The BMU middle school is home to two Leopard Geckos and soon it will also be home to a Painted Turtle. Melanie Ilsley-Hening has two Leopard Geckos. The geckos, a male and female pair of rescues, first came to BMU last year and were named by the 7th and 8th grade science class. Currently Ilsley-Hening teaches math, and the students will suggest math related names for the classroom pets.There are of course rules for these pets. Leopard Geckos must have a certain humidity in the air, so students can help with this. According to Ilsley-Hening, “The humidity state needs to be between 40 and 60, so all the kids know that if the humidity is lower than 40, there’s a spray bottle that’s marked gecko water and they spray the sides of the tank with it. They’re free to do that whenever they notice the humidity is low.” Also, the new middle school science teacher, Allanna Page, has made the decision to have her Painted Turtle in her classroom.

They plan to change his name from Tiny Turtle, named by Page’s sister, to something else when he becomes the classroom pet. Page originally found the quarter size turtle away from water, abandoned and badly hurt. Page nursed the turtle back to health and he is now seven years old and about five inches in diameter. Page gave a tip that, “If anyone is thinking about getting a turtle as a pet, just realize that a turtle’s life span, especially in captivity, is extremely long. So it’s not recommended for truthfully most kids, unless as a parent you are ok with keeping that turtle for a long time because turtles can live, from my research, up to 40-50 years.”