Tiger the Leopard Gecko

Our little leopard gecko hatchling is doing very well. His name is Tiger as right now he's tiger-striped, but leopard geckos' stripes turn to spots as they get older. He (or she - you can't "sex" leopard geckos until they're older) is the highlight of the classroom. It helps that he's the cutest little thing ever - just look at his cute little face!! I've seen some "teenagers" though, and they definitely go through an awkward phase later. He eats about 5-6 small crickets a day and the kids love to sprinkle the vitamin powder in the bag with the crickets, then shake it up so the crickets are coated with vitamins (the crickets don't seem to like this part much) before we put them in the cage. He hasn't eaten in front of us yet, but he HAS pooped in front of the kids, which was really exciting! (and very very small).

The poor thing's lifespan is probably shortened by all the noise in the classroom, although I only rarely let the kids touch him. It might be my imagination, but every time I reach in his cage to pick up his coconut shell house so the kids can see him, he sort of gives me this look like, "Here comes that crazy woman again, waking me up, picking up my house... can't she just leave me alone?!" I'm pretty sure he likes weekends best.

But he is definitely serving a greater purpose. I overheard one girl talking to another - she said, "I just love him [Tiger] SO MUCH. I really think he loves me too."

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