Choose a new pet for a house full of animals with ChatGPT, after an illegal pick

PartialEvidence: Article or interviewPosted Aug 13, 2024Last checked Nov 7, 2026

ChatGPT helped Margaret Samuels choose snails, a hermit crab and finches, but wrongly suggested an illegal invasive snail first.

Source checked Nov 7, 2026
Results shared
Limitations noted

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Tap Copy prompt.
Open ChatGPT.
Paste it into the message box.
Replace anything in [CAPITAL LETTERS IN BRACKETS] with your own details.
Send it, then read the answer before acting on it.

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We have two dogs, two cats, nine backyard chickens, quail and an axolotl in a cold-water tank. Suggest a few unusual but easy pets that could live alongside them or in the axolotl's tank, check that each one is legal to keep in [STATE], and flag any that would eat or be eaten by our current animals.

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Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish.

Goal: Shortlist a new pet that fits the animals, space and kids we already have.

Questions to ask me first:
- Which animals do you already keep, and in what enclosures?
- Where do you live, for the legal checks?
- Who will care for the new pet day to day?

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- Current animals: [SPECIES, NUMBER, ENCLOSURE]
- Location: [STATE / COUNTRY]
- Space and gear we already own: [TANKS, CAGES]
- Limits: [E.G. NO SMALL MAMMALS, BUDGET]

Rules:
- Check that every suggestion is legal where I live and say where you checked.
- Flag predator–prey risks with our current animals.
- Say whether each animal is usually captive-bred or wild-caught.
- No farm animals unless I ask.

Checkpoint: Give me a short list with one line each before the full care notes.

If you get stuck: If you can't confirm a species is legal here, say so and leave it off the shortlist.

Verify before you finish: Nothing on the final list is invasive, banned or a likely meal for an animal we already have.

Output: Three to five options with care basics, setup cost and how each fits our household.

Done when: We can pick a pet knowing it's legal, safe with our animals and realistic for us.

AI tool

ChatGPT

Outcome

Tech writer Margaret Samuels, whose household already had two dogs, two cats, nine chickens, a flock of quail, three kids and an axolotl named Pixel, asked ChatGPT to help pick a new pet. For the axolotl's cold-water tank it suggested White Cloud Mountain minnows, ghost shrimp and apple snails; Samuels was sure Pixel could eat the first two, but thought the snails might work. Its list of other unusual pets included African land snails, an invasive species that is illegal to own, import or transport in the US, and it only warned against them when asked whether they were legal. A question about pets to keep alongside the chickens brought suggestions of farm animals, and one about pets that eat eggs led to the African egg-eating snake, though it never mentioned the ethics of buying wild-caught snakes. The family settled on snails for the tank, a hermit crab for the kitchen and society finches, and Samuels said that apart from the land snail debacle, ChatGPT did better than expected.

Evidence: Article or interviewA newsletter, journalist or interview account of what happened.

Known limitations

PartialThe source says it only partly worked, or had a significant problem a person had to deal with.

What went wrong: Helped the family land on snails, a hermit crab and finches, but suggested an illegal invasive snail and skipped the wild-caught ethics question.

Source

Posted: Aug 13, 2024 by Margaret Samuels
Last checked: Nov 7, 2026
Method:: How we verify

https://www.howtogeek.com/i-let-chatgpt-choose-our-new-household-pet-and-heres-how-it-went/

Context: How-To Geek, August 2024. ChatGPT ended its list of egg-eating pets with a reminder to check local legal restrictions; the writer already knew monitor lizards, also on that list, were illegal in the writer's state.