Possumblog

Expert Pet Advice!

As you all know, I am often a fount of knowledge on various subjects, due to the fact that I am just so incredibly smart and intelligent and all. Thus, it is no surprise that Possumblog would be the place someone would come to with a question like this: petsmart. how to take care of a crawdad. Despite the fact that Possumblog was only the number 8 result, obviously the person knew that he could find the best, most rightest answer herein.

SO, then, little shaver--you got yourself a pet crawdad. That's sweet! Unlike a cat or a howler monkey, they are friendly and affectionate and can be trained to do many tricks.

But, you also have to remember that crayfish (pronounced crawdads) are very social little animals. They need to have lots and lots of their little friends around so they can be happiest. So get maybe five or six more pounds of them.

Next, crayfish enjoy the water, so you need to have a nice clean place for them to swim. Take a large stainless steel stock pot and fill it up with about two gallons of water. BUT WAIT--don't put your fun friends in just yet. You have to prepare the water properly so they will like it.

Take a few bay leaves and drop them in the water--this will remind them of the greenery found in their natural aquatic homes. Next, add a cup of salt, 3/4 cup cayenne pepper, a touch of allspice, a couple tablespoons of mustard seeds, a tablespoon each of coriander, dill, red pepper flakes, black peppercorns, and whole cloves, a couple of celery stalks, three small onions - chopped, and three heads of garlic - peeled and separated. All these things are intended to give the little crawdads things to play with in their new home--they love to frolic with bits of seeds and spices, you know.

Now then, turn the stove on and heat the water up very hot, until it bubbles and bubbles. You know, like a hot tub! Crayfish are real party animals, you know, and they enjoy warm water and bubbles just as much as anyone does. When your crawdad habitat is nice and hot and bubbly, dump in your five pounds of pretty little water bugs and WHEEEE! Look at them jump and play and wrestle! Let them stay in the hot bubbly steaming water for about five minutes, or until they are all exhausted and still from their happy fun playtime together.

Scoop out some and put them on a stack of newspapers, and then you can play ANOTHER game with them by pulling their little tails off and eating them! YUMMY!

So, there you have it--the wonderful world of crawdad pets!

(Thanks to this site for the recommendations on how to properly set up the aquarium.)

Posted by Terry Oglesby at September 13, 2005 08:54 AM