3/14/08--

While most people turn to the Animal Planet and zoos to get up close and personal with wild and exotic animals, some students need only turn to their backyards or homes.

Junior Hannah Mellman has conquered the common fear of those buzzing insects and become a bee-charmer, caring for some 100,000 bees that live in hives in her back yard. “I like being able to collect our own honey…[and sharing] it with our friends,” says Mellman. “Not many pets can give back the way that bees do.”

The Mellman family acquired the bees after her mother took a beekeeping course at Brookside Gardens. The family bought two hives, painted them, and filled each with a nucleus, or a small colony, with a queen, drones, and workers.

Senior Julia Remer’s ball python, Kaa, may not be able to give back the way bees do, but she loves him all the same. “[Kaa’s] such a sweetheart,” says Remer. “I like being able to… watch others in astonishment as I put him around my neck.”

Kaa has been part of her family for the majority of Remer’s life, and compared to owning a cat or a dog, having a snake has been pretty low maintenance. They only have to be fed a live rat every few weeks to a month and “Snakes are quiet[er] and you can choose when you want to interact with them,” she adds, “the few times he’s gotten lost [have been] scary.”

After the death of her guinea pig, junior Melissa Goldberg wanted an animal to fill the empty cages that had a longer lifespan than the average house pet. “I really wanted an animal that had a long life expectancy and was not too common,” says Goldberg. “After finding out more about chinchillas, including the fact that they live for 10 to 20 years, I really became attached to the idea of getting one.” Shiva, Goldberg’s chinchilla, has been with the family since 2006 and was named after the Sanskrit word for energy, since

Goldberg wanted a unique name for her unique animal.

Though Shiva has to share Goldberg’s attention with eight other pets, the chinchilla requires most of her time. Chinchillas require special food and a dust bath to keep their fur from clumping two or three times a week. However, none of this matters to Goldberg when she thinks about it on a larger scale. “I really like knowing that I am saving a chinchilla from being used for fur,” adds Goldberg. “It’s a good feeling to know that I’m saving the life of an animal.”

Junior Alex Taub shares his mother’s collection of hissing cockroaches, giant millipedes, scorpions, and other insects that he shows off to his friends. “Very few [people] will actually hold [the insects.],” says Taub. “When people come over, there’s the ‘If I have to step any closer, I’m going to flip out’ reaction [or] the ‘No, I’ll just look, thanks’ reaction.” For as long as he can remember, his mother has worked with insects. Currently, she does hour-long insect workshops for various private and public schools in the area.

“Having bugs in my house doesn’t really bother me,” adds Taub. “Just like anything, if you’re around [them] long enough, you get used to them.”