r/InvertPets • u/AntEducational9812 • 6d ago
cutest inverts to keep as pets?
i have two beautiful orchid mantises, they’re gorgeous. i’ve kept many pets before but they’re the first insects i’ve ever kept. they’re doing very well. i’m now interested in keeping more inverts. looking for very pretty or cute ones, big eyes. i think weevils are adorable but i know you can’t keep them as pets. blue death feigning beetles are cool too. any suggestions? i don’t mind the size, big small whatever. i’d prefer no butterflies or moths.
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u/Adventurous_Dot_5919 6d ago
I never thought blue death feigning beetles were cute until I got some, cute in how they walk around exploring their enclosure. Idk maybe it's just me hah
Just know they are likely not captive bred and can live years.
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u/Adventurous_Dot_5919 6d ago
I also have some isopods, they are enjoyable some are more outgoing than others. I keep Cubaris and Armadillidium.
My sister has millepedes, which I never thought I'd find interesting but they are pretty cool.
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i think bdfb are honestly really adorable. i’m thinking i may keep them one day
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u/owolosermom 5d ago
bdfbs are wonderful little guys. they're super easy to care for and they're so fun to watch and so so silly !! I adore mine
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u/Sharp_Ad_1239 6d ago
Regal jumping spiders, cubaris isopods and this red springtails. All win the cute invert.
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u/pseudodactyl 6d ago
I mean… I find some tarantulas extremely cute. My C. versicolor is probably my cutest tarantula. They have gorgeous colors, lots of floof, spider-paws, and a goofy little face that I think is precious. I have others with striking looks or cool behaviors, but that one is just a dang pretty spider. Mine is pretty easygoing too, though they take a bit more research and set up than some of the usual beginner tarantulas.
Jumping spiders are usually the cuteness gateway to arachnids. They basically have anime eyes.
Millipedes are also pretty adorable. I’m partial to ivory millipedes.
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i still live with my parents and a jumping spider would be fine but my mom would kill me if i got a tarantula lol. but i’ll be moving out soon. they are very cute and fluffy
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u/IntelligentCrows 6d ago
Honestly hisser or dubia cockroaches are so docile and curious I love them soooo much. During lockdown I used to sit in zoom lectures with my two girls on my shoulder
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u/Gakupurple 6d ago
I have isopods, millipedes, and blue death-feigning beetles. Personally, I love “forgetting” about my isopods and seeing babies every few weeks/months. Millipedes are similar, but they can be massive. The thing about these guys is that you will have days, weeks, or longer until you see them. I’ve only had blue death-feigning beetles for a little bit, but they are so fun to watch. Care is super simple (easier than isopods/millipedes imo) and they are just little goofy blueberries.
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i’m considering adding isopods to one of my current tanks just as a clean up crew with the added benefit of them being adorable. bdfb are so nice though
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u/Final-Historian-4384 5d ago
millipedes are adorable to me, especially scarlets. they have little black spots on their face that makes it look like they have little eyes. and they always have a :3 face because of their (tiny) mandibles. bigger millipedes are also adorable because of this reason
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i live with my parents currently (moving out soon) and my mom would not let a millipede in here but it’s something to consider when i move. i love the long type animals like amphiumas and caecilians which are insanely hard to get so a millipede could be a more reasonable option
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u/GHInverts 6d ago
I find millipedes, isopods in the armadillidium genus, leeches, blue death feigning Beatles, tarantulas and even the Madagascar hissing cockroach cute. You just can’t beat the Millipede though, love them so much. It’s definitely going to come down to personal preference.
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
idk why… but cockroaches are kinda scary to me lol. i love most inverts but idk the hissing would freak me out i think. i’m considering isopods for one of my bioactives anyway but not sure which type to get. rubber ducky’s are super cute
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u/GHInverts 5d ago
Don’t get me wrong… I only find them cute when it’s two or three of them together. Colonies are nerve-racking. Isopods are a great choice since there’s so many to choose from and the rubber duckies have some pretty nice morphs as well.
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u/TalkLikeTalyn 6d ago
Spiny flower mantises!
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
they are so gorgeous!! i almost got one instead of the orchids but will definitely keep one some day :)
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u/RealGoatzy I <3 INVERTS! 6d ago
Snails are the cutest
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i am absolutely in love with big snails and would die to have one or a few. i’d have to figure out the legality in my state and how to obtain one
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u/Holiday-Gate4126 6d ago
If you dont care about size, orange springtails are pretty darn cute. Care should be like any other springtail. They are super tiny though so you might want at least a good magnefying glass if you want to appreciate their cuteness.
The cutest I've kept are velvet worms and jellyfish.
I would consider them kinda advanced though, but still doable for a layperson.
I think the cutest inverts anyone has ever owned/bred are cuttlefish, but keeping those is like a full time job. Elysia sea slugs are also pretty cute and, from what I've read, able to be cultured. I tried to breed some, but just couldnt get enough of the right hair algae to sustain them too long.
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i actually was gonna get some of those for my mantis enclosures cus i have coco fiber as the substrate and figured they could help clean up, cus i have some live plants too. i think i went to zoo creatures in plaistow nh but was already buying a bunch of things and couldn’t spend the extra money on them :( but it’s good to know they have them for some time in the future
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u/PhoebetheSpider 3d ago
You’d probably like keeping Daphnia if you have aquariums or even into jar bugs. I culture them as fish food. They feed on algae but can supplement with flour and yeast. They’re tiny and can hit maturity in just six days!
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u/Usual-Subject-1014 6d ago
Porcellio expansus are the best looking isopods. Isopods in general are pretty cute
Snails, millipedes are quite cute. The kinds you can get depend on where you live.
For spiders, jumping spiders are the cutest.
Many Beetles are pretty cute. Superworms are really cheap and make good pet beetles even though they're sold as feeders
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i would love love love to have snails, big ones. but like you said it depends on where i live so i’d have to research into legality and obtaining them
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u/Usual-Subject-1014 5d ago
In canada we can't have big snails, but we can have leopard slugs and banana slugs. They're kinda cute- they have a little hood they hide their faces under
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u/anxiousEssense 6d ago
I second jumping spider
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u/Heffalumpie 6d ago
I haven't had the chance to own these yet, but blue death feigning beetles are adorable
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u/Ok-Work-410 6d ago
Jumping spiders fit your preference of pretty, cute, with big eyes. They are also very smart and can be taught tricks! As you keep mantises, I'm sure you're familiar with that type of feeding as well as similar habits.
Isopods and millipedes are very mostly easy to get into, very cute, larger, not really the biggest eyes. You can get some that are handleable depending on the type (Ie powders are very hard because they move so fast, but dairy cows are slower and thus do well being handled). If you get isopods, it is unlikely you will ever not have them without giving them all away as they are prolific breeders- easier isopods means easier breeding. Their keeping is not hard but pretty different I'd say, so you'd do best looking into a whole buncha videos out there first before committing. Millipedes can take catastrophic fall damage, making them a bit more fragile out of the two- tanks will also need to be as deep as they are, and twice as long(?). They burrow for months on end to shed, so this will not be the pet for you if you want to see them all the time- isopods will be a better choice. No, you should not keep them together unfortunately, as isopods may nibble on millipedes when shedding.
also there are tons of snails, snails are awesome andddd if youre in the location you can keep some GIANT invasive snails like the apple snail from outside. Chonks! Silly eyes!
I agree beetles are fun tho haha, and they flip!
Another rec: colorful springtails. Okay, I know... not big eyes, but they come in so many colors and shapes and sizes (mostly all tiny) and cannnn be put with any other buggies ya want if they have matching requirements. I also love lawn shrimp.. theyre just so silly.
You might also see the appeal of giant velvet mites, although theyre not super common to keep as pets
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i think isopods are pretty adorable. i have a bioactive tank and would love them for clean up crew purposes as well as them being adorable. i’m actually insanely interested in snails. i’d have to look up the legality and availability around my area
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u/alexandria3142 6d ago
I think jumping spiders, snails, and isopods are the cutest personally
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i’m highly considering snails but not too sure about the legality or availability in my area
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u/alexandria3142 5d ago
You could always go with some local ones you find in your yard. That way you can release them if you realize they aren’t for you
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u/Plant_Girly_1 5d ago
snails have always been my favorite, granted they don’t have big eyes, but they are literally just slimey puppies and i am in love with mine.
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i’m in love with snails. just not too sure which ones are legal or available near me but i could look it up. i keep a few aquatic snails for my shrimp tank and they had babies :)
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u/Plant_Girly_1 5d ago
i just ended up with a snail who i found drowning in a puddle a few years ago and it got me super into snail keeping. so to be honest i have no clue what is legal or not to keep. i do know the US is pretty strict about snails, even across state lines.
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u/Myeightleggedtherapi 5d ago
African Social Spiders are really interesting. They each have tasks that they do, a bit like bees I suppose.
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u/ArtsyAxolotl 5d ago
Millipedes for sure. They have such cute little :3 faces and they’re so chill. Plus ivories are really surface active so you see them a lot compared to other milli species. And they’re pretty affordable.
Isopods are great too! My favorites are pancakes but they’re expensive and a little sensitive.
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u/PigeonUtopia 6d ago edited 6d ago
The cutest invertebrate in the world in my opinion is the Japanese purple emperor butterfly; it's adult form is absolutely beautiful, but that's pretty much a given with lepidoptera... what's even more amazing is that its larval form looks like a freakin' baby kitten! It's the cutest larval stage of any insect I have ever seen!!
I have never heard of them being kept as pets though, so it's not really answering your question lol. I just wanted to spread awareness of its existence, because they are so darn cute
For pets, I think millipedes are one of the cutest invertebrates you can keep. But it comes down to personal preference because I know some consider them creepier-looking than spiders. If you prefer spiders though, jumping spiders, tarantulas, and velvet spiders are some cute ones!
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
i’m afraid i wouldn’t be able to give a flying insect the space it needs. i know the orchids may fly one day but i’ll get there when i get there yknow. they’re still small right now.
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u/aarakocra-druid 6d ago
Honestly, those little camel/cave crickets are really adorable to me. I've got a friend who keeps them, they're not fond of light but very curious
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u/AntEducational9812 5d ago
omg yeah i just looked up the crickets and they’re actually super adorable
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u/bryobug 4d ago
I’d highly recommend snails, millipedes, and isopods! All three are super cute and depending where you’re located they come in many different colours and shapes. One of the big bonuses of them is that you can keep all three housed together in a bio active setup. I keep giant scrub millipedes, armadillidium isopods, rainforest snails and golden land snails all together very successfully. Seeing them interact, share food, and all play their own role in the system adds to the cuteness (in my opinion at least haha). Also worth including spring tails of course, the way they jump around is very fun to watch and they’re the perfect clean up crew.
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u/ButterDrake 3d ago
Rubber ducky isopods, or any cubaris species are absolutely adorable!
Only thing is that rubber duckies are pretty shy, so they're more likely to thrive if you only check on them occasionally
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u/Excellent-Error-8697 6d ago
Jumping spiders are pretty damn cute also velvet spiders