Meet Smoky!

I’m Smoky W. Mystery! I’m a Black Mystery Snail, and I’m here to post snail facts, my adventures, and the adventures of Wentworth, the Blue Mystery Snail before me. The W in my name actually stands for Wentworth! I like to tinker with and explore the objects in my tank, and I’m writing this from the secret hideout in my tank! Wentworth built it, inside a rock decoration. Also, I can’t wait until the humans start handfeeding me blanched vegetables! It’s a Mystery Snail thing.

“When a Mystery Snail reaches the top of a wall or structure, it will often let go of the wall and glide rapidly downward until it crashes into plants or into the substrate below, often eliciting a “Wheeee!” sound from any witnesses…Its playful behavior makes it more fun to watch than other snails.”

~Aquaticarts.com on Mystery Snails

My Favorite Foods

(By Raini)

When I was a puppy, my favorite foods were scrambled eggs, and Chobani plain yogurt mixed with canned pumpkin. (The yogurt was actually bad for my stomach.) I also liked this dry food mixed with wet that was chicken and brown rice flavored. Of course, I also liked boiled chicken! Then my humans realized I was allergic to chicken. No wonder I had been so itchy recently! So, we switched my food out for salmon-flavored food and got these yummy salmon treats and something called Fruitables. However, I still enjoy eggs, and pumpkin whenever I have a stomachache. But my all-time favorite food is asparagus–I am a German shepherd after all!

Sunny, Bright, Breezy Day!

(By Raini)

The sun is shining. A gentle breeze blows. (whooshhhh…oops…got caught up in the moment…now I’ve embarrassed myself) Mom leaves… ahhh… nice… Wait…. MOM LEAVES!? Okay…okay…calm down Raini… Isabella sits in the strange hanging seat she has, and swings. Just as I wonder where Mom is, the gate opens, and Mom is back! Phew! Wait a minute! She has this amazing treat called a knuckle bone! (Nowadays I can’t eat those…apparently, I worry too much about burying them…) I chew it, and then, though now I’m embarrassed to say it, I leap at it and start Shepherd-Talking to it. Then I look at Isabella. She doesn’t have anything! I look at Mom. Isabella needs something too! Suddenly, I hear music. A truck pulls up. Isabella runs over and returns with a big pink-and-yellow cold thing on a stick. She tells me it’s not good for doggies (Why do humans always talk like that when they’re around cute animals?) and I assume it’s the human version of a knuckle bone. I’m glad we both have treats now!

The Trip Home

(By Smoky)

I don’t remember much about my baby-snailhood, but I do remember PetSmart. I was shipped there with a bunch of other snails. The Blue Mystery Snails were so small they had no color, and the Gold Mystery Snails were even smaller. I spent some time in PetSmart, with the two species of tetra that I forget the names of. Most humans who showed up were doing one of 4 things:

  • Bringing food.
  • Buying something like a goldfish or a koi.
  • Buying supplies.
  • Just passing through to another section of the store.

That changed the day Isabella showed up. She was looking for a Mystery Snail, particularly a blue one, but given the small state of the others, she chose a Black Mystery Snail. She spotted me exploring the bottom of the tank and decided to take me home. While we waited for an aquarist, all the other snails rushed to where she was. She has that effect on animals. When I say rushed, you would probably think it was slow. We are snails, after all! But Mystery Snails are surprisingly fast. We can get from one end of the tank to the other in 30 seconds if we want. Anyway, then the aquarist showed up, and I was put in a bag, and off we went! For motion-safety reasons, I stayed in my shell in the car. But when I was set to float on the aquarium’s surface to adjust to the temperature, I stretched my snorkel and feelers. The aquarium had a log decoration, and a big waterfall-looking thing that spouted bubbles. I set up a secret hideout/tinker’s lab in the waterfall. The next day, my new tankmates were introduced! They are 3 zebra danios, and 3 leopard danios. The humans had named me Smoky because I had a smoky color, and they were going to Smoky Mountain National Park. So, the danios all got national park names! Zion is the playful one, Glacier is his best friend. Sequoia is the little one, Redwood is the shy one, Rocky is the professional swimmer, and Yellowstone is the one with the long fins.

First Day HOME!!!!!!!

June 16, 2019

I lived at a breeder, where there were more shepherds, including my mom and dad, and lots of toys! My favorites were this rubber key ring that felt so good on my little puppy teeth, and this old half of…something. Nobody knew what it was, even the breeder herself, but everyone loved it. Then I met the best girl ever! Her name was Isabella. She and the other humans played with me, then, unfortunately, took me to get poked, or so I thought. However, I soon realized that just because I was in the car didn’t mean I was getting poked. In fact, they took me to my new home, where I lived with Isabella, just like I’d wanted!