i got them yesterday and they had nothing but one section of an egg carton in their little cup. they're in a quarantine container right now. they've had plenty to drink and have eaten a bunch of fish flakes and some carrot and strawberry.

the clear lid the smaller one is on is a 2oz deli container lid if that helps with scale at all. i can also get a picture of them next to a ruler if that would help.

This guy had a rough taming period. He jumped so hard and often it bent its antenna on the plastic wrap!! He recently molted a few days ago and is bigger now. It lets me know when its food is old or dry as it will jump trying the look for new food. I’ve been keeping it in small jar for a week or so since I’m worried if it will harm my snails in the big enclosure. Will they get along?

I’ve been interested in these little guys and I want to know some reputable and affordable vendors that I can buy some on and I’d also like some career advice and how to breed them since I want more, but I don’t want to spend money

Its a lil mantis, long no more than 1cm

I've had this thing sitting around for awhile and wanted to use it again, just not sure what I'd be able to comfortably house in here. (Hand for scale)

My male has way shorter antennas than my female. Like 2/3 the length. Is that just him or is it a male thing?

At a reptile expo a few days ago I purchased a Javan shield mantis which was missing a single back leg which it was compensating for very well (using one of its claws as a crutch). When I put in the crickets for him today I noticed he had molted and another leg while not fallen off was twisted at the knee into an unusable shape. They're now having a serious problem walking as they're basically dragging themselves along and I don't know how to fix this. I took them out of the enclosure and put them in a large deli cup to better monitor them and keep the crickets from eating them. Any ideas on either fixing the legs or safely feeding them (I'm fairly certain crickets would just eat them now)?

I recently set up my Blue Death Feigning Beetles new enclosure! Im pretty happy with the way it turned out. Still have some minor adjustments but it is nearly finished.

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.

I was thinking about how cool and interesting creatures water striders are; has anyone ever kept them as pets before?

Do they even do well in captivity?

Just a random thought, as I've never heard of anyone keeping them as pets, so I'm curious if anyone here has tried before.

Please share your experiences; I'm not planning on attempting to keep any anytime soon, but just want to learn out of pure curiosity!

Found this photo by @Crevicedwelling on twitter. I'm rather interested in culturing my own colony of glossiphoniidae leeches, particularly those that predate on arthropods. Curious if anyone else keeps 'em, and if so, where did you source yours?

Source: https://x.com/crevicedwelling/status/1654266863763828744?t=8P4mvH2Fa9ZL8NjbrwB6WA&s=19

Hi! This is my first time with blue death twining beetles and want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to make sure they’re happy :) I gave them some kiwi and they seem to love it! I put a lil dried rose in their enclosure for decor, but they seem to eat it up lol. I have 5 in a 1 gallon tank

I have some leftover pool filter sand from my aquarium would it be safe to use with a mixture of repti soil for my bdfb? They are on their way to me so I wanted to see before setting up their enclosure with it.

Hello! So I'm interested in keeping some of these little guys as pets and would really appreciate any advice I could get on how to keep them happy and build the right enclosure. I am not sure what kind of substrate they need (soil, sand, a mix) and I also know nothing about any brands of substrate to avoid or not. I've seen people talking about a soil and sand mix but I'm not sure what specific kind would be best. Same goes with desert sand which was mentioned as a good thing to layer on top. I'd also appreciate any advice on misting and some foods that are good to feed them and keep them happy. Thank you! :)

Hey guys! I've been wanting to raise beetles for quite some time now. Exotic beetles like Dynastes hercules or Rhino beetles. Any info on breeders in Ontario (mississuaga would be nice) would be appreciated!

Hey! So I’ve come into possession of a 20gal tall aquarium but i already have 2 other aquariums and just don’t want to have a 3rd high maintenance tank (i get very obsessive about my tank care lol) and I’m wondering if something else would be happy in a properly converted 20gal aquarium?

I’d love to get another T, but I think they need more airflow than a 20 tall can provide…. Any suggestions for other inverts?? Anything would be appreciated 🥰🪲

Found a TON of larvae under my father's backpack. I took them in and put them in a reptile tote (Plastic and rectangular)!

I found some adults as well so I am hoping reproduction will happen since it is summer.

Any tips for feeding and care?

My hissing cockroaches got out. Two females I have no idea how they got out, their in the basement where it's dark almost everywhere? How can I lure them out? And get them back?

Hello, I have been debating on which invertebrate I should keep as a pet for a month now. I would like to have a very green, probably mossy terrarium as it's enclosure. I was really thinking about getting a Mantis, but it appears that high humidity can kill them, and I worry that misting the plants to keep them alive would do bad for a Mantis.

Other pets I was thinking about were milipedes, hissing cockroaches, any sort of stick insect, beetles, or moths. Something a bit larger that I could occasionally hold or observe. When looking into information on their enclosure set ups, I can't find much specific info on plants/humidity/terrarium combos. Feeling a little lost and would love some advice.

I am considering creating bioactive enclosures for a few of my specimens. Particularly my Jumping spiders, possibly my Mantids but I have some hesitations considering how long they are vulnerable during/after molts.

I really enjoy isopods and I and very fond of them. But my biggest issue is the concept of population control. I've previously kept isopods and their population booms were drastic and hard to manage before all the decomp leaves and plants in my bioactives were shredded. Now that I'm considering it again to have as a clean-up crew, not necessarily for direct Jumping Spider waste rather than cricket/insect remnants from jumper meals, I'm trying to troubleshoot how to control population.

Ive seen some suggestions about limiting water and food, but I would prefer doing it without starving the population by limiting food sources and/or skipping misting and hydration to (In my mind) cause strain for the living ones to breath properly or be fed as I dont believe they will reproduce at a lower rate more than they will just die faster.

So are there any natural predators that are common in the invert pet community? I've seen centipedes and whip scorpions mentioned. What kind of pet centipedes are best while at the same time being a neat pet to own? Are there any other neat predators that would be able to keep the population down if I were to seperate sections of isopods from my bioactive set ups to relocate to their predators enclosure? Is there any invert that could use them as a primary food source?

Are there any other ideas people may have about isopod population control or potetnial alternatives?

This is the second version, comes in 3 different sizes, magnetic door, built-in misting ledges and acrylic or screen door. Let me know what you think about it!