Welcome Spikey Jr.

This is what a fierce dragon looks like when he is trying to scare you. It is called "displaying" in dragon lingo. The dragon will puff out his cheeks to look big and mean.

We have a new member in the lab and his or her name is Spikey Jr. Some of you remember our old friend Spike who died from a stroke last year. Spike was a real trooper. He came out during center time and my K4 class took turns throwing him crickets. These little friends were quite good at catching crickets from our cricket farm. Spike would literally try to scratch his way out of his tank when he noticed the kids were out of their seats and in the centers. Spike absolutely loved mangoes and kale. He had a wonderful life in the classroom. Last year I took some time off due to an illness and my loyal dragon went down hill. He became very still and wouldn't move much. Teachers came in and cared for everyone including Spike but he never recovered. Finally in March he died of what looked like a stroke. He is buried in the habitat now. The students go out there regularly to visit him. We made a marker over his grave.

This week my former student Sophie and her mom went to Petland and purchased a new "Spikey" for the lab. What a gift! He is so little that I have to be very careful that he doesn't hop out of my hand. He seems to love crickets and his "plumbing" is working very well (a good indicator of dragon health).

This is Lauren. She comes in on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to help me care for the lab. She is very good with dragons and loves to spend time hand taming them. Science Labs really need people like this because teachers are often too busy to sit and play with all the animals. Lauren in invaluable to our lab!


If you would like to learn more about dragons click on this link. I personally think they are great classroom pets.

Now I need to make sure that the other kids in the class
don't get jealous.