Well-kept slime molds. Photo: screenshot from the chinanews.com

After keeping dogs made of cardboard boxes, stones, and mango kernels, many young people in Chinese cities are raising slime molds as niche pets.

Slime mold is neither a fungus nor a bacterium, it is a non-toxic, eukaryotic organism, according to a mycological science blogger. It has two life phases: nutrition and reproduction.

In the nutrition stage, slime molds obtain nutrients by engulfing food scraps, giving them an animal-like quality as they move in search of food. 

A woman named Wang Jun started keeping slime molds to relieve work stress. "Keeping slime molds is not difficult, as long as you pay attention to maintaining temperature and humidity and regularly changing the bedding paper when raising them," she told media outlets.

Generally, Wang will feed milled oatmeal to the slime molds, approximately three to five times a day, she added.

Wang keeps her pet, slime mold, in her office, saying that the slime mold is a work-friendly pet, as it would not bring considerable mental trauma to herself and her colleagues in the event of its death.

Regarding the reasons for the popularity of slime molds, experts say that people today lead more settled lives, and many children and young people prefer these novelty gadgets. In addition, many children and young people are fond of keeping pets, slime molds, being quiet and low-maintenance, are ideal companions for study and work, experts noted.

Global Times