Class pets are scarce in high school classrooms. Will Meier, science teacher, has a gecko named Ms. Licky and many high schoolers spend time with her. Students can take Ms. Licky from her cage and hold her at appropriate class times. During both of Meier’s science classes, he relates parts of his teaching to the gecko.

“We actually learned a lot about her. She’s a reptile, obviously, so we talk about her coldbloodedness, energy conservation, and defense mechanisms with her tail falling off,” Meier said.

There are many reasons why teachers have class pets, but also some as to why they choose not to. Other teachers see class pets as a distraction for students. 

“Sometimes I have to put her up, it’s like my four-year-old and two-year-old, [students] fight over her, or they just don’t pay attention. She’s a therapy lizard, more than she’s a distraction,” Meier said.

Interaction with animals is known for being a mood booster. “News in Health” explains studies that have shown how animal interaction lowers blood pressure and decreases levels of cortisol, a stress-related hormone.

“I definitely think they are a stress reliever, even if they are just there. Usually when I’m stressed, I like to go over there and hold Humphrey just because he’s very careless. He’s kind of like therapy,” Libby Leblanc, 12, said.

Anna Manning, English teacher, had a class hamster named Humphrey. Just like Ms. Licky, students could hold him when allowed to. Many students were fond of Humphrey and built a relationship with the hamster.

“I loved Humphrey. I took care of him on breaks and my relationship was really good with him because I would hold him a lot,” Adriana Godsey, 10,  said.

Unfortunately, over winter break, Humphrey passed at about age two. This was a shock to a lot of students. Godsey was one of Humphrey’s closest companions.

“I was really upset when Humphrey passed. I didn’t know how to feel and I felt really bad because he was with me when he died,” Godsey said.

There were many memories with Humphrey that Leblanc shared with him. 

“One work night last year in SPUB we were sitting down and we kept hearing a weird tapping sound. We had put Humphrey in his little ball and he was continuously running into the wall. It really brightened our spirits,” Leblanc said.

These class pets play a role in many students’ lives. With few teachers at the high school acquiring class pets, they are a unique addition to a classroom.

“I’m not going to tell a teacher how to run their classroom, but I would suggest [class pets] because it’s a really cool thing that students enjoy seeing everyday and come back even after they’re done with my class,” Meier said.