Paws, Pets & Metal is Metal Insider’s newest column on bands with pets, who watches them on the road, and more. Get to know more about these metal furbabies. We caught up with Helsott vocalist Eric Dow as he went into detail about his pet snake and rats. 

Tell us more about your pet(s) and their names?
I have a Variable King Snake named Dionysus. He is 6 years old.  He is quite a clumsy creature, like most snakes once you get to know them. I also have 2 rats. Lydia and Wednesday. They are black and white little furballs. Very intelligent and fun pets. They are 2 years old so not sure how much longer they will be with us.  Hopefully, they have a couple more years of life left in them. I always remind them that we could have fed them to the snake so they have it lucky haha.

Have you ever taken your pet on tour?
No. Not sure I would even want to.

Who looks after your pet while on the road?
My wife and kids. They hold the fort down while I’m gone.

What’s your pet’s favorite song or album?
None of them react to music. They care more about food.

How did you introduce your pet to metal?
They are forced to hear it.

What animal charity means most to you?
My wife works for Petco so the Petco Foundation.