Posted 3 years ago
AnythingOb…
(1778 items)
Went out a little while ago to give OreoMomma her 3rd (!!) bowlful of dinner today and THIS GUY was back hanging around on the edge of one of her empty bowls. I saw him last night too but didn't have the phonecam in my pocket and just used another bowl -- this morning he was elsewhere -- tonite I didn't notice he was there again until I'd already grabbed the bowl and started to refill it. (so I took the pics then used another, again, so I could put him back down on the patio undisturbed...hope Oreo doesn't notice and eat him?!) With as wet as its been here recently (and with the amount of still un-cleaned-up yard debris out back turning into fresh topsoil) I suppose I shouldn't be surprised but on the other hand I'm also not sure I've really *ever* seen a slug this big...certainly not in my backyard <wow> and he's got such an interesting pattern to him...??? Cool!! ;-) :-)
If there's a better name or description for him (do slugs come in 'sexes'?) I don't know what it is. I'm also assuming slugs are actually good for something biological...do they turn into butterflies eventually like caterpillars do? (I don't think so?) Pretty sure the end of him in pics 1 & 3 is the front, with the little feeler-thingies on it.
Does he bite?
It might be a leopard slug:
https://idtools.org/id/mollusc/factsheet.php?name=Limax%20maximus
Slugs are not toxic to dogs per se, but they may harbor a parasite (lungworm) that's definitely dangerous to dogs:
https://doggysaurus.com/are-slugs-poisonous-to-dogs/
BTW, that might not have been the best link for leopard slugs, because it makes it look as though they're present in only a handful of U.S. states:
*snip*
United States (present in 46 of 50 states)
*snip*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limax_maximus
Also, the answer to the question of whether your leopard slug visitor is male or female: yes. They're hermaphrodites.
That information about the lung worm parasite pertains to all species of slugs, so you'd do well to discourage their presence in your yard.