Crawfish are freshwater crustaceans often found on the bottoms of freshwater streams and ponds, under stones or in the mud. They can be caught by dragging a dip net over the muddy stream or pond bottom. You can also catch them by putting a small bit of raw meat on a string. When the crawdad tries to take the meat, slowly pull the string from the water. Put the crawdad into a jar partly filled with water from the stream or pond.

They are quite tasty, when properly cooked. However, So many of our streams and ponds have been contaminated, it probably is not a good idea to eat them.

You could keep it for awhile to watch it. A better house for him would be a child's plastic wading pool, or maybe a large dishpan. Give him a few rocks or small plant pots for hiding places, and maybe a stick to climb. They eat bugs, bits of raw meat, and earthworms. If you feed him too much food, the left-overs will soon rot and pollute the water. Then he will get sick and die. Just feed small amounts and if he doesn't eat all you gave him, take the left-overs out.

After you have observed him, please return him to the stream or pond from which he came.