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But no, I didn't completely let them have their way. Told Jon and Ben to ask me again when they are 12 and 14, whether they can have a corn-snake and an iguana when they turn 13 and 15!
Here's what we brought home...
Jon called his lil critter "Josh Joe Justin", or "Josh" for short, after his camp counsellors.
And Ben, thinking Jon had chosen "Josh" because it is the first name of their head of school, named his critter after the principal's last name, "Mr C"!
So, there is some truth that children like to name their pets after people they are fond of =).
Quite quickly settled into its new home, Josh scaling this tree one night!
Do you or your child(ren) keep a crabitat, also? Or some pet that's kid-friendly, relatively low-maintenance, but which you are still the primary caregiver? ;p
Back at the store, when we were ready to check out, I saw Ben from the corner of my eye holding precariously onto one of those huge wine glasses of an aquarium he'd swiped off the shelves when I wasn't watching him. And at that moment, I knew that having pets may teach a bit of responsibility to the kids, but not without parental supervision! Who am I kidding, right?
Good thing it's not a dog or a cat that will be the last things we can manage right now. But I was just thinking, if getting two hermit crabs has to wait till I'm on top of my chores, or till the boys are more obedient and not fighting as much, then there will be so many other things we'll have to wait forever to do! Know what I mean?
Still, every day since we've got Josh and Mr C, I've not stopped asking Jon and Ben to go check, "Are your pets still alive?"!!!
It's working for us so far...
Besides storebought powdered food (think fish feed), Josh more than Mr C will eat a bit of peanut butter and apple.
With a little creativity and so that it's easier on the wallet, the trees and other playthings to provide some cover for the hermit crabs to hide in or under, came from our boys' toy stash. And because ordinary play sand works fine as the substrate, we eventually returned the starter-kit to the store as most of the items turned out to be trial-size only.
Maybe you have some advice/suggestions to offer? =)
7 comments:
PETS! How they enlarge a family and set hearts racing when they are on large. =P First, ensure a jailbreak impossible environment! ;)
Call me cruel, add no gadgets or you'll have a hard time cleaning stuff and making things smell-free. When they got worn out, who knows, new toys volunteer themselves timely.
Now the round one is Josh/Mr.C and the rocky one is Josh/Mr.C? Who's whose? =P
Bear has HIS plants and fishies
too, and he makes me HIS appointed caregiver. Grrr...
P.S. I LOVE this post. Do update on Josh & Mr. C again when possible! HUGS.
Stardust,
Haha! Yes, yes, you're right in identifying which one is Josh, and which is Mr C!
We used to have fishes back home before coming here, and growing up we had a dog... and I know how much work heavier duty pets like these can be! Even those "self-cleaning" aquarium gadgets need work, a lot of work!
Bear is so blessed to have you! =) Hugs for you also!
We had a little fish tank which S2 wanted. But who ended up cleaning after it every week?
ME lah!!!
Got so tired that I gave it away.
And now, S2 wants a puppy!
Bleah....
OH, I am thinking of getting some pets for my children to "play" too.. so cruel of me!
Haven't seen a crabitat before myself, that's really an eye opener for me.
One of these days, should take them over to see what I can get. I'm not very much of a dog lover but sometimes passing those petshops and looking at those cute little puppies, I would have thought of taking one home too. Then again, I'm not sure if I even dare to touch them.
Maybe an aquarium? At least they don't bite. And heard it's good feng shui too to have some "water" in the house.
But learning from your readers' experiences, it might not be a good idea now. Maybe a little turtle should be low maintenance?
I bet their principal wouldn't be too happy if he heard abt their pets' names. hehehe
The oni pet XY had were gold fishes. She loves to feed them n wash the container. I din get an aquarium, so no pump, no nothing (really low maintenance). But they died n I din get her new ones.
Nomadic Mom, Gargies,
Dogs are quite a lot of work, but they do live up to being "man's best friend". Still, erm, you may want to ponder some more, because I won't exactly call them low-maintenance.
Slavemom,
Know what you mean about keeping fishes minus the fuss of the aquarium set-up. It worked for me when I was a little girl also, except I accidentally flushed one (maybe 2) fishes down the sink while changing the water... oops!
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