Over the years, I have seen many different kinds animals in the classrooms I have visited. Primary classrooms usually have hamsters or guinea pigs. In MS/HS Science classrooms I have seen snakes, hissing cockroaches, mice, fish, frogs, lizards, turtles, and even tarantulas.
My Biology classroom pet was much more fluffy and interactive. I chose a rabbit and my son named him Dexter after the cartoon show "Dexter's Laboratory." Rabbits are very social and smart animals and make excellent pets.
Now, I will admit that a couple of my students were not thrilled at first that I had a roaming rabbit in my classroom .... yes, I also said roaming!! He was not locked up - it was very important to me that my students interacted with him, but they all (even those initially skiddish) warmed up to Dexter within a few days.
Students volunteered to come in during their homeroom to feed him and play with him.... although none volunteered to clean out his litterbox every day! If a student was having a bad day, they would stop by and ask if they could pet and hang out with Dexter. I was truly amazed at the bond that I was seeing between my students and Dexter. It came to a point where I found that I could use Dexter as a calming agent in my classroom. I worked in an inner-city classroom while I had Dexter. Sometimes there were fights between students. When I noticed this occurring, I would immediately tell one of the students (usually the one most likely to outburst with a threat/or get physical) to go pet the bunny! It worked so well, and quickly that I had other students stepping in when a classmate was becoming agitated in the classroom telling their classmate to "go pet the bunny."
Now, before all of you go out and buy bunnies for your classrooms - there are a few things to consider:
1. Get your administrations approval for any classroom pet.
2. Make sure that you have a personal budget set aside for pet needs: food, bedding, litter, toys, vet bills (bunnies need to be 'fixed').
3. Weekend and long weekend plans. I had a great custodial staff that stepped in on weekends to feed Dexter and change his litter. I will admit that I gave these wonderful people special treats to help me take care of him so that he did not have to leave his 'classroom home' on the weekends.
4. Have a sub/snow day plan - someone still needs to feed the classroom animals if school is closed or you are not there.
5. Have vacation and summer plans for your pet.
6. If you have a 'roaming' pet be sure to baby-proof your classroom. Bunnies love to chew through cords and anything left on the ground (including student's shoes and backpacks).
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