I would like to add some kind of amphibian to my classroom this year (third grade). I've successfully raised a baby bunny in my classroom (who is now my personal house rabbit, and has companion bunny as well), guinea pigs, and butterflies. My classroom animals all eventually become "retired" pets, and live out their lives at my home.

I was thinking about a frog or a toad. Any suggestions for a total novice?

i would recomend a frog or toad that is awake during the day. i cant name any but nocturnal ones cant stand being in a classroom. they do need to eat crickets and other bugs. you have to buy them at a pet store, not find them. I dont think they are the best class room pets to have but they arent the worst. A toad would probably be best because then you wouldnt have to filter the water all the time.

See what your local pet store has in stock. It might be more interesting for kids if you got tadpoles so they could watch them then turn into frogs. If they were bullfrogs, they will need a pond when mature. If you want to try a non-native species of pet frog, how about the White's tree frog. There are many species though so see what you can find. Be sure to research that species. Poison arrow frogs are really pretty and neat (the kids won't be touching those though and probably shouldn't touch the other species either for mutual safety). Toads don't need all the water but may be a bit more boring for kids.

tree fogs are good but they dont do well in a noisy classroom. they are nocturnal. i had firebelly toads and they are active enough as a frog. They would also be less expensive.

They have non toxic poison dart frogs. and they actually sell them, they are quite expensive though. 50 dollars are so for an average frog.

Scientists are quite sure that the poisonous nature comes from something the frogs eat in the wild, and captive bred frogs are fed other things and they arent poisonous and they have found that wild caught frogs loose their toxicity after a while.

They are also diurnal, so they would be active in the day time.

They would be stunning in a classroom, but again they can be expensive but i read that they do wonderfully in captivity and breed readily.

http://www.poisondartfrogs.info/keeping.htm here is some more information about them.

3rd graders are about 8-9 years old, they would be stunned to be able to see these up close, but again, they are quite expensive, you can get fire-bellies for a few dollars.

fire belly toads are the best choice, the dart frogs are small and hard to find in shops. the fire belly is easy to keep.

i'd have to agree, the firebellies are more readily available and cheaper, you could maybe even find some tadpoles like robin said and let your class watch them grow. maybe you could even get a pair to spawn and watch the tadpoles grow... that would be neat for a science class to see the whole process of eggs to tadpoles to adult.

You could put them in like a 10 gallon. its very a simple setup. all you need is a layer of tree bark, then a smaller layer of moss, a heat light, and a water bowl. i fed mine once a week and i gave him 1 dozen crickets. Order pin head(baby crickets)

Thanks for all the advice. Locally, I can get firebelly toads, thought I don't think I'll be able to get any tadpoles at this time of year. I do want to get a tadpole -- but later in the year the science department usually buys eggs middle school, and they always have tons, and make them available to Elementary school teachers.

I don't intend to let the children handle the toad or frog.. too many worries, and even I only intend to handle it when absolutely necessary. I had to laugh about the "noisy classroom" comment... I tend to keep a very quiet classroom -- but you are right, when children are actively learning, they can get noisy.

I plan to wait until I see how my class turns out... to see if I think they can handle, and benefit from having this type of animal in the classroom. I believe they will, but I want to give it some time to make sure.

Thanks for all the great advice!

-Rain

no problem. :D

Yeah firebelly toads are a great starter and they live long too. They will eat crickets,mealworms,waxworms,fruitflys,earthworms, and mabye even a feeder fish if it's small enough. They occasionally like to swim, but must always remain moist.