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 will 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

Insects

Stick Insects

• Spiny Leaf Stick Insect,Extatosoma Tiaratum (caresheet)
• Children’s Stick Insect, Tropidoderus childrenii (caresheet)
• Giant Walking Sticks, Acrophylla wuelfingi (caresheet)
• Ten -Inch Stick, Ctenomorphodes briareus (caresheet)
• Goliath Stick Insect, Eurycnema goliath (caresheet)
• 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 (new picture soon)

Goliath Stick Insect, Eurycnema goliath

Violet-winged Stick Insect, Didymuria violescens (pinned)

Died -Titan Stick Insect, Acrophylla titan

Crowned Stick Insect, Onchestus rentzi (new picture soon)

Egg (Ova) Collection

Purple Winged Mantis (Tenodera australasiae)

The Purple-winged Mantis 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)

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

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 died, though grubs have been seen crawling around.

Fiddler Beetle (Eupoecila australasiae)

Fish

Cichlid Aquarium (Melanochromis Johannii)

Melanochromis Johannii or Johanni Cichlid is from the aggressive mbuna species. They are from Lake Malawi 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.

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 cherry shrimp.

Shrimp (To be updated)

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

Paradise Fish

Paradise Fish are from Asia and belong to the same family as Fighting Fish. Their labyrinth organ helps them to breathe oxygen in the air. This allows them to live in very little water with very low oxygen levels (The water is often muddy and murky). They grow to about ten centimetres and live for a few years. The males are much more colourful than the females and are extremely aggressive to other males.

We have an adult pair that have just started breeding. The fry are extremely small and are not free swimming yet. If they fall out of the bubble nest, hopefully, the male will pick them up and put them back amongst the bubbles. Once they can swim they will start to eat the infusoria growing in the tank as well as some extra fry food. At about 2 weeks more solid food will then be fed.

Click here if you would like to read more about Paradise Fish.

.

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