Thanks everyone! Please do not worry about temperature. I take the animals home when it is going to be very hot or cold. I also will not leave them if there is a chance of inclement weather.
I may look at frogs and lizards even though I am not a reptile person, but the kids would love them! Don’t lizards need a heat lamp?
as I recall, yes, however, that is far less involved than you might think. These days you can buy bulbs even at walmart.
Well, heat (it can also be a rock, depending on the critter, naturally an electrified rock won’t do in a water bound environment…) and UV rays.
I think pertsmart and petco have care sheets online you can look at. Those give you a minimal idea of the basic needs.
My first guinea pig was a retired classroom pet, he was the sweetest piggy.
I think a tortoise would make a cool classroom pet, they can have neat little personalities too.
I know you said hedgehogs are illegal in your state but I don’t think they would make a good classroom pet, they really are most active at night, I have one and rarely see her out before 10pm (of course then she is out all night running on her little wheel)Also right temp is a must, if you have a cage setup with a heat lamp it is easy to keep them warm.
how about a trio of female mice? the girls can live happily together in a little colony and smell better then the males. When I was a kid I had six mice who lived on a shelf that my mom made, it was four feet off the ground with low sides to keep the sawdust in, much cooler then a regular cage 
Bearded Dragons are the best lizards for pets, in my opinion of course. I have handled, bred, and kept many many reptile species.
I have a new Beardie, our last one lived eight years and was our little buddy. They are the dogs of the lizard world.
They are fairly inexpensive, come in some pretty colors now. They require a decent size tank. As youngsters, they eat a variety of insects and veggies. The older they get, the more vegetarian they get. They need a heat lamp during the day and a UVB lamp.
You can see pictures of Aaliyah here: (Public link) https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2146960971051.60379.1757120067&type=3&l=6c4b8304ba
Here are some caresheets on beardies.
www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/
www.dachiu.com/care/abeard.html
www.sunshinedragons.com/caresheet.htm
I know I might be a little late adding on to this, but have you considered an eel? We had one in 3rd grade, and it was the coolest thing ever. Its tank didn’t take up too much room and it didn’t require lots of specialized care. The only problems was that if we didn’t keep weights on the tank lid, the eel would push it open and sneak out. Easy problem to deal with, just make sure your lid is eel-proof :lol:
If you end up going for a fish, you must get the R2 FISH SCHOOL kit. Kids can train them to play soccer, shoot hoops, weave poles.
I can’t imagine how epic that would have been when I was in school. Learning how to train a fish!
I’ve bought it for my husband to try in his tank.
[QUOTE=Electrikk;6329053]
I know I might be a little late adding on to this, but have you considered an eel? We had one in 3rd grade, and it was the coolest thing ever. Its tank didn’t take up too much room and it didn’t require lots of specialized care. The only problems was that if we didn’t keep weights on the tank lid, the eel would push it open and sneak out. Easy problem to deal with, just make sure your lid is eel-proof :lol:[/QUOTE]
That is wild!
My mom was the principal of the school I went to for much of elementary school (small, private, almost montessori-like school) and we had guinea pigs, rats, snakes and even a rescued female labrador retriever for awhile. 
I remember them all fondly and think animals definitely add to the classroom experience.
The rats lived in my mom’s office and one would frequently climb all over her desk, drink her coffee, and then sit on her shoulder as she walked around throughout the day. They are so smart and friendly!
Good for those teachers that do not mind going above and beyond for their kids - animals teach so much to kids. Our own kids are animalised to death almost with our horses, pets, etc. but a lot of more urban kids have no idea of how an animal can impact a life., teach responsibility, caring, nurturing, empathy, comfort.
Gerbils make awesome tunnel complexes - if you get a big glass tank, like you would for a reptile, as tall as possible, and fill it nearly to the top with shavings or even batter, a sand/soil mix, you can see this really amazing intricate system they build, with little separate tunnels for food storage and nests.
I would get two same sex gerbils (NO baby makers) due to them being active during the day. Hamsters are noctrinal and will not be any fun for the kids to watch.
We get a lot of kindergarten teachers come by our place to take home frog spawn - grow them until they metamorphasize - then return them here.
They seem popular and educational.
When I was a kid in Africa my favorite pet was a chamellion. We would keep him in my Mum’s big vase of flowers, then feed it by having it on our hand and pointing it at a fly., Its tongue would whip out delighting me - eventually we put it back in the garden and caught another one. The colour changing fascinated me.
Once year my daughter was in charge of the class gerbil on Easter break - darned thing got loose in her bedroom. Embarrassed we had to go to the pet store and buy the identical gerbil. Then as soon as Easter break was over and the new gerbil installed at school - the first one re-appeared, apparently none the worse for wear, though what he ate and drank I’ve no idea. We had some 'splaining to do.
chinchillas are very sensitive, albeit beautiful. They also need this dust to roll in, and are somewhat messy.
I like gerbils too. Mine were wonderfully fun to watch and were pretty friendly even though I didn’t handle them that much. Hampsters and mice tend to be bitey, while rats and gerbils GENERALLY don’t.
In our house, we have gerbils and guinea pigs, both of which make amazing pets!
I think guinea pigs, based on size alone, would be great for a classroom. They are very vocal and have great personalities too.
I don’t have any experience with them, but I hear prairie dogs make fantastic pets as well; I sure would have liked to have one in my classroom!
Sugar gliders make awesome pets and don’t smell…they do need some human interaction though.
even though this thread is ancient, i’d say rats.
they’re great, adaptable, relatively low need (though their food can be expensive) and love human attention. they’re also much cleaner than most small rodents and very intelligent, so it’s fun to interact with them.
I’m relieved you have ruled out hamsters as a classroom pet. I still remember trying to pet the class hamster when I was in the second grade and getting bitten. Grumpy little fellow, and I was mortified. My daughter had a couple of them when she was growing up, and they are nocturnal, as mentioned, and not much in the way of a cheerful companion.
This thread is three years old
[QUOTE=Rachelv;6316785]
Check out the website www.PetsintheClassroom.org. It is a grant program called Pets in the Classroom that provides up to $150 to K-8th grade teachers for the purpose of purchasing a classroom pet and/or pet supplies. The website has great information on different pet options.[/QUOTE]
Even if this thread is 3 years old, I didn’t see it originally and just learned about the above. And that’s timely, as DS just told me yesterday that his teacher is thinking about getting hermit crabs for the class.
How about a pet rock? They don’t require much care and they can be found inexpensively.
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