@Hellybootwader when I was in primary school one of the teachers had an African snail, and she brought it in for us to see, I was equal parts fascinated and terrified!

Which has just reminded me of the time an organisation brought various animals for us to see/hold, i remember a snake and some sort of lizard, but little autistic me would only hold the rat because I was (am) strange about texture.

@Hellybootwader I watched a timelapse or two of them eating human food left out for them, and it taught me something about their behaviour that made me less able to dislike them. I don't know how to describe it, but somehow the fact their decision making is so incredibly simple gave me empathy for them?

I'll see how I feel about that when the little buggers descend on my veggies this year!

@Hellybootwader I have grown something of an appreciation for our squidgy little friends as I've got older, even if they do try to eat my tomatoes