DJ's Dynamic Den - Help Build A New Ball Python Enclosure
My students need a new habitat, heaters, water dish, climbing branches, bedding and thermometer/humidity gauge to properly care for our 10 year old ball python, DJ.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Recall your first experience of caring for a pet; the love fostered and sense of accomplishment derived from a job well done. My students love DJ, but do not have access to a size-appropriate habitat, or the supplies necessary for them to properly care for this beautiful animal.
My kids are amazing.
They are gregarious, spontaneous, hard-working scholars! Ours is a 10th year charter with the goal of moving students to and through college. While my kids have not had the exposure of children at more affluent schools, they have a zest and love for learning that is contagious. They question and adapt, then ask more questions. They love the physical aspects of learning science...movement, experiments, and real-world applications.
When they took over the care of DJ, the snake, from the 8th grade, it had been a long time since his home had been cleaned. It smelled horribly and was full of excrement. The substrate in the bottom was mildewed. My kids cleaned his current enclosure while I supervised. They looked at the current set up of his habitat and rearranged it to give him the maximum amount of room while also providing him with a hide/cave and consistent, clean water source. They have risen to the occasion with absolute wonder!
My Project
DJ, the snake, came to the 6th grade this year after living in the same enclosure his entire life, all of which has been spent in this school. He was previously passed from teacher to teacher depending on the year. That, of course, made his life, and therefore behavior, unpredictable. What a difference love has made!
My students researched the materials they needed to make his life comfortable, including the size of a larger enclosure. The heat pads will give the snake temperate zones on either side of the enclosure while maintaining a "cool" zone in the middle. The temperature and humidity gauge will enable my students to actually maintain the snake's environment without everything being a complete guessing game. The branches, substrate, hide, and water dish will complete his new abode.
The funding of this project will enable my students to care for this animal in a responsible and compassionate manner.
Funding this project, will help my students to grow in many areas from measuring to conversion skills, scheduling to accurate record keeping, research to follow-through.
They are an incredible group of students currently doing an amazing job of caring for an animal with zero resources. Given a chance, my mind wonders at the growth they will show. DJ has become important to them - a veritable reptile member of our community - they look forward to the responsibilities of maintaining his new home
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Oladuwa and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.