What Animals Make Good Classroom Teachers?

Elementary students are thrilled to have animals in the classroom. Animals can help teach ecology, behavior, life cycles, and lessons about responsibility. Live critters can also be adjuncts to helping children with behavior problems improve their focus or  be able to project their feelings more clearly. The best animals are interesting, easy to care for, and relatively inexpensive to purchase and maintain. Finally, a plan needs to be in place for hosting  animal ‘ambassadors’ over holidays greater than  five nights in length.

What are the best critters?

The best ambassadors are the ones which meet the basic criteria for guest critters and they meet some of your curriculum goals. I have personal experience with parakeets, fish, frogs, turtles, hissing cockroaches, praying mantids, silk worms, crickets, anole lizards, geckos, gerbils, hamsters, snakes, rats, and hermit crabs. The following categories of problems may help you narrow your choices.

The following critters carry salmonella bacteria and should be avoided: turtles, frogs

These animals require special lighting and heating: birds, snakes, anoles, geckos, iguanas, turtles, frogs + most other tropical amphibs or lizards

The following may cause your colleagues to quit on the spot: snakes, tarantulas

These require live food of some kind: snakes, geckos, turtles, frogs, anoles, mantids +  most other tropical lizards/amphibs

Can bite when handled: hermit crabs, turtles (esp. snappers of any size), iguanas, hamsters, tarantulas (rarely)

Animals with smelly waste or need frequent waste removal: rats, hamsters, hermit crabs (esp. smelly food), turtles, frogs, crickets (used as food for lizards)

Can be intrusive in their noise making: birds, hamsters (when using exercise wheel), frogs

Overpopulation risk: rats

Prone to life shortening tumors: hamsters, rats

Will chew anything, including electrical wires and shoes: rabbits

Nocturnal – asleep during school day! – hamsters, geckos

So, that doesn’t leave very many!