Wednesday 4 November 2009

Potential Pets?

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and Emily

Photos copyright: Maggie May

Here I was with three African Land Snails in my care until the end of half term. I took them home from school because my two granddaughters have been hankering after pets for a long time.
I think they were thinking more in terms of warm and fluffy though, rather than hard and slimy.
Day one, the girls seemed quite interested for a while but they kept asking when the snails were going to move as they did seem to have very long periods in the plant pots napping.

Although I am rather cruel to the snails in my garden because I chuck them over into the back lane,( giving them the chance to get out of the way of vehicles that go there), these pet snails brought out the protective in me and I lived in dread of something happening to them while they were in my care.
They loved lettuce and pears and cucumber and they had to be sprayed with tepid water everyday.
Eventually I had to pick them up and clean them out before returning them to school. Not as bad as I thought, though I did put on rubber gloves to do it.
I suppose even these creatures are a tie when holidays come, which is the main reason why we can't go fluffy because those kinds of animals seem to be even more dependant pets than snails!
Back to the drawing board!
Any one know of anything that is no trouble, but more interesting than a snail and that is definitely not a rodent?






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38 comments:

Carrie and Troy Keiser said...

We don't do pets round here. Those are an interesting choice for pet.... good luck! :)

Unknown said...

This was very cool to read : )

Momma@Live. Laugh. Pull your hair out said...

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww....slimy creatures!

Mickle in NZ said...

Tropical fish? There are even automated feeders that only need topping up once a week (My sister and her partner have one over in London).

Or go all 1970s and have pet rocks!

(Word verification: animizes)

Indrani said...

I have them in my tiny lily pool, but I never considered them as pets. It is a kind of coexistence for the fish and snails in the pool.
You have some cool shots! :)

Rose said...

I've never heard of snails as pets before! You are a good grandmother, Maggie May. I'm an animal lover, but I don't know if I could have cared for these creatures:)

Over the years my kids had lots of pets. Hamsters are pretty easy to take care of, provided they don't escape their cage and disappear down a heating vent...or run into the family cat (yes, both of those happened to us). But since you don't like rodents, by far the easiest pet to care for were my daughter's turtles.

Michelle said...

Fish would be the only thing I can come up with! :) Maybe a small bird?

Fluffy or not, any pet is a lot of work.

Happy PSF!

Expat mum said...

Reminds me of the three millipedes we looked after last summer They burrow so deep in the soil I had to keep digging them out to see if they were alive. I'm sure they were thrilled.
But having had a guinea pig till a few years ago, all animals are a pain in the neck when it comes to not being able to be left home alone. My kids are desperate for a dog but we travel about five times a year and it's a pain regarding the animal care.
You could get something that neighbours just need to come in and feed - like something squawky in a cage.

latree said...

I had lots of fun with snails when I was kid. we had a lot in our back garden...

Bernie said...

I have never seen such large snails. You are a much better person than I for sure Maggie, I don't think I could bare to touch them let alone give them a bath.
Hope you are well.....:-) Hugs

Midlife Roadtripper said...

Maybe a rabbit? Gold fish?

Ayak said...

I don't fancy snails as pets..I much prefer them dead and cooked in lots of garlic butter.

Give me dogs any time...hard work sometimes but always loyal and such good company.

karen said...

Sorry... all I can come up with is a pet rock as far as care giving goes these would be the easiest. Not as much fun as the snails. They look very interesting. Never had a pet snail before. Didn't realize they required so much attention. Kinda cool!

Hilary said...

I guess a pet rat is REALLY out of the question, eh? (ducking!)

St Jude said...

My daughter has pet snails, they are now huge, they are bigger than my hand, but beware they breed like crazy and you could potentially end up with thousands. The should always be kept seperately.

Suburbia said...

If only there was!

Cat's aren't much trouble I guess but there's the vets bills and the cattery for holidays unless you have a good neighbour :)

memoriesdad said...

My eldest is desperate for a dog, I'd settle for a cat but my wife is allergic, so am thinking of a rabbit but I know we'd end up doing all the cleaning out... snails could be the answer!

Emily said...

a pet snail! I'm totally laughing at that! :) I won't tell you what I do when I see snails.

What About The Girl? said...

I used to play with snails when I was little. My father nicknamed me after them when he realized I would not leave them alone :-)

Jinksy said...

Gruesome! Give me fluffy soft toys anyday...

Mickle in NZ said...

Confess, as snails go, these three look magnificent.

When I was aged eight our teacher decided we would have a snail race. Strangely it was us girls who collected the snails and fed them in their classtoom home. The race involved the snails all being put down on the start line after a couple of buckets of water had been sloshed across the concrete path. Heehee - the snails went every which way!

That was back in 1973, and I remember it well!

Sending super loving care, hope you're healing well, Mickle and a snoring Zebbycat (well -what did you expect from the lad!)

Nessa said...

I'm sorry - but - ew, yuck!

Flash 55 - Holiday Preparations

cheshire wife said...

Pleased to read that you put rubber gloves on to handle them. I don't want to try to imagine how slimmy they must feel.

Elizabeth Bradley said...

Ew and double ew.

I have four dogs. I am the wrong person to ask. Have a lovely weekend.

Irene said...

I can only suggest cats and dogs, Maggie. There are full grown ones waiting for good homes at animal shelters. They're housebroken and past the puppy stage. You forgot to say how big those snails were.

XOX

Maggie May said...

The snails are FOUR INCHES across. That is not quite as big as a hand : )

Akelamalu said...

Our youngest grandson has some of those. I haven't seen them yet, I'm not too keen. :(

Chris said...

My son once kept an ice cube as a pet. It didn't last long, so there were no difficult emotional ties to overcome when it was gone -- and it left the table cleaner than it found it.

Unknown said...

Now this was a good story! I loved it : ) Very cool!

scrappysue said...

and i bet they had a wonderful time at chateau du nuts in may!

Jackie said...

What a good grandmother you are, Maggie May.
Much love to you,
Jackie

Eddie Bluelights said...

Better than slugs I suppose, said he going into his shell! LOL
Put it this way I don't think I'd start a zoo with them ~ Eddie

Brian Miller said...

too cute. my boys want to make a pet out of every little animal they see...we have a cat we rescued out of a wood pile that is pretty self maintaining...when she is not trying to fight the aligators. smiles.

menopausaloldbag (MOB) said...

Do they still make Tamagotchi machines? Admittedly not furry but a 'pet' none the less!

Helena said...

I like the thought of the girls looking after a different sort of pet. My sis is terrified of anything like this but I've made sure when my niece visits - weather permitting - we handle insects and 'yukky' things like these!

As long as it doesn't bite - then it's easy to wash your hands after handling!

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Oh, you are so amazing!! What an extraordinary idea for a pet!! I think I'll stick with the traditional kinds...I'm rather partial to dogs myself ;-) How are you, my dear friend? You are seemingly back in full force...hope you are not over-doing it after your surgery!! Love to see you, of course!!! You are an incredibly strong lady!!! I'm in awe! Love you so very much, Janine XO

SandyCarlson said...

You take some charming photos. They are nice snails. Unlike their exhibitionist relations the slugs...

You are wonderful.

Working Mum said...

All I can say is 'eugh'. I don't care if they are African whatevers, they are still snails. Yuk!