Originally published in TEACH Magazine, January/February 2025 Issue
Name: Davy Crickett
Age: 1 year
Breed: Bearded Dragon
Characteristics: alert, spoiled rotten, a survivor
Location: Texas, USA
Parent: Candy J.
When I started teaching fourth-grade science and social studies, I decided I wanted to have a class pet. ‘A lizard would be a good choice,’ I thought. ‘You could never get too attached.’ Then I saw Davy at Petco and realized I’d been kidding myself. He was the most beautiful orange colour, and was bigger than all the other lizards there. I knew immediately that he was the one.
He quickly became a hit with all the students; every day they grew closer to him. I did too.
I used him in my lessons right from the beginning. The class examined his skin when he shed, studying it under the microscope. We researched his role in the food chain, his adaptations, and how he compares to other lizards in Texas. Davy even has his own Meal Worm Saloon, where we are able to raise, study, and witness metamorphosis take place under a microscope.
Leading up to the Christmas holidays, Davy began eating less and less. I took him to the vet, but after a prescribed regime of hand-feeding, medication, and injections of sterilized water, he wasn’t improving much. Eventually, I had to take him to an expert in the Dallas area. The kids made a video, asking for this specialized vet to “please save our friend, Davy!”
After another month of shots and a special diet, Davy began to recover. Now he’s back to his regular self and eats about 30 crickets a day!
If you’d like your pet to be featured, check out the submission guidelines.
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