Keeping track of food,...

Hi ya'll ....Leslie from Science Gal here. 


Just wanted to share with you something my students came up with recently...a way to keep track of how much Squirtle was being fed.

Hmmm....let me back track a bit. One day last week, one of my students noticed that Squirtle was shedding a bit on his neck. He asked me why and naturally, I had no clue...so he googled it. (By the way is google a verb now?)

He found out that it could be happening because we were feeding Squirtle too much protein. Again, let me back track....when we first got Squritle in January the turtle went into hibernation b/c my classroom was so cold. (yes, it is true...) He didn't eat for the first two months I had him... Then with the help of our maintenance worker and water specialist, we moved him from a dry tank to a wet tank. Guess what? Squirtle woke up! Tom also suggested that we feed him worms...as Squirtle kept turning up his nose at fish and shrimp that the pet store had recommended. He loved them...once he started eating, we started feeding him A LOT....

Each morning the kids would clamor to feed him and we did...in fact, I think we overfed him! I started having the students go outside in the morning and dig for earthworms for free food...there are several children who absolutely love this! Squirtle also decided that he liked the shrimp (finally) as well as some turtle treats that I picked up at the store.

But after we googled the shedding incident, we decided we needed to have a system. The students and I talked about it and came up with this:

Now, every time we feed him we write it on the board. We have streamlined it to mornings only and are noticing a happy turtle...and the shedding??? Hopefully this will help us out too!

www.sciencegal-sciencegal.blogspot.com

Arachnids Need Lovin’ Too

Hi fellow animal lovers. This is Rachel from Views From Room 205, and I teach 2nd grade in little ol’ NC.

We have some odd choices for class pets in our class and I can’t wait to begin sharing about the critters and kiddos on the blog!

A few weeks ago in guided reading my Leaning Tower of Pisa group {yep…we are named for amazing landmarks!} was reading about Arachnids and Insects. They were fascinated with the scorpions..and frankly, so was I.
Enter Sunday
Usual trip through Petco
and I came home with an Emperor Scorpion!
Now, I swore off mammals in the classroom after Wicket {my Mini Lop rabbit}
just too much upkeep for 2nd graders
too much touching temptations
I We already have Harriet {a male tarantula we think…}
and lots of fish in a 20 gallon aquarium
And we have 2 Hissing Cockroaches…after an old teammate’s had babies
fyi-They are wonderful classroom pets!
{you can check out our critters here}
The kids LOVE them and can do all the work! They really take it seriously
So what’s one more arachnid??
I brought him to school Monday morning and they were so absolutely excited!
What’s it’s name? Not sure yet, but I like Virgo…we like “April”…oh geez, no
Will it kill me if I touch it? Would I buy something for school that could kill you…really…? Can we touch it? No, I am not going to touch it and you’re not going to touch it…See those pinchers?

The Lowdown:

The bigger the scorpion, the less venom
Emperor Scorpions, much like Harriet, only cause irritation, not death!
He/She {thinking she…} eats crickets! yay! Just like Harriet, too

Meet Emperor Palpatine
{and yes, my own boys have a Stars Wars thing going on, hence the pet names!}:

Here’s where it hides out. Feeding time comes every other day.

The setup:

20 gallon aquarium
hiding rock from Petco-about $7
shallow water dish from Petco in the crab section-$6
small Zilla brand heater
and I love Zoo Med Eco-Earth coconut fiber substrate. I use a mix of this and the Zoo Med bark in the tarantula cage too.

And just for fun, we have to do some more research. How many kids of mine do you think checked out books about scorpions from the library Monday? Four…because that’s all the library has! Isn't inspiration and excitement what this is totally about!?

I have a little Venn freebie here. Click the picture

Great Pet Bedding

Hi there!  This is Deedee from

and I wanted to share with you my absolute favorite pet bedding.

This stuff is the best for Miss Theodora (my guinea pig).  It keeps her cage nice and tidy.   More importantly, it keeps odor away (unless she eats celery...that is a whole other issue).
I have been using this for the last few years and I would never go back to shavings!
Happy Sunday!