Classroom Pet

[NoahsMommy]

I was going to say a rat or two as well. They are small and friendly. I've heard from people that keep them that males are more friendly. (You can neuter them and they wont have that musky odor...most vets will do it for free if they know its a class pet.)

Whatever you decide, let us know. That's exciting!

[dogs_4_me]

Thats so exciting. I think it is a great idea for a guinea pig for a pet! You need to do your research and NEVER trust a pet store. I got 3 of my guinea pigs there. My first one died (Angel)with in a few months because of a sickness it developed most likly at a pet store. But before she died I bought Abby though, she was so cute and they kepy eachother company, but when Angel died i needed to get Abby another friend, so I got another "female" GUinea pig named Angie, well soon enough we found out she wasnt female and we have 2 babies. Then we had 10 other babies. But i developed a allergy so i had to give them all away, but i gave them to a guinea pig organization so that they wont have any chance of been put down! and Abby and Angie got to go to a new home together, and teh first babies got to go to a home together(sam and molly)
They dont bite often, and there easy to take care of, and mine were addicted to Timothy hay.

[chrissycat21]

Thanks wolfie!

I know some of you have suggested hamsters, but from my experience I'm not sure if they would be the greatest class room pet from my experiences with them. They sleep all day and than are up all night. Plus, they bite a lot. (Or atleast mine did) Plus, if you do take them out duiring the day, they tend to love exploring small places gone unnoticed by humans.

Guinea pigs do get scared and many run for 'cover' under a desk or some sort of overhang, so Taffy always h as his 'pigloo' so if he gets scared he goes under that.

[prechrswife]

First of all, thanks for all of the great advice. If circumstances were different, a guinea pig would be a great idea. However, after thinking things through, I think I am going to stay with my original idea of a fish. It just makes more sense in my present situation. We have a good place at home to keep a small aquarium, and the cats cannot get to it. I also only intend to teach until we start our family, so this could be a job that only lasts for a year. Whatever pet I get will have to come home with me permanently at that point. Since we already have 3 cats and 2 dogs, I do not think that we need to take on anything that requires a lot of attention. It wouldn't be fair to the animal. Children are resilient, so they will learn to be okay with the fish. Again, thanks so much!

[chrissycat21]

I'm glad that you thought things through and kept the animal in mind.

If you don't want to take the fish home on the weekends you can buy weekend feeders. They work well.

[smileyiloveyou]

Originally posted by chrissycat21
I'm glad that you thought things through and kept the animal in mind.

If you don't want to take the fish home on the weekends you can buy weekend feeders. They work well.

What are weekend feeders? I have a fish pond outside, but i have never heard about weekend feeders.

[animal_rescue]

well good luck with the fish!

[CathyBogart]

You can buy mechanical fish feeders pretty inexpensively, it can automatically feed the fish for you every day so that A: the kids can't accidentally over-feed the fish and B: It will feed them for you while you're away for the weekends.

Just a random thought from a pet store employee.

[kingrattus]

My fish guy told me not to feed my fish more then once every 2-3 days.

I feed my goldfish once a week (put they r in a pond).

When I had pet goldfish, I fed them every 2-3 days & they lived for almost 10 years. When I fed the goldfish everyday they didn't live too long at all.

[caseysmom]

My daughter had 2 boy rats in her fifth grade class, they pretty much belonged to the teacher. One of them got sick and died and when summer came the teacher was pregnant and knew we had 2 females so she asked us to take the boy.

Rats are pretty high maintenance...they do like to be clean.

[sirrahved]

Originally posted by kingrattus
& mice, rats, & hamsters tend to nip, which is bad for a classroom. But I hardly ever hear of people of being bitten by guinea pigs.

Most mice never bite.

Mice would be a nice idea because they don't bite and they are easy to take care of. Fairly inexpensive, too. A downside is that they don't often return to their cage if they get "lost" so they would have to be VERY closely supervised.

[sirrahved]

guess I should have read the post through.

Congrats on the fish!

[wabbitwuver]

You should get a betta! They can live over 5 months,can be cleaned only once a week and won't die of too much food intake. My betta is well over 5 months old,gets fed everyday gets cleaned when he gets stinky(hehe). I just gave him a bouncy ball to float around in his bowl, he likes to push it around,lol, it's cute!

[Cinder & Smoke]

Originally posted by prechrswife

Children are resilient,
so they will learn to be okay with the fish.

Miz Teacher, sitting at her desk,
notices lil Tommy...
sitting at HIS desk,
*intently* stroking sumpin in his cupped hand.



Teach: "Uhhh, Tommy, Dear ~ What'cha doin??"

Tommy: "Jest Pettin da Phish, Teach!"




..

[tikeyas_mom]

i agree with a rat or two. they arnt fear biters like hamsters. and they are very sweet. they can be taught tricks and they will gladly just sit on your sholder and hang out. you can also teach the kids that they are good clean animals and not rabies infested like their parents might think.