't really suppose to have them at school. We are allowed to have hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, rabbits, and fish, but no reptiles. One of our teachers keeps a tarantula.
He eats mealworms or waxworms and is very easy to care for. The downside is that he doesn't like to be handled but he is fun to watch!
I had a millipede a few years ago, he was easy to handle but I am afraid that it may have contributed to his untimely death.
I've had a beta fish w/ the plant, and the students really liked having him (we were the only class to have a pet of any kind). I let them name him (Elvis Fishley - don't ask!), and he was relatively easy to care for, except that he really smelled when we cleaned his water (at least once a week). I raffled Elvis off at the end of the year to one of the students.
Last year, I thought the same idea (the big vase w/ the plant) would be a good idea, but this time with two little aquatic frogs (African frogs? I forget what they were called). One died pretty quickly, but the other lasted for a while. I actually killed him accidently, by using water that was too warm (at least, I think that's what happened). I let the kids believe that he expired from natural causes (although my son knows the truth!), and I decided not more class pets.
With both the frogs and the fish, I had to worry about water temp. As the winter months came along, it could get pretty cold in the classroom. I sometimes had to bring them home for long weekends, b/c I was afraid they would freeze while we were gone.
Of course, now that a new year is approaching, I am thinking, "Maybe a class pet would be fun." Some people never learn their lesson!
How cool are you guys? Kids must love your classrooms. The fish tanks must double as a nice soothing sound like a fountain. You all are so brave~ I DO NOT do reptiles of any kind. I know the kids would love them though .
On a funny side note, I have a young cat that I have a picture of in my room. My kids love hearing stories about her~ she is completely wild. Last year, my kids decided we MUST get a class pet. They then decided that I should bring my cat to work each day as our pet. They really didn't understand my reasoning on why that was a no...allergies, logic, none of that mattered! Needless to say, no cat ever lived in my room, she probably would have loved it though .
Thanks for your help! I was leaning towards the tree frogs or the leopard gecko but then when you said he eats wax worms and meal worms, I got worried. Our last science unit is Insects and we raise wax worms and meal worms through their complete metamorphasis! Do you think this would bother the kids when they find out that we've been feeding them to the gecko?? We also build a cricket habitat in that unit, so I guess I have the same question about frogs who eat those. I guess I could start to incorporate the "circle of life" into my lesson when they figure that out! What do you think?
I'm still interested in other ideas if you have them!!
I've had different pets each year and since I've taught for 20 years, I've had different animals. I've had rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, mice and rats. I know that it is becoming not the thing to do and I expect any year to be told no animals. I always send out a questionaire to parents before I bring in any animals. If someone is allergic I never bring the animal in. Last year I had two guinea pigs, but I had one child that was constantly harassing them so I brought them home since humane treatment of animals is a big part of my program. I kept the water turtle and geckos at school in a covered aquarium. My animals had a home at school and one at home so I could carry them in a small pet carrier back and forth. I know that salmonella is a big concern with reptiles but since mine werre in a covered container and for observation only, that seemed to be okay with the administration, The little Dwarf African frogs are so cute, but they are hard for me to keep alive. Since my theme this year is changing to FROGS, I'm researching getting some type of aquatic frog to add to my classroom as a pet.
Diana
I have a tarantula for a class pet. She does eat crickets, but she kills them all immediately and saves them for later. So no need to feed the crickets.
We have a variety of pets in my classroom. We always have fish and snails. Aquarium stays full of those all year. Also keep anoles, but they can be a pain because of the weekly cricket feeding. The cage has to be cleaned weekly too, which is another hassle, but the kids love them. I have a parakeet that stays in the room and has been a class pet for the last three years. When he gets too talkative we just put him outside the door until he calms down. Kids love him too. Also have a hermit crab. Not the same one from year to year because I manage to kill those. Not sure how, but I do. Anyway I love pets so I'd have more if I had the space. I want turtles this year, but am concerned about salmonella and getting my principal to agree to my having turtles. One thing I'll never have is a snake! Real fear of those!
The best of all pets is a stuffed animal (a classroom mascot). You don't have to buy food, they don't stink, the students love it. It loves to home with students so that they can read to it. It whispers things in my ear to tell the class.
One teacher had a jungle theme and she had a wooden snake for the class mascot.
I have had a guinea pig the last two years. We have to clean his cage often so the room doesn't smell, but I have fifth graders so they pretty much take care of that themselves. Ours is very easy going and quiet. He sits on their desks during silent reading and read aloud time. They just pet him and feed him hay. If I am not going to school over the weekend I bring him home. He has a cage at my house. The biggest problem with him is he is messy. We keep old towels in the room to carry him around with and set on the desk.
Nana,
Since your theme this year is frogs you might try African Clawed frogs. They are like the dwarf frogs but bigger and easier to take care of. They get about as big as the size of the palm of your hand. they are totally aquatic, never need to leave water, don't need a heater unless your room gets really cold. They can live without a filter if you are willing to clean the aquarium every week or so, but with a filter can go quite awhile. They eat reptomin sticks. You can get them at any petstore or at Walmart. you don't have to feed them any live foods unless you want to. You can't have fish with them because they will eat them too. They are really funny to watch. When they eat the reptomin, they use their front feet and it looks like they are stuffing hotdog wienies down their throats. They are supposed to be very hearty and can live for several years. For more information, just go on the internet and punch in African Clawed frogs.
I was curious and just had to ask what do wax worms and meal worms metamorphosise(sp?) into?
As far as the pet question goes, I have had a Leopard Gecko for many years now and it is really a very easy-care pet. The crickets are not a hassle. I just buy a bunch every 3 weeks or so and put them into a little container with food and moisture. Geckos can survive quite a while without being fed, as long as they have a good store of fat in their tail.
My students just loved seeing him every day, and especially loved seeing him eat the crickets!
TerryT~
Mealworms become Darkling Beetles and Wax Worms become Wax Moths. We also do Milkweed Bugs and Butterflies. It is not my favorite unit. This will be the second time I teach it, we switch on and off every other year.
What kind of container/tank do you keep your leopard gecko in? Does he require a heat lamp? What other accessories would I need?
Teach'n'Learn~
I'm super scared of spiders, but the idea of a tarantula intrigues me! What else can you tell me about it? Can it be handled? (I'm obviously clueless!)
Mine cannot be handled; she wasn't very well socialized as a baby spider. However, I have known at least two friendly tarantulas. One was enormous, the size of a small rat!
There are a bunch of different varieties of tarantulas. Mexican-red-knee seem to be most popular around here, and I have a Chilean Rose. Mine eats crickets once or twice a month. I give her 4-5 big ones at a time, and she kills them and wraps them up.
They're very easy-keepers. The cage needs cleaning every few months, it's easy to maintain the temperature in the right range, and obviously they don't eat much.
Oh, and I have recently learned that you can buy spiders from breeders just as you can buy dogs and cats from breeders instead of a Petco, and these have a better chance of being properly socialized (just like dogs and cats!).
GBickel,
Thanks! I will definitely look into those and see if I can find out about those. I have an aquarium that I can use. I'm glad they eat the reptomin sticks. That makes things less messy.
Diana
Thanks for the info. Fascinating!
Regarding Geckos. I use a regular size aquarium and heat it with a heating pad. You can get special reptile heaters, but they are more expensive. We used the heating pad at the suggestion of the breeder we bought it from.
Geckos need a hiding place and water source. Both can be purchased from the pet store or you can improvise as long as it's safe.
On the bottom of my aquarium is a special reptile liner, but some people just use sand. I find the liner easier to clean.
The biggest job with a reptile is cleaning out the aquarium, but I usually only do it every 2-3 months or so. In between times, the "poops" can be taken out on a regular basis.
That's it! Feel free to ask further if necessary.
07-23-2007, 10:33 PM
He had other shells, he just wouldn't go into them. He died shortly after that.
She does eat crickets, but she kills them all immediately and saves them for later. So no need to feed the crickets.
However, I have known at least two friendly tarantulas. One was enormous, the size of a small rat! 
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