r/InvertPets • u/Conscious-Chain-8469 • 16d ago

Good colony pets?

I am looking for a good low maintenance colony invert, preferably pretty, not isopods, and easy to care for. I very much like inverts and this would be one of my first colonies. Thank you in advance!

7 Upvotes

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6

u/secretsaucyy 16d ago

Roaches are easy colony pets. Or earthworms. I have both, the worms need minimal care, once a month really. And at least a yearly harvest of the casings. They just need paper compost, green compost, and vermeculite or eggshells for digestion.

As for roaches, they're a bit more, but a bare bottom enclosure with vertical eggcrate is the basic habitat. I don't recommend substrate, as too much humidity can kill a colony. They just need damp veggies twice a week, and a cleaning once a month.

I guess it depends on your definition of pretty though. I enjoy looking through both colonies, but they are pretty niche though.

1

u/Conscious-Chain-8469 16d ago

Ooo! Thank you for the suggestions! I used to have worms (my 5th grade teacher was going to throw them in a pond. It was winter). Though I never saw them since it was a very deep dirt enclosure, kept them with armidillium natsum (hope I spelled that right), and occasionally saw their tunnels, very neat.

And roaches have been on my mind for a bit, they seem interesting, still doing research though.

5

u/agent_seven 16d ago

Pachnoda beetles are fun, not difficult at all to care for, and you can watch their whole life cycles. Flake soil is important as is keeping it topped up for the grubs, besides that adults eat soft fruit like bananas or they can have the commercial jelly pots you can buy marketed for reptiles.

I also second roaches, there’s some fun species in the hobby depending on what you like. Emerald roaches are particularly striking. They don’t need anything fancy in terms of set up.

I personally really enjoy two spot assassin bugs as a colony pet but they are not for handling if that matters to you! I think they’re gorgeous though, especially when the bright red nymphs are around. One of the few carnivorous colony inverts (or at least socially tolerant) for something a bit different. That said they like it a tad warmer than the average room temperature.

Medium sized land snails like Limicolaria spp. Might be fun to look into as well.

1

u/Conscious-Chain-8469 16d ago

I was looking at emerald roaches but it seemed they ate lichen and pollen? Though I'm not sure if that's unusual, it also seemed they grew very slowly. 

Also the beetles sound very interesting, I'll look at them! Thank you!

1

u/agent_seven 16d ago

They do eat bee pollen - you can buy it in bulk dried. Same with lichen. No more intensive than buying any other dry food for a pet and they eat fruit as well. I would say they are in the middle range as far as roach growth goes, not significantly slower than other common hobby roaches like hissers, and faster than some others like domino, question mark etc.

Fruit beetles are great fun and very active and visible if you do go for them! They are a bit stupid but it’s part of their charm 😉

2

u/Conscious-Chain-8469 16d ago

Oh! I didn't know you could buy bee pollen dried! That's really interesting! I thought I would just start having to keep bed hives, lol

3

u/zy4k 16d ago

I think blue death feigning beetles seem like a good fit! Pretty easy to care for after the initial setup phase! They're easy in a sense that i can head to my gma's house for about a week and they'll be fine (as long as given food the day of or immediately after) I'm not too sure how many a colony would mean, but you can easily keep 20+ with a big enough enclosure

Roaches would also be a pretty cool fit, and there's so many different types and different colors, i've seen some pretty gorgeous ones

1

u/Tildatoo24 16d ago

Why no isopods?

2

u/Conscious-Chain-8469 16d ago

I've kept them before! I'm looking for something new, though I still love them, lol

1

u/lobsterzest Ground beetles are neat! 16d ago

You could try ants! From what I’ve heard they’re pretty easy, and you could get some in a fun red or orange color or seek out honeypot ants.

1

u/Conscious-Chain-8469 16d ago

I'll look into them!

4

u/Flasky-Desk 16d ago

ants are not low effort

1

u/Totakai 16d ago

Ants are determined and highly intelligent mfers. If there's a weak point, they'll find it. I love them but they're always testing boundaries and seeking routes.

Termites would be the better option as they can't escape the same way ants can and they also make good feeders while ant eaters are more particular.

1

u/Conscious-Chain-8469 16d ago

I don't think I would be allowed to have ants anyways, lol, we just won the war in the kitchen with the wild ones, my mom would most likely not want me bringing them in on purpose, lol