Reptiles as class pets

[crescend]

A good friend of ours is a 6th grade teacher in New York state (buffalo area) and he would like to take one of our '09 male ball pythons to use as a class pet. my son has done demonstrations with the snakes for this teacher on a couple of occassions, and this seems the natural progression. As some of you can imagine (or not..... notice I didn't say "can understand") the administration is asking a lot of questions and raising some concerns. My friend was wondering if I knew of any other teachers / schools that already have reptiles as class pets, and if they would be willing to provide information to him. Schools in New York would probably be best, but at this point we would be interested in insight from anyone

[unspecified42]

My sister is a middle school teacher in VA. She had a ball python (who sadly passed a few months ago) as a class pet for quite a while and never had any problems with administration. She didn't feed it during school hours, though, and had any of the students had a phobia or strong adversion she would have taken it home, no questions asked.

[WingedWolfPsion]

My high school biology teacher had a garter snake and some axolotls as class pets. That was Churchill High School in Livonia, MI. We were permitted to handle the exceptionally tame garter during class. He would sit wrapped around peoples' hands. I don't think, in retrospect, that the teacher was particularly knowledgeable about the animal, though.

I think a ball python would make a much better class pet than any sort of rodent or rabbit. If the worst happens, and someone is bitten, the snake's bite is much less serious than a bite from a hamster would be, and much cleaner and less painful.

Some hand sanitizer nearby for those who handle the animal would be a sensible precaution. I would think that finding a ball python that is very outgoing and is a good eater would be a wise decision, rather than just acquiring one randomly.

[mykaija]

my sons science teacher has a corn, some type of lizard, and we bring our biggest ball a few times a year. he feeds his corn live, in class, and has fed our ball in class as well. he is a high school teacher, and there has never been a problem...the elementary school however wouldnt let us bring him into the building do to the younger childrens fears <and administration imo> we live in wi, and i was very impressed at the high school for their openness, and willingness to learn about reptiles. if you want contact info, pm me and ill pass along the info to the teacher...

[abuja]

My high school biology teacher had a garter snake and some axolotls as class pets. That was Churchill High School in Livonia, MI. We were permitted to handle the exceptionally tame garter during class. He would sit wrapped around peoples' hands. I don't think, in retrospect, that the teacher was particularly knowledgeable about the animal, though.

Same here. Except for the school and the fact that it's a ratsnake.

Personally, I don't think a ball python is a very good class pet. If my bio classroom had a ball python, the poor thing would be soo stressed out with all of the rowdy high school kids. A colubrid of some sort (i.e. cornsnake, kingsnake, milksnake) would probably be best for that environment. But that's just me.

[olstyn]

Regardless of what reptile is chosen, if any, I would think it'd be important to have a lock on the cage so that the kids can't mess with the animal(s) unsupervised. abuja is probably right about the colubrid vs BP idea with regard to stress levels.

[BGdyl]

as long as there is a knowledgeable person to care for the snake a bp would be gr8 my 3rd grade teacher had one in the classroom although i couldn't tell u much more cuz i can barely remember

[MarkS]

The first corn snake I ever hatched went to my Mom as a classroom pet. (She used to teach 2nd grade) She had it for many years until she retired then the snake came back to me. I think that every student in the school handled that snake at one time or another and she never had any problems or caught any flack for it from the administration. Unfortunatly it seems that more and more administrators are all about CYA rather then education these days.

And that's pretty much the key right there. It's usually the superintendent that has the final say, if you can win them over you're home free. Just make sure that it is SECURELY caged with NO POSSIBILITY to escape. Otherwise you could find yourself as a featured story in the town newspaper.

[crescend]

Thanks for all of the great input. We have already set up the snake in a slide top cage with a padlock so that kids, custodial staff, jerks can't get to the snake. The teacher is knowledgable about the snakes, and we plan to provide him with all of the support he needs. Actually, my son will be doing another genetics presentation along with a handling clinic when we deliver the snake to the class. The ball that will be going is a fantastic eater, and doesn't mind being handled at all. Right now he is in a tank in the middle of our livingroom and doesn't seem stressed at all with all of the traffic and confusion. The teacher has had pets in the classroom forever, and he is great about placing them in a "quiet" corner of the room and limiting exposure to the kids. It's more a reward for great behaviour and work when they are allowed to interact with the animals.

Thank you to all who have replied. We are even inviting the school superintendant to the class for the presentation when it happens. I've found that once they actually see and experience the snakes, it eliminates some of the concern

[frankykeno]

Personally I'd suggest a cornsnake or milksnake. Ball pythons being so much shyer and far more nocturnal and with thier tendency to be in their hides a lot, well I don't see them as being a great classroom pet. Granted they are nice and beefy so easier to hold on to than a fast moving colubrid and tend not to be a bite first, ask questions later type of snake but still, not my first choice in a classroom.