Critter Guy Paul McCormack visited first grade classrooms at Pine Knob Elementary last Friday.
He brought in a trove of animals for the students to feel, hold and learn about. First, he brought out Woody, an Australian tree frog.
Then he brought out Pearle the Cockatiel. The colorful bird walked along students arms and stood on their heads.
Pearl was followed by Chow Chow, a blue tongue skink who didn’t move much, but McCormack brought it to the kids to feel, describing his body as having a corn-on-the-cob feel to it.
A second lizard followed Chow Chow, a Spiny Tail Agama, also named Pearle. McCormack said people have the same name, so why can’t pets?
Pearle the lizard was livelier than the skink, moving quickly across the floor towards the students.

McCormack switched things up with the next critter, Cotton. Cotton is a Chinchilla and the only mammal shown to the students. He explained Chinchilla’s are nervous creatures, so they don’t usually make good pets. He brought Cotton around for students to pet, many exclaimed how soft he was, like a pillow.
The last animal McCormack brought out was Slither, an Albino Chain King Snake. He put Slither around the kid’s shoulders and even stuck the snake in one boy’s hood. Slither was very friendly and allowed the students to pet him.