Is a Tortoise Appropriate for A Preschool Program

[LortleToitle]

HI,
I am thinking of getting a Russian Tortoise for a preschool pet. He isn't a year old yet.
I have several questions to ask the experts here:
Is this appropriate?
Will the children stress him out?
Would a 20 or 40 gallon tank be the most appropriate.
Does he have to have protein or calcium dust on his food?
Can we let him loose if watch the children carefully?
Does he HAVE to have a heat lamp?
Any other advice?

We intend to use him for a great learning project and treat him with great care and respect.

 

[Yvonne G]

I've never been a big fan of school room tortoises. The schools usually turn off all the lights once everyone is gone for the day, however, your little baby will still need some heat. A 40 gallon tank would be ok for a baby. Baby tortoises should not be handled. They are prey and it will really stress him to be handled by the big monsters all the time. Tortoises that are allowed to roam freely sometimes get lost, stepped on or eat a small piece of something they shouldn't eat.

Now, if you want to get a baby Russian tortoise for YOU, that you bring to school every morning and take home every night, that might work. But I still wouldn't let the kids handle or touch him.

I adopted out a very personable and humanized box turtle to a grade school teacher. The turtle would come running and beg food, and would eat right out of your hand. After about two weeks the teacher brought the turtle back because it was unresponsive and stayed closed up all the time. The turtle she brought back was so different from the turtle she adopted. She wouldn't open her shell, and when she moved, she kept the front part closed and only brought out her back feet to push herself away from me. It took me months to bring this turtle back to trusting a human again.

I don't know what happened in that classroom to that turtle, but I'll never again adopt a turtle or tortoise to a teacher for a class pet.

 

[AnimalLady]

You have to be very careful. Little ones like that love putting things in their mouth. If they happened to touch the tort and then put their little fingers in their mouth before you could wash them, then that could be a potential problem. I personally don't think it's a good idea.

 

[wellington]

I agree 1000% with Yvonne. I'm not fond of any class room pets. Kids can be mean and they can't be watch 100% of the time. Tortoises should not be cage all day and night with zero outside time, at least when the temps permit.

 

[LortleToitle]

I respect your comments and reply. The tortoise we were offered is almost a year old and been with a family with small children.

 

[4jean]

I am a middle school teacher and I have had different kinds of animals in my classroom over the years. However I never feel like it is best for the animal. So now I have classroom plants and we have grown food for my tortoise. I bring in pictures/videos for them of my tortoise eating the plants. I think it is important to teach kids to respect all living things but I know my classroom is too stressful of a place for an animal to live. Not to mention too cold and lonely after 3:00.

 

[LortleToitle]

I am a middle school teacher and I have had different kinds of animals in my classroom over the years. However I never feel like it is best for the animal. So now I have classroom plants and we have grown food for my tortoise. I bring in pictures/videos for them of my tortoise eating the plants. I think it is important to teach kids to respect all living things but I know my classroom is too stressful of a place for an animal to live. Not to mention too cold and lonely after 3:00.

That's a very good idea. Did you know though that the IllinoiscPrek at risk programs have requirements and one of them is to have at least four living things in each classroom?

 

[dmmj]

I respect your comments and reply. The tortoise we were offered is almost a year old and been with a family with small children.

a family is a whole different thing than 20 or 30 small little kids.

 

[LortleToitle]

a family is a whole different thing than 20 or 30 small little kids.

Four in the morning and 12 in the afternoon with two teachers and I could bring him home on the weekends

 

[leigti]

I would not do it. An adult Russian tortoise might, might be able to tolerate a bunch of kids staring at it but not a baby. And an adult Russian tortoise would need a much bigger enclosure and I'm sure you would be able to have in the classroom. I would get another kind of pet.

 

[Prairie Mom]

The cautionary responses in this thread were very valid and worth reading. BUT-I can't help, but wonder if it would be possible if done under incredibly favorable conditions? Lights and Ceramic heat emitter on timers and notes for janitorial staff to leave alone? The threat of salmonella will have MANY parents paranoid. The enclosure could have a lock on it. Heck the enclosure could even be shut in or curtained, so the tortoise could slowly get used to being on display and learn to live with the noise.

My biggest concern is the weekends. Obviously it would have to be brought home on long breaks, BUT THE WEEKENDS. I have concerns about it being brought back and forth every week, and if it stays alone in the classroom for the weekend, all it takes is being flipped over on his back and unable to right himself! This is a potentially deadly situation. Dang it! I want it to work, I really do, but there are a lot of concerns....hmmm....

 

[Prairie Mom]

What about a hermit crab that you bring to the classroom on occasion?? My daughter's preschool has a hermit crab that the teacher brings in for a while every year. The kids love it!!!

Here's a website that explains how to care for them...
http://www.hermit-crabs.com/care.html
My understanding is that they are colony creatures and do require high humidity and tap water conditioner (the drops that go in a fish tank). I've also read to avoid the painted shells.
----------------
I also have a crayfish that is a fantastic pet!!! I bought him cheap at Walmart and he's 3 years old and doing excellent. He's AMAZING! He would be so loved in a classroom. Here's a recent pic of him and a thread I made after he molted. These are such fun creatures! They are Super hardy and easy to care for. Mine eats frozen veg, sinking pellets, and algae wafers.


Here's the thread I made about him molting. I took out his molted exo-skeleton and let the kids touch it before giving it back to the crayfish to eat.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-crayfish-molted-yesterday.112590/

 

[Jodie]

Sorry everyone is telling you the opposite of what you want to hear. It might be fun for the kids, but would not be good for the tortoise.

 

[leigti]

Little kids want to touch things. They're going to want to touch whatever animal you bring in so it has to be something that can tolerate that. Even on a limited basis. And a tortoise just isn't it. And tortoises, especially baby ones, spend a lot of time hi Dean and sleeping. The kids will be bored with that very quickly. And the tortoise will definitely hide if it's noisy and kids are staring at it. Even an aquarium would be better than the tortoise. At least the fish move and are colorful and do something. And the kids know and understand that they can't touch the fish.

 

[LortleToitle]

Little kids want to touch things. They're going to want to touch whatever animal you bring in so it has to be something that can tolerate that. Even on a limited basis. And a tortoise just isn't it. And tortoises, especially baby ones, spend a lot of time hi Dean and sleeping. The kids will be bored with that very quickly. And the tortoise will definitely hide if it's noisy and kids are staring at it. Even an aquarium would be better than the tortoise. At least the fish move and are colorful and do something. And the kids know and understand that they can't touch the fish.

Our program has a beta, hermit crabs, and a tarantula.

 

[leigti]

How about a rabbit? I think they are under rated as pets.

 

[Tom]

HI,
I am thinking of getting a Russian Tortoise for a preschool pet. He isn't a year old yet.
I have several questions to ask the experts here:
Is this appropriate?
Will the children stress him out?
Would a 20 or 40 gallon tank be the most appropriate.
Does he have to have protein or calcium dust on his food?
Can we let him loose if watch the children carefully?
Does he HAVE to have a heat lamp?
Any other advice?

We intend to use him for a great learning project and treat him with great care and respect.

I think I'll use a different strategy and start by answering your questions:
1. It could be in the right circumstances.
2. The children won't stress him out if you don't let them.
3. A 40 is okay for a small baby, but russians need a lot of room, so plan to go bigger soon.
4. They don't need protein diet, but small amounts of calcium twice a week would be good.
5. Letting him loose is a recipe for disaster. I would strongly advise against this.
6. Yes. He has to have a heat lamp to bask under and warm up. Tortoise are ectotherms and require external heat sources. In the wild, the sun would take care of this. Indoor we have to provide a "sun" for 12 hours a day or so.

Other advice? Yes. Please read these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[WithLisa]

How about a rabbit? I think they are under rated as pets.

Rabbits are wonderful pets, even for children if they have their enclosure as a "safe zone" to get away from the children whenever they want to.
But they are very social, so you have to get at least two of them, and they need a big enclosure (same size as an adult Russian).

 

[leigti]

If I didn't already have a small zoo going here I would get a couple rabbits. They can be litter box trained. And I had one that I walked on the leash.

 

[Prairie Mom]

A forum member is offering axolotl babies!! She has a thread showing the perfectly clear eggs right now. I wonder if the eggs could be shipped and your classroom could observe them as they develop. That would be such a cool experience for your kids!

Take a look at her photos
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/axolotl-babies.130330/#post-1222632