My wife informed me there was a foot long slug on our basements stairs.

[mainegreen]

There was. A tiger slug? Something. Evidently it's my job to dispose of it. She informed me I should prepare myself for how horrible it was. I thought it just looked sad. It clearly didn't want to be on our dry stairs. I picked it up.

When I tried to explain to my wife that it was probably scared she actually didn't want to hear of it! Can you imagine.


Anyways, I freed it out behind our fence.

Run free tiger slug!

[merh]

1. it takes a special person to have empathy for a tiger slug

and I guess I see why you answered as you did in this thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[mainegreen]

2. Yup.

I've always been fond of slugs.

They're cute.

Seriously.

[hibbing]

3. wow

Hi,
That sounds awesome. No picture? I'm glad to hear you let it go.

Peace

[mainegreen]

4. This is what it looked like

[hibbing]

14. cool!

Hi,
That is awesome looking, thanks for posting the picture. I like at my sister's in CA the banana slugs come out and eat the dog food she has outside.

Peace

[GoddessOfGuinness]

21. A foot long? Really?

I have a hard time imagining one half that size. He probably wreaked havoc on somebody's celery patch.

[Maine-ah]

27. my Mom has those at her house

usually crawling up the side of her garage.

[Deja Q]

5. Like french fries, all it needs is a little salt...

[mainegreen]

7. You stay away from slugee!

[Deja Q]

32. That's a cute name...

And I really wouldn't salt a slug. That looks painful a form of death to induce... I'm still juvenile enough to make silly jokes about it, though...

[Robeson]

6. Good for you.

[mainegreen]

8. They're so slow and shiny.

How they're creepy is beyond me.

[baldguy]

9. Slugs don't exactly "run"

In slug terms, you just moved it 50,000 miles from it's home.

[mainegreen]

10. He's on holiday then.

Point is, he's free.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. "Run Free, Tiger Slug!"

Somehow - and you'll get attribution for this - I am going to have this as a title for one of my books. My agent and my editor always laugh at my title suggestions, and then come up with them without me (truly, they're better at it than I am, but I write better than they do, so it all evens out), but this one is just too good to pass away unnoticed on a message board.

Thank you. I'm planning on making you an immortal literary figure ........................

[mainegreen]

12. Awesome!

If I see that at the bookstore, I will laugh my butt off!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

13. If I get it past them,

you'll be getting a complimentary copy, signed by a grateful author.

That's a promise, pal...................

[southerncrone]

15. So that's where Fred Thompson went.

[Deja Q]

33. Look closer, in fact I snuck into their yard and snapped one with my telephoto extender lens:

[southerncrone]

47. Oh, noes! Not another slug!

I knew the first one was Fred because: "he just looked sad & clearly didn't want to be there."

But now that you mention it..........often times "Newts" can be confused for slugs, too.

[abq e streeter]

16. oddly enough, there's a 5 foot 4 inch slug sitting at my computer

[Odin2005]

17. AWWWW!!! Slugs are cute!

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. ewwww

[Thepiedpiper]

19. Don't throw salt at it!!

If you do it will melt, not 100% but more like 60%. I like to let them go on their peaceful way.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

22. Welcome to DU!

[Strong Atheist]

35. Welcome to DU!

[Dem_4_Life]

50. Welcome to DU!!!

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

20. uhm, salt?

anyone?
bueller?

[Deja Q]

30. If you have me on ignore, I'm going to cry.

[JackDragna]

23. Did you give it a beer?

Obviously, it wanted a beer. Give it one! Jesus! People shouldn't have to tell you these things.

[hibbing]

24. *snort*

Hi,
Thanks for the late night laugh!

Peace

[mainegreen]

41. Dammit, I'm low on beer.

No way.

[quakerboy]

25. I have been told

by someone doing research that slug slime has some very interesting properties that may someday prove very usefull to humanity

That said, I don't salt or beer them. Not much point, and the salting is particularly mean. I am glad when I don't see them often, mainly because when you accidentally step on them, that is most horrible, particularly when barefoot. If I'm not seeing them, I have greater hope that they wont be around to step on later when I cant see as well.

[Deja Q]

31. In all seriousness,

I would never throw salt on a slug. It doesn't look like a nice form of death and I'd hate to be the slug too...

I'm still sufficiently juvenile to make silly jokes about salt, however...

[jobycom]

26. Horror movies start like that!

Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight!

(And thanks for saving the slug. The world is a better place because of little acts of humanity.)

[undeterred]

28. Doesn't Subway sell those?

Maybe it escaped from Subway.

[Deja Q]

29. No no no! You're referring to McDonalds -- see, that's the ingredient to their "special sauce"...

[Blue Diadem]

34. I had no idea there were slugs that big.

[dembotoz]

36. when she would complain about a slug in the house....

it would generally mean me or my sons...

[mainegreen]

42. Around here, I'm the lump.

[Dangerously Amused]

37. How did you pick it up?

Are slugs like fish, ie, do you have to touch it with something wet so you don't wreck the coat of slime? Or is that just an old wives tale?

Also, what did it do when you picked it up? Did it like, struggle? Or curl up into a ball? Or go all limp?



ETA: OMG! I got curious abut this slug and wondered what its predators are (ie, wondered if the slime serves as any defensive mechanism). I haven't found the answer to that question yet, but check this out:

Mating
The mating habits of Limax maximus are considered unusual among slugs: the hermaphrodite slugs court, usually for hours, by circling and licking each other. After this, the slugs will climb into a tree or other high area and then, entwined together, lower themselves on a thick string of mucus, evert their white translucent mating organs (penises) from their gonopores (openings on the right side of the head), entwine these organs, and exchange sperm. Both participants will later lay hundreds of eggs.

A commonly seen practice among many slugs is apophallation, when one or both of the slugs chews off the other's penis. The penis of these species is curled like a cork-screw and often becomes entangled in their mate's genitalia in the process of exchanging sperm. When all else fails, apophallation allows the slugs to separate themselves. Once its penis has been removed, a slug is still able to participate in mating subsequently, but only using the female parts of its reproductive system.

Source: wikipedia

[mainegreen]

43. I saw a video of their mating habits and gained a lot of respect for them.

Also, just picked it up with my fingers.

It squished up and pulled in its antenna.

After I dropped it off, I washed my hands, of course.

[eppur_se_muova]

38. last word on slugs ...

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/12/29/

[mainegreen]

44. My slug did not look tasty.

[ZombieNixon]

39. Are those the ones that have penises as long as their bodies that come out of their heads?

[mainegreen]

45. Why yes, yes they are.

[old mark]

40. PETA thanks you......Can you hide a rabbit for a few weeks

till the heat dies down?





mark

[mainegreen]

46. I can not believe my thread about slugs was still alive tonight.

slugs are cool though.

[ZombieHorde]

48. Sorry,

I dropped my penis.

[Skittles]

49. I have a family of slugs outside my patio who love catfood

they're getting really big

[Dem_4_Life]

51. A foot long? Eww

I agree with your wife that is so gross. I am glad it got to live but eww.