Friday, January 11, 2008

Darkness

If you know us, sit down....


We have a new pet.

Well....correction...the youngest genetically-defective male in our home has a new pet.

It's a rescue (you could have guessed that, right?). It all started with the turtle.

Meet Dribble.




Dribble himself was, of course, rescued. He was brought to us by a neighbor who almost ran over him with a lawnmower (ouch!). We said we would care for him/her/it (how do you tell with a turtle, anyway?) and make sure it was OK, then return it to the wild. But before we had a chance to do so, winter set in so freedom for Dribble will have to wait for warmer weather.

Meanwhile, do you know what you feed turtles?

Mealworms.

Know what happens when you accidentally drop a mealworm into a rabbit's cage? If you guessed that the rabbit would eat it, you're wrong. It actually lands in some nice soft bedding where it hides. While it is hidden it changes into a pupa, and then it changes into a beetle. The whole process takes about 2 weeks. (Something tells me Prince Charming has not been emptying out ALL of the bedding when he and the offspring have performed their weekly ritual of changing the rabbit's bedding - SO BUSTED!).



Meet "Darkness"



My youngest son discovered the beetle in the rabbit cage. Because he carries his father's mutated gene, he had no choice but to rescue the beetle from the rabbit, bond with it, establish a habitat for it, and claim it as his very own pet. With the help of his oldest brother and a copy of the book "Pet Bugs", he rescued the beetle and set it up it it's own home complete with a little potato and some sawdust and oatmeal as instructed by the book.



Isn't he cute?

5 comments:

Carol Michel said...

Don't let them name the beetle and there is still hope. Once you give the beetle a name it's all over.

Want me to take him, oops, squish, sorry! It'd be that quick. :-)

Christine said...

That made me laugh so hard. What happens when your family encounters ants, and spiders, and are you allowed to kill flies? Come to think of it, I might not want to know the answer to those. Whats your address, my cats are liable to have kittens in spring.....

Kathy said...

Congratulations! What kind of beetle is he? Fortunately, my children only got the gene that allows for furry, cute anmimals. (Although the anoles were neither) Just watch out that those spiders in the yard don't become pets.
Kathy, the older sister

Anonymous said...

The spiders get carried outside to relocate & the flies get swatted as they carry germs. So I think it's relatively safe in here. In fact most household bugs get destroyed (I personally don't like them no matter what they are).

Christine said...

Wow, I actually relocate spiders and wasps, I have never heard of anyone else doing it!! Ants, I'm afraid, get sprayed. Please don't hold that against me.