Icicle Ghost Care Sheet
Common Group: Ghosts
Common Name: Icicle Ghost
Scientific Name:
Phasma Glacies
Distribution: Southern part of the Southern Icefields, primarily in and around dragonmade constructions such as the Fortress of Ends and Rimebone Stockade.
Size: 0.3-1.0m long, weightless
Natural History
While the Icicle Ghost is commonly regarded as a "pest" species, living in and around the homes and buildings of dragons, rearranging household items, and stealing snacks, the Icicle Ghost actually has its origins as a domesticated form of the much larger and more dangerous
Phasma Timeo.
Unfortunately, when keeping Icicle Ghosts became less popular, many of them were released into the wild and have since grown feral, sometimes overwhelming the local ghost populations due to their general lack of natural predators.
That said, Icicle Ghosts are incredibly playful and affectionate pets and fit perfectly into the average household when well-trained and provided with adequate enrichment. Icicle ghosts can obtain a vocabulary of roughly 100-200 unique words, can be trained to help with household tasks, and love to participate in arts and music with their families.
Adopting Icicle Ghosts into households is generally more effective than catch-and-release programs, and thus is the preferred method of handling Icicle Ghost overpopulation issues. The only more effective method is the introduction of a predator species, such as the giant
Phasma Spina, but this can pose a great danger even to dragons and is highly discouraged except when performed by a licensed ghost-handling professional.
Size and Longevity
Icicle Ghosts are considered a small ghost, but are not nearly the tiniest species. They typically reach no more than 1 meter in length, and the average Icicle Ghost is 0.75 meters long. This puts them similar in size to a Veilspun.
When well cared for, an Icicle Ghost can live from 15-25 years, though there are reports of occasional individual ghosts living to be 40-50 years before evaporating (the process of returning to the atmosphere).
Housing and Temperature
An Icicle Ghost can typically live alongside dragons in cooler climates within the home with minimal household changes. Seeing as Icicle Ghosts can navigate through walls and surfaces, they are nearly impossible to contain without expensive ghost-containing technology. Fortunately, they are very content creatures and once introduced to a house will only leave it if the household is not properly meeting their needs.
There are, however, things that you can and should do in order to make your home more inviting to a little ghostie. Icicle Ghosts prefer temperatures to be on the cooler side. While they can tolerate temperatures in the 70s F, they will do better if the home is kept in the 50s or 60s. Icicle Ghosts become stressed at temperatures exceeding 80F and are at risk of early evaporation.
Icicle Ghosts also need a dark ice box which they can retreat to in order to cool down, especially during the daytime. The ice box should be unlit and must be kept below freezing (30F or lower). This box should be kept available to the ghost at all times so that it can retreat to it for rest and comfort as needed. In most households, this is already inside your home in the form of a freezer for keeping food products. It is acceptable for your icicle ghost to use the freezer as its ice box, but some caretakers prefer to provide special boxes just for the ghost to keep the ghosts from rifling through their food stores.
Icicle Ghosts are sensitive to bright lights and are likely to avoid brightly lit or sunny rooms, especially during the daytime. Since they are nocturnal, you do not need to be too concerned about the daytime lighting. You'll just need to be sure that there is not excessive indoor lighting at night.
Cohabitation
Icicle Ghosts are a social species, and generally choose to live in large colonies. While there is no upper limit to the number of Icicle Ghosts that can live inside a single home, it's estimated that a minimum of three is ideal to help them build more natural social structures.
A single Icicle Ghost can be kept happy and content if it has enough time to socialize and play with other ghosts during playdates or secret nighttime outdoor meetings with your neighbors' ghosts.
When cohabiting Icicle Ghosts, you'll want to ensure that you have at least 1 ice box per 20 ghosts. Due to their lack of corporeal substance, they can generally snugly pile into the freezer together, but there is somehow a maximum to how many can comfortably fit in the same space.
Food and Water
Good news! They do not need to eat or drink. They do, however, sometimes like to hold food in their hands and smash it a bit. It's currently unknown why they do this, but some speculate that they may be "imitating" their dragon owners' eating habits. Giving them some opportunities to "pretend to eat" may improve their quality of life (and will prevent them from smashing your leftovers overnight while you're not looking).
Toys and Enrichment
Icicle Ghosts are incredibly smart and curious creatures and need a lot of enrichment activities. A bored ghost is a poorly behaved ghosts, and neglected ghosts will throw furniture, knock items off of shelves, and otherwise tear up your home with nothing else to do.
There are many different kinds of toys and activities you can prepare for your ghosts. Things like musical instruments, arts and crafts materials, and small toys meant for hatchlings can all be excellent sources of enrichment for your Icicle Ghosts. Providing positive ways of using their creative spirit can be an amazing experience for both you and the ghost. Good ghost owners report waking up in the morning to find fully decorated homes with handmade papercrafts and paintings, surprise gifts, and other such things.
Just be sure to remember that each ghost is a unique individual and has its own personal tastes. Some ghosts may like certain kinds of activities, and others may not. You'll want to try a variety of toys and options to see what your particular ghost is interested in.
Handling and Training
One of the biggest appeals of Icicle Ghosts, and the primary reason why they were domesticated in the first place, is their ability to perform simple household tasks.
As part of your enrichment routine, you can task your ghosts with basic household duties to keep them busy. They are particularly fond of cleaning and organizing things, so teaching them to dust shelves, put away dishes, fold laundry, and sort mail is all something you can consider.
Icicle Ghosts learn by watching as they instinctively mimic what they are seeing. To teach them to do a household task, you'll want to do it in front of them, and then give them the opportunity to try it themselves.
In order to keep your Icicle Ghost performing household tasks, you'll want to be sure to provide positive reinforcement whenever they do a particularly good job. Icicle Ghosts love to be patted on the head and are easily rewarded with small items to collect such as colorful stickers, loose buttons, or patterned rocks. You may even find that they present you with loose buttons and rocks in return.
You may need to continue to do the desired household task on an occasional basis so that the ghosts continue to remember that it's a fun activity. If you go a few months without dusting the shelves, the ghosts may decide that maybe it is not something they should do anymore since they don't see you doing it.
Important Training Note
It is vital that you do not attempt to punish your Icicle Ghost if it behaves poorly, as this can cause it to mimic the punishing behavior back at you. Icicle Ghosts do Not understand typical attempts at communicating that something was not good (such as scolding, revoking privileges, etc.) and will interpret this as a fun new game to do in return.
For example, if you attempt to take away your icicle's toy when it has behaved poorly, it will enthusiastically respond by taking your belongings away in turn. Raising your voice at your Icicle Ghost will lead to you having a very loud Icicle Ghost that yells out at night for fun. (And with multiple ghosts in a household, this behavior will quickly spread to the others.) None of these are ideal behaviors. Thus, it is vital that you act in the way in which you want your Icicle Ghost to also act. If you need your ghost to calm or quiet down, sitting in complete silence will often prompt it to mimic you and do the same.
