#invert pets

[spricket-central]

oh! uh…

good morning, Nutmeg.

[grubstrate]

hello! wanted to say hi and ask what your favorite bug to keep is?

i am thinking of starting my first terrarium :) do you have any recommendations for beginners? i keep fish currently so i am not entirely new to ecosystems

My favorite bugs are large beetles, especially rhino beetles! They’re easy to keep — the biggest consideration is the expense. A reptile convention will often have invertebrate sellers tabling and allow you to skip the shipping cost, plus have your choice on the healthiest-looking. Still, a single larva can easily cost you $30 or more, plus the months spent raising it into adulthood. And never mind the cost of the flake soil, which they chew through like tissue paper.

But if you’re starting a first terrarium, my suggestions are either isopods (wet) or desert beetles (dry). Both require very little maintenance, being detritivores and scavengers respectively. And both are generally active and fun to watch, unlike other low-maintenance invertebrates like millipedes, which you’ll rarely see.

Blue death feigning beetles are popular desert beetles due to their hardiness, long lives, coloration, and lively personalities. They’ll cost you about $10 each, and do well in a 20 gallon. You can pad out the tank with other Tenebrionidae that have similar moisture and diet needs. They don’t need a water or food dish, just toss in some dead crickets every once in a while. But they do enjoy a heat lamp and love basking.

On the isopod side, the price ranges massively, but you can get a starter colony for as low as $20. I keep A. gestroi and P. pruinosus, which both explode quickly into sizeable colonies. Both of mine are in 10 gallons and quite happy there. Isopod colonies should be kept to their own spaces, not mixing species, as they will outcompete each other. But you can add plenty of visual interest with tank decoration. I have magnolia seed pods in mine which provide good hiding spots (in their opinion).

I think, as a fish keeper, you will be pleasantly surprised how much less cleaning you will have to do for bugs!

[grubstrate]

Pupal chamber!

They grow up so fast.

[cruelfeline]

The Nubbin Brigade is out in force today!

I've never actually seen them eat, so this was a delight. They're so Upsettingly Cute.

Disclaimer: I know the one on the left has a scar of some sort; came that way. Doesn't seem to bother it, and there's not a whole lot I can do about it anyway, so we're monitoring. Same with those little oval critters on him; I never added springtails or anything else to this enclosure due to a warning in the one caresheet I found, but it's possible they rode in on moss or something. They don't seem to be bothering the worm, so we're just watching them for now. Hoping they're just environmental critters that end up doing nothing, but given the scar, the monitoring continues.

[spricket-central]

good morning friends! :) looks like our newbie is settling in nicely!

Nutmeg is on the ceiling. of course.

and Paprika is out for a morning stroll!

[grubstrate]

can we see your millipedes!! ₍₍⚞(⸝⸝>⸝⸝<⸝⸝)⚟⁾⁾ — @laramoth-ofical

Since I had a lot of ‘pedes surface today I thought it would be a good time to answer this ask!

Smoky Oak, juvenile. I like the way the light color makes their eyes stand out.

An adult and the same juvenile at a smaller stage, from when I first got them.

Maui, or Hawaiian Striped, Millipede. When I got these free with a selection I thought they were baby ivories. Turned out they’re a different species entirely! These grow to about an inch, so those depicted are still juvenile but will not get much larger. Interestingly, they will glow under UV light.

Florida Ivory Millipede, juvenile. Since the day I put these in the tank I haven’t seen them. Fifty gallons of dirt is a wide world for a little ‘pede. They’ll grow to about the same size as the Smokey Oaks, so I imagine I’ll find one eventually.

And, of course, Louise, our American Giant. I was wondering when some little Louises might start showing up, since wild caught inverts most often come gravid (our rescue A. vulgare populated a good batch in the gestroi tank). I took a closer look at some Louise pics today, and it turns out she’s male. You can sort of see in this photo — her seventh segment is slightly larger and if you were to flip her, you would see a missing pair of legs and a set of gonopods in their place. Here’s an example photo of a female from Google:

And another photo of Louise from when we first found her, showcasing the missing set of legs a little clearer:

Anyway, I doubt she minds, so she can go on being our girl.

[spricket-central]

…ah. it seems our new friend has decided to take his squash “to-go.”

well… glad youre enjoying all your new home has to offer, ahaha.

[spricket-central]

as for the rest of the crew, worry not! i still have a couple of T. asynamorus buddies in my care! :)

the first is Nutmeg! last time i posted about him, he was still just a little nymph, but hes all grown up now! heres a pic of him enjoying some veggies!:

hes a huge goof who LOVES hanging out on the ceiling, lmao. hes up there right now, actually.

hes almost always up there when i check on him, ahaha. lil dude just loves to climb.

my other friend was still unnamed last time i posted, and was still just a speck! he, too, is all grown up now. im happy to finally have a chance to formally introduce Paprika!

hes much more shy than Nutmeg, and usually prefers to stay hidden in his cereal box or under his tp tube, but sometimes i’ll find him enjoying his climbing wall, or even the ceiling! regardless, as long as he’s happy, i am too, even if hed prefer to stay out of sight!

i like calling these two The Spice Boys 💃🏻

unfortunately, Halfpipe, Handkerchief, and Broccolini are all no longer with us :( thats always the sad part of keeping sprickets as pets; their lifespans are so tragically short. my dear Spice Boys are both approaching their one year Catchaversaries even, so who knows how much time we have left together. still, as tragic as the goodbyes are, the joy of watching these nervous little beans grow up healthy and happy makes it all worth it. theres a reason ive been doing this for three and a half years now.

heres to many more years of enjoying the company of these goofy little jumping beans! 💚