Crowd around... Jens J., Cajai F., SamanthaF., and Rylee B. circle around J.B’s snake, Jesse.
Woodcarving Class Creates a Zoo-like Environment with J.B’s New Animals
By Jajce W.
Recently, many students at The Family Foundation School have been rushing up to J.B’s woodcarving trailer to check out the animals. The new aquarium tank was cleaned, filtered and filled with various fish. Woodcarving intern, Jens J., went about giving the fish unusual names, such as Titan, Cherubim, Seraphim and Oscar. There is a school of miniature sharks that glide around the tank whose names are Santa-Fe, Ray, Dei, Clay, May and Steve.
Harry, the tarantula, and Rocky, the gecko, are also new additions to J.B’s pets. “Harry and Rocky are animals that are known biters, so it is a challenge for me to tame and form a trusting relationship with them,” said J.B. He is still hesitant to handle Harry, but over time he will bring him out more frequently. Rocky, on the other hand, became friendly within a matter of days. He no longer seeks out J.B’s skin to latch onto and patiently rests on his arm.
A new bundle of excitement for the kids is J.B’s new rat, Cosmo, whose name has been changed to Twitch. Why Twitch? After only a few days of having him, J.B and the kids recognized a major problem in the rat’s inability to control its muscles, causing it to twitch frequently. Aside from Twitch’s twitching problem, the amount of love and care that he receives is immeasurable. “I’ve heard all my life that rats were really smart and I wanted to get to know one myself,” said J.B, “He ended up winning my heart in about ten minutes.” Twitch brightens everyone’s day; the students are always eager to hold him and leave the class with such high spirits.
J.B’s two bearded dragons, Penny and Aussy, are expecting baby dragons. Penny has produced about ten eggs which are now being kept in an incubator until hatching time. J.B. predicts that to be toward the end of May. Half of the eggs have cracked, but there are still a few that will hopefully make it.
The woodcarving trailer is slowly turning into an animal sanctuary. “We are building and maintaining our personal miniature zoo in Delaware County,” said Jens. A variety of things are taking place in woodcarving and being part of the experience is incredible for the students. There is no doubt that the environment will continue to grow and expand with reptiles and rodents. There is no telling what J.B will add to his “zoo” next.
