Pets In The Classroom!

Hello Science Friends,

I was thinking about pets in the classroom when I saw something posted about this on Pinterest. I really enjoyed my pets last year and I have even enjoyed them at home this summer. I have to say that just picking the right pet for your classroom and for your personality make all the difference in the world. I have stress free pets. Truth be told, if I could I would have one of everything. So I had to think long and hard about what I could manage and take care of when the pets were not at school at Christmas and in the summer. I am so thankful that I thought it through because when I step my foot in a pet shop, I want to take everything home with me and take care of it. I swear, it is like some kind of maternal force of nature that I want to care for them all. This is why I had to prepare myself for the trip to the pet shop when I selected my pets last year. I had to literally not even look towards the adoption center or pets I was not even considering. It is hard.

As I was reading the site Pets in the Classroom I found an article on hermit crabs that I wanted to share here. Hermit crabs are so simple to take care of and they are interesting. In the classroom they offer tons of observation and notebooking activities and they are not disruptive at all. They are also very inexpensive to purchase and to care for.

Here is some great information if you are thinking about Hermit Crabs

Written By Cindy at Pets In The Classroom

Hermit crabs make an unusual and very interesting classroom pet. But don’t let the hermit crab’s name fool you – they are not “hermits” but prefer the company of other “hermies” to be at their happiest. In the wild, hermit crabs travel in packs of up to 100 crabs. One of the reasons hermit crabs need to be around other crabs is because it provides possibilities for new homes as they switch shells.

The best habitat for your classroom hermit crabs is a spacious aquarium big enough to hold food and water dishes, extra shells and things for your crabs to climb on. There should also be some open space for roaming. The bottom of the habitat should be covered with clean sand or coconut fiber substrate.

Hermit crabs are a great addition to your science curriculum. These crabs require their water to be treated with a dechlorinizer that can easily be purchased in the aquarium section of your pet supply store. A sponge or small stones can be added to the water dish so that smaller crabs don’t drown in the dish. Hermit crabs require consistent temperatures and humidity, so you may want to add a shallow dish of water with a natural sponge in it to create a more humid habitat. You can actually purchase a humidity gauge, which should always show at least 70% humidity.