You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Children often pick up mollusc shellfish, crabs and other creatures such as starfish from the seaside, lakes or rivers and hope that they can take them home and look after them...but is it practical to keep clams as pets ?

Clams are common shellfish which live burrowed, a short distance below the surface of the sand or mud. They have two tubes which push through the sand are are used to circulate water. These creatures are molluscs called bivalves and they feed through one tube (they eat plankton), and expel waste products and spawn their larvae through the outgoing tube.

Clams do not make good pets because :

• They require a clean, aerated, aquarium ..a salt-water aquarium if they are from the sea- which is difficult and quite expensive to maintain
• They live under the sand or mud ...so they are not visible
• They do not move much once they are in place under the sand or mud ...so they are boring !
• They do not respond to human contact and communication
• They are not warm and cuddly to handle !

If shellfish are picked up from the surface of the sand at a beach they are likely to be dead, as living ones usually need to be dug up from under the sand. There is a slight risk of disease transmission from handling decaying material so children should always wash their hands thoroughly after handling shells etc found on the beach. 

Provet's advice is - always leave living creatures in the environment in which you find them ! 

However, if you want more information about looking after clams visit :

http://saltaquarium.miningco.com/pets/saltaquarium/msub28clam.htm 

Updated October 2013