Nowadays, raising pets has gradually become an important part of the lives of many young people, following the "carton dog", "pet stone" and "mango pit", many people have raised slime molds.
Recently, the topic "Young people began to raise slime molds as pets" appeared on the hot search, causing heated discussions among netizens. Some netizens said they didn't know why; Some netizens think that "this is a very niche and very individual pet" and think it is magical and cute.
Elementary school students began to raise slime molds as pets
"I'm going to lose track of the trends!" Recently, Teacher Chu, who teaches science at a primary school in Hangzhou, told reporters that students now like to keep a fairly fresh pet - slime mold.
Some parents also said that their children wanted to raise slime molds as pets, "I can't understand it".
Open the social platform, this "very niche and very character pet" is not small. More than 3.57 million people have read the topic of "slime mold" and nearly 1.45 million people have read the topic of "slime fungus pet". Many netizens posted their pet slime molds, some shared feeding videos and feeding diaries, and some showed off their beautiful slime molds.
On shopping platforms, there are many products that pop up when searching for "slime mold", and hundreds or even thousands of people buy each one.
Some sellers said that at first, most of the buyers who bought slime molds were college students and young people in their twenties and thirties, and later the number of elementary school students who came to buy slime molds increased.
In particular, the screenwriter of the TV series "Little Shede" set the character of one of the children to love slime molds, so that many parents and children understand this very cute creature and will not be afraid of it because it has "bacteria" in its name. In addition, many children and young people now like to have pets, and slime molds that do not cry or make trouble can accompany them to study and work.
Slime fungus that can be used as a pet
What exactly?
Not only parents, but also many netizens are asking, what is the slime fungus that "can be raised as a pet"?
According to popular science bloggers, slime molds are neither fungi nor bacteria, but a kind of eukaryotic domain-amoeba group-slime bacteria, which are non-toxic and harmless.
It has two phases throughout its life: the vegetative phase and the reproductive phase.
The slime molds in the vegetative stage are called protoplasm masses, which are a bit like a network of mucus and grow in dark and damp places, such as the back of fallen wood, the crevices of floor tiles, and the humus layer. They are constantly splitting into branches and crawling around, devouring food particles to obtain nutrients, so they crawl around looking for something to eat, much like animals.
When it reaches the breeding stage, the slime mold will crawl to a slightly dry, sunny area, stop eating, and the whole protoplasm mass will collectively metamorphose, growing fruiting bodies like mushrooms or clumps of powder to disperse spores.
Slime molds move, multiply quickly in the environment, and can be dyed with pigments, showing a unique patterned shape.
There are even many rumors circulating on the Internet about slime molds, saying that they have amazing learning abilities, can find the shortest way to feed, and will actively "commit suicide" once they know that they are being raised. In this regard, a popular science blogger said that he had refuted the rumors many times to no avail, but many netizens still believed it.
In fact, slime molds usually hide in dark and damp places, and only in the reproductive stage will they appear in bright and slightly dry places, and will be discovered, and in the reproductive stage, the slime mold is about to turn into a fruiting body, that is, the mother is about to die and become many spores.
"The slime molds in nature will go through the cycle from birth to death very quickly, and the so-called slime mold suicide is actually their instinct as living beings, and they naturally enter the stage of reproduction, rather than being influenced by humans, they live to reproduce." Said the popular science blogger.
In addition, since slime molds crawl around to feed, they can connect all the food in the environment in the shortest possible way, scientists have used this feature of slime molds to find exits to the maze and design a rail network. In 2019, the Paris Zoo also exhibited slime molds as special animals. It has received social attention and is known as the safest experimental organism.
"But it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that slime molds are smart, it's also its instinct, and after finding food, it will use the shortest route to connect to food just because it's the most energy-efficient." Said the popular science blogger.
"Raising slime mushrooms" is fun
There are also some issues to be aware of
According to the breeder, due to the strong growth and reproduction ability of slime molds, it is necessary to pay attention to the problem of polluting the environment, because if you are not careful, you may make this scene that makes people's "scalp numb":
Screenshot of social platform
According to the breeder, when replacing the bedding, some slime bacteria will remain on the old bedding, but in order not to pollute the environment, it is necessary to use boiling water to scald the slime bacteria on the old bedding and climb to the outside of the bedding.
In addition, the keepers also warn that slime molds can be contaminated by mold and even die. This situation must also be dealt with so as not to have an impact on human health.
Keepers also caution not to go to the wild to collect slime molds if you don't have enough knowledge, so as not to breed mold. In addition, it is also necessary to pay attention to cleaning up, so as not to pollute the environment once the escaped slime mold survives successfully, and the slime mold will produce spores during the reproduction process, which may cause adverse reactions such as allergies if inhaled by the human body. In short, when treating slime mushrooms, you can try to be careful and cautious at the same time.
Source: Guangzhou Daily, CCTV, Chao News, Jiupai News, etc
Editor/Du Jing Editor/Li Bing