You may have heard that we have quite a zoo in the science lab, with species ranging from reptiles to rodents. Last year, when I first met the animals, I walked into the science lab expecting nothing, and found out we had a snake and a lizard. Of course, the first thing we wanted to do was hold them. Ms Carter said we had to gain their trust, so we worked hard. Eventually, we learned about them, the snake’s name is Lucille and she is a Ball Python, and Bob the Bearded Dragon. Lucille was my favorite and I started to hold her more during science class and gain a bond with her. I would always say “what’s up” to Bob, too.
Ms. Carter told my class about a pet she had at home, a “sugar glider.” She told us that she had two, and one was named “Yardstick” and the other, “Tesla”. Ms. Carter always sticks with a science and math themed name for her pets and that is how she named her “sugar gliders.” One day, she brought them to school and we were all excited. They were pretty shy because of the new people and smells, but eventually, they became more comfortable around my class. Tragically, Yardstick passed away and Tesla was sad, so my class wanted to make him happy again. We played with him, fed him, and carried him around in his pouch to make him feel comfortable.
We have added some animals to our zoo this year. To add to the science lab we have a gray female bunny rabbit named Lolo, a female calico guinea pig named Truffles (pictured above), and a male Speckled King Snake named Emily. I love Lolo and we are working on getting her more comfortable being held and coming out of her cage but she is a bit shy still. Truffles is a lot more comfortable around people and allows us to hold her and play with her. Emily was shedding when we first got him, but he is done now and we are able hold him. Emily is very interesting. He is 5 feet 4 inches long and is actually taller than some people in the class. Also there is a funny story behind his name. Emily was previously owned by McWane. They thought he was a female so named him Emily. To their surprise he was a male, they tried renaming him but the name stuck. We all love the animals and enjoy having special, strong bonds with them.