Why do we have pets in the classroom?

A classroom pet creates endless opportunities to make learning fun. Whether it’s Math (“How much does a hamster weigh?”) or Science, (“What does a snake eat?”) HSIE (“What part of the world do ferrets come from?”) or Grammar (“What words would we use to describe a goldfish?”) students approach learning all these subjects with a new enthusiasm and interest.

Pets also enrich the classroom experience:
• Students with no exposure to animals or nature in their home environment can see, feel, touch and make connections to the wide world of animals.
• Observing and caring for an animal instills a sense of responsibility and respect for life.
• A pet brings increased sensitivity and awareness of the feelings and needs of others—both animals and humans.
• Students learn that all living things need more than just food and water for survival.
• Students will see directly how their behaviour and actions affect others.
• Studies show that the presence of animals tends to lessen tension in the classroom.

OUR COLLECTION

NEW MARINE AQUARIUM
see fish section below

Stick Insects

• Spiny Leaf Stick Insect, Extatosoma Tiaratum (caresheet)
• Children’s Stick Insect, Tropidoderus childrenii (caresheet)
• Died - Giant Walking Sticks, Acrophylla wuelfingi (caresheet)
• Died - Ten -Inch Stick, Ctenomorphodes briareus (caresheet)
• Crown Head Stick Insect, Onchestus rentzi (caresheet)
• Goliath Stick Insect, Eurycnema goliath (caresheet)
• Died -Violet-winged Stick Insects, Didymuria violescens – (several specimens found in school grounds (caresheet)
• Died – Titan Stick Insect, Acrophylla titan – found by Tom in his house  (caresheet)

They all belong to the group called phasmids. Phasmids are insects that eat leaves and resemble leaves or sticks. more info

Our Stick Insects are kept in terrariums that provide good ventilation. We use paper towel on the bottom and a plastic bottle with pebbles to hold the leaves and water. Our Terrarium Keepers clean out the cage once or twice per week and spray the leaves at least once per day.

Here is a video of Doctor Harry talking about keeping Stick insects

Spiny Leaf Stick Insect, Extatosoma Tiaratum

Giant Walking Sticks, Acrophylla wuelfingi

Ten -Inch Stick, Ctenomorphodes briareus

Children’s Stick Insect, Tropidoderus childrenii

Goliath Stick Insect, Eurycnema goliath

Violet-winged Stick Insect, Didymuria violescens (pinned)

Titan Stick Insect, Acrophylla titan

Crowned Stick Insect, Onchestus rentzi

Egg (Ova) Collection

Burrowing Cockroaches

Giant Burrowing Cockroaches are native to Australia, and are mostly found in tropical Queensland. They can grow as big as the palm of your hand, measuring up to 80 millimetres. They are the largest cockroach in the world. They are officially called Macropanesthia Rhinoceros and are also called Rhinoceros Cockroaches or Litter Bugs.

They can live for up to 10 years. They do not have wings. The females do not lay eggs, they bear live young with up to 30 in a clutch.

We keep our pair of Giant Cockroaches in an old fish tank with a few inches of sandy soil and peat moss. We feed them dry eucalyptus leaves and occasionally give them thin slices of carrot. Click here for a caresheet.

Giant Cockroach, Macropanesthia  Rhinoceros

Snails

Giant Panda Snail (Hedleyella falconeri) can be found in sub-tropical rainforest where it forages in the leaf litter of the forest floor. There shell can grow to about 9cm – 10cm. Click here for a caresheet.

Fraser’s Land Snail (Sphaerospira fraseri) can be found in Northeast NSW and Southeast QLD, typically found in rainforests and wet open forests. There shell can grow to about 4cm – 5cm. Click here for a caresheet.

Snails are more active during and after rain to prevent water loss from its soft body. These species will shelter under tree roots and logs but also within the leaf litter in forest clearings. They can fertilize each other and both can lay eggs, they are hermaphrodites (like most snails) which mean they are both male and female.

We keep ours in a 60 cm long fish tank with around 10cm of peat moss and a thick layer of leaf litter on the top of one side. We feed mushrooms, sweet potato, cabbage, cucumber, rockmelon and other soft fruit. We also provide cuttle bone as a source of calcium so they can grow and repair their shell. We need to spray each day to provide a humid environment.

Giant Panda Snail, Hedleyella falconeri

Fraser’s Land Snail, Sphaerospira fraseri

Pill Millipedes

Pill Millipedes are capable of rolling into perfect balls when disturbed. Most millipedes are long and slender, but Pill Millipedes are short and stout with a covering of hard shiny segments called tergites. They live in moist urban areas, forests and woodlands and can grow to about 4cm. Click here for a general millipede caresheet. Click here for more information.

We keep our in a 30cm fish tank with a mixture of coco peat and a layer of rotting leaves. We feed ours rotting leaves/wood and occasionally some fruit. We also provide a cuttlebone to help provide calcium.

Pill Millipedes

Purple Winged Mantis

The Purple-winged Mantis (Tenodera australasiae) is a large mantis with a long narrow body. The wings are purple or dark brown with green margins. The head and body are light brown, and the eyes are green. The thorax is long and the forelegs are spiny like other mantis species. They are well camouflaged which helps them avoid predators and ambush prey. They often hunt amongst shrubs or tall grasses where they hang from their hind pairs of legs and pounce on passing prey with their spiny forelegs. Both males and females are winged and can fly. The Mantis eats other insects (carnivorous).  They live for about a year to eighteen months.

We keep ours in a small round plastic terrarium that has some branches and coco peat on the floor. We feed live crickets once or twice a weak, depending on the heat.  If he doesn’t eat the crickets we need to take them out so they don’t bite the legs of the Mantis. We also spray the coco peat to make sure it is moist and the humidity is high. Click here for a general caresheet about mantids.

Purple Winged Mantis (Tenodera australasiae)

Video – Purple Winged Mantis (Tenodera australasiae)

Other Mantids (all found locally and now released)

Fiddler Beetles

Fiddler Beetle (Eupoecila australasiae) was given it’s common name because of the distinctive violin/fiddle shaped marking on its back.

Fiddler Beetles lay their eggs in rotting logs or in damp soil under logs. The grubs that hatch feed on rotting timber and build cocoons of soil and debris (they are occasionally found in potting mix). The adult beetles emerge in early summer. They are strong fliers and fly between eucalypt and other trees to feed on nectar. They are found in all states except for Western Australia and are harmless to humans.

We have a colony of 5 adult beetles that we are hoping will breed in the the rotting wood and coco peat we have  provided them. If you look closely at the mix you should see the tunnels they have dug to lay their eggs. We provide water in a sponge and a fresh slice of apple every two days. We also need to mist the container so that the soil does not dry out.

[UPDATE]: Most of the beetles have now died, though grubs have been seen crawling around.

Fiddler Beetle (Eupoecila australasiae)

Fish

Marine Aquarium

Our marine aquarium contains a pair of Ocellaris Clownfish and a lonely Domino Damsel. The aquarium is a FOWLR setup, Fish Only With Live Rock, as it is a little easier to maintain.

The Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion Ocellaris) is the perfect beginner fish. It is very hardy, not too aggressive and all together an easy species to care for. It does well without anemones which are harder to keep. It has an orange base colour with three white vertical stripes on its body and black tips on the fins. … read more

Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion Ocellaris)

The Domino Damsel (Dascyllus trimaculatus) is also among the easiest of marine fish to keep, though they can become territorial with age. The name Domino Damsel was also derived from their appearance – they are said to resemble dominos. The three white spots are located on top of the fish’s head and on each side of the upper body. … read more

Domino Damsel (Dascyllus trimaculatus)

Cichlid Aquarium (Melanochromis Johannii)

Melanochromis Johannii or Johanni Cichlid is from the aggressive mbuna species. They are from Lake Malawi Africa and have a body that is torpedo shaped with males being black with electric blue markings and females that are all yellow. They are omnivores though most of their diet is vegetable matter (algae). They are great fish to have in the classroom, though they should not be kept with other tropical fish. As mouth brooders you will see the female holding the eggs/fry in her mouth until they are old enough to defend themselves.

We have a colony of one male and four females in a aquarium with coral sand (to keep Ph up) and some decorations that form caves.

Johanni Cichlid (Melanochromis Johannii)

Community Aquarium

A Community Aquarium is basically a mixture of fish from around the world that will adapt to live together. Many fish are not compatible, like our Johanni Cichlids that will kill every living creature in the community tank. The Johanni Cichlids also require water that has a much higher PH level than the fish in our community aquarium.

In our community aquarium we have Cardinal Tetras, Rocket Killifish, Halfbeaks and Endlers.

Shrimp (now in tank above)

We have three types types of shrimp in our second aquarium. They are the Crystal Red Shrimp (CRS), Crystal Black Shrimp (CBS) and Red Cherry Shrimp (RCS). They love to sit on the Java Moss and scavenge for food. We feed them two to three times a week with Hikari Crab Bits and Sera Shrimp food though they often will eat the algae in the aquarium. If you look closely you will also see that we have a few snails in with the shrimp. These snails are called Ramshorn Snails.

Crystal Red Shrimp (CRS)

Crystal Black Shrimp (CBS)

Cherry Shrimp

Virtual Pet Hamster: Adam Bowman

His lively pet hamster who will keep you company throughout the day. Watch him run on his wheel, drink water, and eat the food you feed him. Click the centre of the wheel to make him get back on it. Click anywhere else to feed him.

Click here to play with him full screen