Our unusual Christmas guest
We had a kindred spirit come to stay this Christmas – another traveller who carries their home on their back.
Herbie the giant African land snail usually hangs out at Tin Box Tot’s nursery but needed a family to look after him while all the kids were on holiday.
TBT has always been a massive fan of Herbie, so we jumped at the chance of entertaining him for the festive period.
He came home with a tank full of soil and a list of food he likes. That was all. Cue mild panic! How do you look after a giant African land snail?!
Thanks to a bit of research on Google we discovered it is very easy.
Herbie pretty much looks after himself. Unlike Tin Box Dog he doesn’t need walking; you don’t need to pick up his poos; and he doesn’t whine for his dinner.
He is in fact very lazy. A part from one morning, we had to unearth him from his soil every breakfast time.
Herbie’s routine was then pretty simple:
- We sprayed him with warm water once a day – or more often if TBT had her way
- We refreshed his drinking water daily
- And chopped up some fresh veg to pop into his tank every other day.
Christmas dinner consisted of cucumber and carrots, which was a synch to prepare compared to our own.
Herbie was the ideal house guest. He didn’t grumble, snore or get fed up of being dragged out of bed early when TBT wanted to give him a spray.
He’s welcome again anytime!
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What a gracious guest! Relax and so chill =) #sharewithme
A giant snail, now that is a new one I didn't see coming. Interesting choice… hahaha Kids sound like they love it though. I bet they are easier to look after… Thanks for linking up to Share With Me. Sorry if you had any trouble commenting on my site today as the host is being transferred there are a few glitches to fix. Apologies. #sharewithme
That's what I think of as well. However, snails are much easier to look after and live for longer, which means less occasions when you have to quickly replace them! 🙂
He was pretty awesome and we wouldn't hestitate to have him again. In fact we may not be able to avoid it. TBT is still looking for his tank in the mornings 🙂
I always think of nursery pets as hamsters but a giant snail, how cool! What a good house guest 🙂
Sounds like the perfect pet! Glad it all went smoothly 🙂
Aw thanks, glad you liked it! 🙂 x
This is one of my most favourite posts I've read this year. How utterly brilliant! We've had two visits from nursery cuddly toys but nothing living. Glad he was easy to look after 🙂