Ideas for Daycare Pets?

[dave4him]

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

[meganlavonnesmommy]

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.

[Cat Herder]

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.

Too funny....so do shopping carts.

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

[SilverSabre25]

Fish tank!

[beachgrl]

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. :confused:

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!

[Cat Herder]

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!

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

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

[Blackcat31]

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

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

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/ca%7CsearchResults~~p%7C2534374302111899~~.jsp

[Cat Herder]

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

Thank you!! happyface

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??? :confused:

[Blackcat31]

Thank you!! happyface

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??? :confused:

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.

[bice99]

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.

[Youngbusinessowner]

Classroom Pets

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.

[meganlavonnesmommy]

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-Live-Butterfly-Garden/dp/B00000ISC5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327072820&sr=8-1

[MamaBear]

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

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.

[Countrygal]

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......