class pet suggestions

AmbaLove

AmbaLove

New member
Okay, totally off topic, but seeking information and opinions, which I know you all have droves of!

My class has recieved permission to get a class pet in January.

Musts: No snakes (or my aide will quit!), animal must be happy to reside in a cage/tank at least 1/2 the time (it can come home with me and I can let it out as I please), not a nocturnal animal (as we would only see it sleep), not fish (we already have those), nothing that bites or is poisonous.
Negotiables: Prefer it not too get so large that it needs anything bigger than a 40g aquarium, not a smelly creature, can live alone (or if not, that two are not outrageouly costly), something with a longer life span so it won't die too quickly.

Ideas I have so far:
russian tortoise
green anole
chinese water dragon
iguana
leopard gecko
dwarf rabbit
rat

Anyone have other suggestions or have/had one of these and can tell me how appropriate it would be as a class pet?
 
I was going to suggest a rabbit or a rat. I always liked having rats in classrooms when I was a kid. Plus, from your point of view, if the kids feed it, you don't really have to worry about it because, well, rats can eat anything.
 
Rabbits tend to all look alike. If it dies you might be able to replace it without the class noticing.

Would the pet animal stay in the classroom 24/7? Or do the teacher and students take turn taking it home?
 
DD's preschool class had to release their turtles (they have a science teacher who knew what kind of turtles they were, and the right habitat for them, and the school has an 80-acre woods with a pond where they live now), IIRC due to health department regulations. No reptiles in classrooms due to salmonella concerns. I don't know if that's an issue for your class.

They have a guinea pig now, but a guinea pig needs more than a 40-gallon cage. IMHO, even a dwarf rabbit needs more than that amount of space - when I had a dwarf rabbit as a kid, he spent the night in a 4x6 bathroom with the door blocked off (so he wasn't just shut behind a closed door), and that wasn't nearly enough space. Oh, and male rabbits will spray if they aren't neutered. I've had hamsters before, and they do bite IME. The really popular pets for the middle schoolers are chinchillas (the school has herds of them - I think they must have gotten everyone in town's castoffs), but they also need a lot of room.

So from what's on your list, I'd go with the rat.
 
some areas turtles are illegal to have as pets... and rabbits tend to smell a little... definitely check your local ordinances as to what's not allowed.

an iquana would be kinda cool -but they tend to not do a whole lot I don't think...

Hamsters are cute but they can be a little testy...

guinea pigs are bigger than hamsters and are fuzzy... and fairly sturdy..
 
Tutles are not allowed, but tortoises are...no clue why.
Reptiles, even salmonella ones, are allowed, provided the children aren't handling them (and most lizards are not going to be handled by children 10 and under, the kids will just observe them).

Another suggestion I got was a pacman frog.
 
The children will NEVER be taking it home. Mentally retarded elementary schoolers are not taking home anything I have grown attatched to.

I would take it home on weekends and all breaks. It would spend single nights in the classroom, most likely.
 
I bought a 55 gallon tank on craigslist for 50 dollars, with a mesh lid. decent deal. The list is now narrowed down to:

chinese water dragon
bearded dragon
russian tortise
dwarf rabbit
rat

water dragon is in the lead, closely followed by rat.
 
AmbaLove said:
Okay, totally off topic, but seeking information and opinions, which I know you all have droves of!

My class has recieved permission to get a class pet in January.

Musts: No snakes (or my aide will quit!), animal must be happy to reside in a cage/tank at least 1/2 the time (it can come home with me and I can let it out as I please), not a nocturnal animal (as we would only see it sleep), not fish (we already have those), nothing that bites or is poisonous.
Negotiables: Prefer it not too get so large that it needs anything bigger than a 40g aquarium, not a smelly creature, can live alone (or if not, that two are not outrageouly costly), something with a longer life span so it won't die too quickly.

Ideas I have so far:
russian tortoise
green anole
chinese water dragon
iguana
leopard gecko
dwarf rabbit
rat

Anyone have other suggestions or have/had one of these and can tell me how appropriate it would be as a class pet?
Click to expand...

i would suggest staying away from the iguana idea, as those pets can get very agitated. Trust me, being tail whipped by one is the worst feeling you can get.
 
AmbaLove said:
I bought a 55 gallon tank on craigslist for 50 dollars, with a mesh lid. decent deal. The list is now narrowed down to:

chinese water dragon
bearded dragon
russian tortise
dwarf rabbit
rat

water dragon is in the lead, closely followed by rat.
Click to expand...

i personally own bearded dragons and i suggest those!

they're fun to watch and neutral to hold.

If you do decide on one, i will feel ya in on some of their behaviors to watch for, as they, like any pet, can feel threatened.
 
Yeah, I agree on dropping the iguana idea. I had one for a few years and not only can they be a real pain to take care of (fresh fruits and vegetables chopped up daily) but they often poop in their water, which means you have to clean it regularly, and they're very heat sensitive.

Heated tank + poopy water = a VERY stinky class pet.

They can also be very high-strung, compared to other reptiles.

My class had a dwarf rabbit as a pet (that I received from a rabbit breeder down the street from me) and it was an amazing little thing. Cute and since it was raised around a lot of hands, pretty sociable as well.

I second parakeets, because they don't scream and they're pretty good with kids.

Or maybe a ferret, like in Kindergarten Cop? :D
 
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