I've been contemplating getting a few daycare pets for my daycare the past few months. I have a separate daycare room that used to be my unattached garage so I obviously cannot get a typical pet such as a dog or cat because of the lack of room.

I am thinking more along the lines of turtles, fish or cameleons. I want them to be in a tank and I would like them to sit on our daycare room shelves so that they children can see them anytime and I don't have to worry about the children trying to pick them up like they would a cat or dog.

Does anyone have a small daycare pets? I would love to add "Feed Class Pet" to our job chart for my preschoolers.

Thanks in advance!

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Ant farm?

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I was thinking more along the lines of a Chia-pet Any other pet seems to be too much work and the risk of illness or disease is more than I care to think about.

OP~ I would check with your licensor about what pets are and arent allowed. Fish are always a nice and easy compromise.

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Geckos would probably be one of my first choices! But feeding them would involve crickets. Not sure you'd want to allow the kids to do that.

Um... gerbils are cute? They eat pellets, so no live food. Fast too, so would want to make sure they don't get out.

Lets see... fish tank? My son LOVES going to the petstore and oogling over all the fish.

Fire belly toads? I think they also eat live food, but I could be wrong..

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Thumbs down on turtles- I have them, they can carry salmonella, they live forever and they are a pain to care for. Reptiles require heat mats, special lights a live bug diet. Don't do it, trust me.
I like the suggestion of ant farm. Hermit crabs are really low maitence and you can put different shells in the terrarium and the crabs will change into them. You can house several crabs together without a problem.
I used to manage a pet store...I have all sorts of useless pet knowledge. Ask away.
My cats are awesome day care companions. They always cheer up my sensitive dcb, never scratched or bit. Can you make one cat work??

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If you want easy and no clean up, opt for plants. Chia pets or do an activity where the kids all grow flowers. If you start soon, they could each have an awesome bouquet for Mother's Day!

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Love the suggestions of Chia-Pets!

I do actually want live animals. A cat will absolutely not work in my daycare room - it's definitely on the smaller side.

I am sort of leaning on mud turtles, though. I'm not, at all, interested in having the children handle any of the animals. My daycare kids are squeeze huggers - the poor animals wouldn't have a chance. I've always loved the idea of having a turtle.

I have a DCG age 2.5 who has been begging for a cameleon and she's already had a named picked out for weeks; Quesadilla

Hermit crabs are definitely another possibility! We have a shop in our mall that carries Hermit crabs and they have a super large collection of shells that are painted and designed in really cool colors.

Thank so much for the ideas guys!

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We have a fish and the kids like him. Not too interactive though!! I've herd many good things about hermit crabs. I might get one too

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Furreal Friends. hehe! http://www.hasbro.com/furreal/en_US/furreal.cfm

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Hermit crabs are a great pet but contrary to the above post, they are NOT low maintenance! They require a tank with 5-6 inches of moist sand substrate, a heat lamp, and a constant humidity of about 70%. They need a varied diet that includes some protein, fruits, and veggies. They also need "stuff" (plants, coconut shells, nets, shells etc.) to hide in and climb on and access to both fresh (un-chlorinated) and salt water. When they molt they need special attention and protection. They are fun to play with and watch climb around but are definitely labor intensive!
My vote for a fun, but low-key classroom pet would be a rabbit or a guinea pig. Both are cuddly and fun but can go back in their cages after! They require nothing more than a clean cage, food, hay, water, and space to exercise.

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P.S. The painted shells are REALLY bad for hermit crabs! Sometimes the paint chips off and the crabs ingest the chips. Also, there have been cases of crabs getting stuck in their shells (and dying) because of the paint.

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We have aquatic frogs. They're SUPER easy to care for and only eat two pellets of food each, twice per week. They're also pretty active and interesting to watch. You only change their water once every three months.

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I'd check licensing before getting a turtle/lizard as you are not allowed to have them even in a different room in MN same with frogs.

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we have a fish (hotdog) he's a fighting fish. A hamster (hammy) and a cat (leo) I would go for the cat. all the kids love him. He usually hangs out in my bedroom, but comes downstairs every once in a while, but the kids go crazy for him. He's an indoor cat too.

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I have lot's of geckos and a couple turtles, but I would not put them IN the daycare room. The stress of it all would be pretty awful for them. They do get to visit from time to time.

I have thought about growing out butterfly's before, but, again, I wonder about the stress on them in a playroom... The noise level sometimes becomes significantly high.

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fish............................

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Our licensing wont allow frogs, turtles, lizards etc.
They are considered hazardous because they carry salmonella.
Maybe check on that before you invest in something.

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Too funny....so do shopping carts.

Mine banned several breeds of dogs (easier than banning ignorant humans, I guess ) and ferrets.

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Fish tank!

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We did butterflys ever year for the oast several years with my prek kids and they were fine, even with 18 loud excited prek kids around all the time!

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Cool!!! Thanks!! I just think that sounds so fun.....

I may give it a whirl this year.. Any suggestions for species or suppliers?

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When I worked at Head Start, this was the kit we got every year. It was always fascinating and super cool!

http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/seo...02111899~~.jsp

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Thank you!!

I saw it, but there were no reviews..... $57 (for 6 butterflys) with no reviews made me pass on by.

So, do you have to send off the coupon and wait for yet another supplier to send the butterflys???

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Yes, unfortunately you do have to send off for the actual larva but it doesn't take too long and the company as far as I remember is pretty reputable.

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FYI - anything that lives 100% in a cage or aquarium is a tax write off. If the creatures are in you DC space, they would be a 100% DC tax item. Including anything that you buy for them, plus mileage to and from the pet store. Dogs and cats are not, since they are considered family pets. But my dogs' crates and x pens were b/c I only own them b/c I run a daycare. Although I have always crate trained my dogs, I have to have crates they fit in when full grown.

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I have 2 bearded dragons, and a gecko. During our circle time, I allow the children to hold them if they'd like. Germ-ex before the hold them, to keep the animals health, and the wash with soap and water afterwards.

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We did the butterflys over the summer, and they were great. The kids LOVED releasing them and the rest of the summer if they would see one they would get all excited thinking it was our pets coming back to say hi.

I got mine a lot cheaper tho. Try here....
http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Lore-Li...7072820&sr=8-1

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How funny... My son's Kindergarten teacher just told us about this website (insectlore.com) and now my son is totally obsessed to the site. He wanted to order a LadyBug cage with the ladybugs... but I'm a little nervous about it. Theres a lot of cool things on the site though and the prices are not bad either.

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Pets??? I think we've tried them all as MY kids were growing up - from rats (who starred on one of our homeschool productions, btw) to reptiles (our snake got loose - never did find him but we DID find a few shed skins ), and yes, hermie crabs (with the very original name of Hermie) and we even tried litter training a rabbit.

Of all the suggestions I'd opt for the fighting fish or the butterfly kit. Honestly, a pet of your own would be fine, or "show and tell" for a day, but pets and daycare to me would be difficult at best.

The one thing I have against a fish tank (well, ok - two, but who's counting) is the thing getting dumped and kids constantly tap, tap, tapping on the glass which is very hard on the fish. And then there was the time my 2yo fed her pet goldfish the pound of salt............

The fighting fish (also called a betta) is very resilient - moreso than a goldfish. All it requires is fresh water every few days (no fancy tank) and a couple of betta pellets once a day. Stick in some fish gravel and a nice plastic plant for him to hide in and maybe even a little toy for him to swim through and he'll be happy for years! My daughter has one in college. Hers has travelled to Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, Tennessee, New York, Nevada, and yes, even to Cali for the summer with her. The dumb fish is better travelled than I am!

Definitely the winner in my book for easy to care for pets!

And yes, I have one......

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