Escape at school!

[cecilbturtle]

Well now you know that it in fact wasn't over kill but obviously necessary.

By the way, any luck what so ever finding him? Is there any way you can sneak a peek inside that cabinet?

[Talae]

All signs point to escape. The way the tank was open when I came in looked like an escape and when confronted, his story matched what I thought it would be. I will continue to look.

There is no way to see inside the cabinet without removing part of the cabinet and since it is not mine I will have to continue to try and lure him out.

[cecilbturtle]

I say do what you have to to take a look. Flowers, candy, a case of beer... Whatever it takes to get at least a look.

Could you fit a mirror like a dentist's mirror in there? You can get one at an auto parts store. Heck, even ask around to borrow a telescoping camera. Mechanics use them. Actually so do plumbers.

[MarkieJ]

By the way, if you condone keeping reptiles unlocked in close proximity to kids then fine. You are part of the problem as well. Where do you think all the bad press comes from? Although there are some shady people out there the majority of it comes from good people making poor decisions. A snake cannot escape a well made LOCKED enclosure! So go ahead and give everyone the benefit of the doubt but that is exactly why this stuff happens.

Great, lump us with the people that deliberately let their snakes free, or the ones with blankets on the top of their burm cage that gets their child killed... All of my cages have pin locks, and my Hog Island Boa is in a Neodesha that is inescapable. Mistakes were made... they happen. I've been teaching for 12 years, and have had far more escapes at home than the 2 I've had at school.

Prior to becoming a teacher, I researched the best/safest reptiles to have in a classroom. I was inspired by my Biology teacher who had a classroom filled with animals, and now I teach in that very same room. I teach in a low income school who's population is rarely exposed to reptiles. It's amazing when the kids exclaim, "it's not slimy!" after touching a snake for the very first time. I've turned on many a young person to reptile keeping, and inspired some to follow my footsteps and perhaps become teachers some day, like I was many moons ago. Here's some pics of my zoo, and happy students:

Ball Pythons make great genetics lesson examples.


The Hog Island Boa is a class favorite.


My Russian Tortoise at the San Diego Science Festival (non-toxic, water soluble paint).


A student planking with a Blue Tongued Skink on her back.


The Bearded Dragons always put on a show during breeding season.


Yeah, I got bit, but my calm demeanor showed my students that they had nothing to fear from this Rosy Boa. Some students went so far to be asked to be bitten as well. Of course I didn't let them.


My students get the opportunity to hand feed a Fly River Turtle! How many of you can say you have done this?


Here's me.


Bottom line is that safety comes first in my classroom. Every kid knows to wash/sanitize their hands after every handling session. Each class has a very responsible student/group of students that I have chosen to be the reptile caretaker(s). Their role is to keep an extra eye out on the reptiles when they are being handled, and they also feed and clean cages. The benefit of educating 100s of students each year on reptile caretaking, far outweighs the small risk of an escape of a harmless reptile IMO.

[Talae]

Bottom line is that safety comes first in my classroom. Every kid knows to wash/sanitize their hands after every handling session. Each class has a very responsible student/group of students that I have chosen to be the reptile caretaker(s). Their role is to keep an extra eye out on the reptiles when they are being handled, and they also feed and clean cages. The benefit of educating 100s of students each year on reptile caretaking, far outweighs the small risk of an escape of a harmless reptile IMO.

Definitely. I have been working on doing the same. I haven't worked up to having students hold them yet, but was getting there. I also teach in a low income area and the students know very little of any science before getting to 7th grade. I am confident that my 7th graders are responsible enough and now knowledgeable enough to not mess with the tank (and definitely to let me know if such a thing were to happen). This was a 9th grader that came onto to campus to visit the teacher next door and shouldn't have been in my room (or hers since she wasn't there yet). I still have mice in the tank and no snake as of today. I have yet to try the flour/corn starch, but that will happen this week. I might just put a line of it in front of each door to start with.

[cecilbturtle]

What you do is absolutely amazing. I wish more schools had programs like yours and teachers like you. This goes for the OP as well.

My point is that the general public doesn't care about all the good you are doing. They will only pay attention when you make that one mistake. That's when the media gets a hold of it and blows it out of proportion. I can see it now. "Blood thirsty python loose in your children's school. Film at 11." Then the politicians get involved and change legislation to protect the public from these exotic terrors. (Lacey Act)

All I'm saying is lock them up! Simple. Effective. I won't back down from this. It is irresponsible to do otherwise.

[jfaria1891]

i wish i had a teacher like markiej in highschool! its awesome what your doing with the kids and talae i really hope you find your BP and are able to have more in the classroom and let them be an awesome experience like markiej has. i had never realized how BP's are perfect for teaching genetics =P and it really makes it fun for them to learn about plus teaching reptile handing/care and getting more numbers into the reptile community never hurts! what your doing is by far the coolest thing i have ever heard of a highschool teacher doing with their class and talae i have never had a snake escape on me so unfortunately i cant really give advice but i really hope you find it and can include them in your class also!

like cecilbturtle said we need way more teachers like you guys!

[olstyn]

Great, lump us with the people that deliberately let their snakes free, or the ones with blankets on the top of their burm cage that gets their child killed... All of my cages have pin locks, and my Hog Island Boa is in a Neodesha that is inescapable. Mistakes were made... they happen. I've been teaching for 12 years, and have had far more escapes at home than the 2 I've had at school.

Bottom line is that safety comes first in my classroom. Every kid knows to wash/sanitize their hands after every handling session. Each class has a very responsible student/group of students that I have chosen to be the reptile caretaker(s). Their role is to keep an extra eye out on the reptiles when they are being handled, and they also feed and clean cages. The benefit of educating 100s of students each year on reptile caretaking, far outweighs the small risk of an escape of a harmless reptile IMO.

Cecil is right once again. We don't have to lump you in with those people - you've done it to yourself. The cause isn't the important factor; it's the end result. Loose snake = hysteria and/or media problem. It doesn't matter that somebody who shouldn't have had access caused it; had there been a lock on that cage, it wouldn't have been possible.

How many escapes at home is "far more?" Sounds like you're pretty lax with securing cages to me. I've had ZERO escapes, ever. No, I don't think I'm perfect, but it's part of my routine when finishing up with any of my reptiles to double check that cages are properly closed/secured before I do anything else. It's a simple step that keeps my animals safe.

That said, like cecil, I have to praise you for what seems like an awesome classroom, so keep up the great work there. Educating kids truly is the path to getting the public in general to accept our hobby.

[jfaria1891]

This is my opinion and i know im going to get attacked for this but i think you guys should lighten up on him, what he and the other teacher that posted here are doing is amazing for the kids the community for general reptile awareness. Yes he made the mistake of trusting his classmembers too much, we all make mistakes. If something serious was ever to happen because of something like this i would blame the press not the person. The press is the one doing the harm not the people. I just think you guys are being a bit harsh IMO

[olstyn]

Given that we can't control the press, but with careful (and strict) caging practices, we CAN control, and probably eliminate, escapes, I think we should do so. That eliminates the bad press problem, and it's not hard to do. Like cecil, I don't want to hear about it on the evening news.