SOME QUEER PETS

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 219, 12 June 1933, Page 16

SOME QUEER PETS

Spiders, Lions and Lizards CRAZE FOR SNAKES (Reuter— Special to “Dominion”). London, April IS. The pets which some people keep are really extraordinary. This thought is prompted by the strange story of a convict, who, after serving his sentence refused to leave the prison until be was assured that his pet seagull would be cared for by a fellow prisoner. Convicts are very fond of mice as prison pets, and when several men were transferred to another gaol recently, one of them was seen to have a mouse in his hand. There are other curious pets which have their “fashions.” A rather lonely woman who recently thought she would like companions to share her flat in Bayswater bought some lizards, and now she has dozens of them darting about the home, and answering to their names. Her favourite is a green Italian specimen, and she takes it to church and on her shopping expeditions. Snakes are the latest craze, however. A dealer gives the reasons for this: “Reptiles make the best pets because they are clean and noiseless,” he says, “Tliey become very tame and affectionate with careful handling, and even respond when called by name. Their principal food is worms, frogs and mice, and they are very fond of a little bread and milk. “Women have discovered that big animals are a nuisance in the household and in these days nearly always choose a small pet if they can. Wealthy people like lion cubs, and there is a continuous demand for these pets. When they get older, though, and begin to develop large teeth and claws they have to be got rid of.” Another new fashion in pets is spiders. The only trouble is that they need roomy quarters and a frequent change of scene, and If they do not get it wanderlust seizes them and they vanish.