Classroom pets at DDHS

Posted Jan. 24 2024

Nancy Kushniryuk

Cub Reporter

It was a sunny morning at David Douglas High School. The trees' orange and yellow leaves fall off their branches just outside of the classroom's windows where you can see a bearded dragon taking a nap in her tank. Many other class pets begin to get up and prepare for another long day of students walking in and out of the classrooms.

Biology teacher Ms. Miles, located in room S3,  has 2 hermit crabs, Butterfly and Spot, as classroom pets. She carefully chose an animal that wouldn’t have trouble living in a classroom environment saying, “I didn't want to choose a pet that is too sensitive with hearing," and, “they're low maintenance.” Hermit crabs aren’t too difficult to care for and they are a good pet for anyone willing to care for them and put the time into keeping them happy and healthy. 

There are still some things to watch out for in hermit crabs or any animal, like illnesses, mites, and other issues involving the animals' and sometimes students' health.

College Biology teacher Mr. Vega has had a bearded dragon named Nacho in the classroom for six years. He said that bearded dragons are generally easy to feed since their diet consists of fruit, vegetables, and certain bugs. The only con is cleaning the tank and having to deal with smells. "Nacho is way more popular than me!" Vega said. She even gets visits from students that don’t attend Mr. Vega’s classes.

Having a pet requires a lot of responsibility and “[it’s] important to know how to take care of your pet and provide enough enrichment in their life,” Vega said.

Article titled, “Deciding to get a Classroom Pet'' by logosatwork.com, listed the pros and cons to having a class pet. A few pros they list are that “students learn about responsibility” and “[students] can incorporate math and science lessons into pet care.” Some teachers may make a chore list for students to care for the classroom pet each day and/or track its weight, behavior, and eating habits to learn about various topics like life cycles and food webs.

Some cons there may be to having a classroom pet are things like added expenses to the classroom and the issue that there may not be someone to care for it on a non-school day, according to the article.

Just like any pet, teachers and staff need to be able to provide the right materials, time, and money to be able to care for a pet that may be added into a classroom.