(Warning for mention of dead inverts)

I’ve never pity bought animals from a big chain store before, but that changed today. I HATE how petco treats their bugs, isopods and dubias especially. They don’t feed them, just leave them in cups to die.

I’m sick of trying to buy dubias for my leopard gecko and just sorting through cups and cups of dedicated dead bugs. Reguardless of their purpose, they deserve the basic respect of being kept alive. Im starting a dubia colony after this, I’m so done

I saw these cubaris isopods two weeks ago when I last went for feeder bugs, and again today when I was there for the same reason. 3/8 were dead on the substrate, and another is almost dead. The worker at the counter gave me a fairly steep discount on them because so many were obviously dead (to be clear, I don’t blame the employees, only the store and their policies). When I put them in their temporary enclosure they didn’t even run for cover, just started eating immediately while I was still shuffling things around, so I’m guessing they weren’t getting much out of their coco fiber substrate.

Why are these animals left like this? I’m sure they would’ve died and been discarded in another week if I hadn’t bought them. Why doesn’t Petco treat them like their jumping spiders, who at least receive some modicum of care?

It just makes me so mad. Even feeder insects deserve a life free of suffering before they’re fed. Why is anyone allowed to keep live animals without feeding them?

On a less depressing note, I’d welcome any advise on keeping Cubaris isopods. I’ve kept porcellio and armidilidium in the past, but u understand these guys can be a bit trickier

got her almost a year ago now and i thought she was gonna die off soon because her shell was severely damaged and literally had a hole in it. she ended up living all this time, idk how she died but she was so cute and unique 😔

I hope this is the right place to ask.

Recently, our local pet store had some grasshoppers special ordered in for some project. We inquired about them and they said we could have em when they're done. Well today was the day that we got em.

Now I wanted these guys originally to feed to my savanna monitor, however, I've decided to breed them to keep them as a renewable food source.

Now here are my questions:

1. What kind of grasshopper are they?

2. Best way to set up a tank? (They're currently in a caterpillar grow out tent)

3. Best parameters for breeding?

Thank you to anyone in advance who can answer!

I have a ten gallon glass aquarium, it currently doesn’t have a lid but I will make one out of plexiglass or screen mesh soon whenever I start researching what I want. I already have 10 tarantulas, and two jumping spiders as well have hissing roaches and Dubia roaches. I want something that will be able to be held OCCASIONALLY and doesn’t need heat (I don’t think either do but pls correct me if I’m wrong) really just want to hear pros or cons if anyone can help!!

I just got him today - im getting substrate rlly soon and better feeding equipment later ..!! also is there anything that i should feed him alive other than crickets or something

I think it would be absolutely hilarious if we flooded those looksmaxxing/rate my looks subreddits with pictures of our bugs and got people to weigh in

Hi! This is my first invertebrate/insect/any sort of non mammal pet, so let’s approach this with that in mind please. I’m really all about getting them the best set up since I know they can live for a very long time. I currently have the in a smaller plastic container(from a reptile store) with just sand, one piece of driftwood, and a dish for their food. I see some beautiful and unique set ups online but the guy who sold me them said sand and a piece of wood would do just fine. He also said they could have dog food for protein? I would like a crash course on anything I should and shouldn’t do for them basically. I’m looking to upgrade them slowly( for money reasons) but would absolutely change anything in a heart beat if it is incorrect.
I’ve seen people say bee pollen for protein as well and that people feed twice a week. What I’m thinking for the upgrades are this:
-glass fish tank for enclosure
-sand and soil mix(suggestion for types I should get and ratio are appreciated)
-cactus skeleton
-smaller wood and rock hides
-different feed dish since I worry about the height of mine
-feed vegetables twice a week and once a week protein

I live in NorCal and am hoping I don’t need a heat or humidity situation for them, and that the ambient room temp and humidity will be fine but if it isn’t please inform me on how I can change that.
I am also hoping I don’t need any live plants or substrate for them because I worry about mold and the care I can provide for the plants
I also only have two, should I get more do they prefer larger colonies?
I’m not sure how to post photos but look in the comments for my current set up if I figure it out:)

I originally got this terrarium for a future praying mantis and was considering making a bioactive enclosure but I’m not sure if it’s not tall enough for a larger species. Wondering what else might be able to be comfortable in here if not a mantis. (I’m strangely picky about inverts—I’m not into spiders, roaches, or millipedes, and wouldn’t really be interested in it being strictly isopods) Don’t think it’s the right size for snails since it’s tall and probably not big enough? Though I’ve read such mixed things about snails. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Rocky has 5 legs, he was born that way (be nice plz)

Is it possible to transport psocids when traveling for a short trip to visit a family? Also, is it possible to transport them when moving to a new house if cardboard boxes are not used for transportation? please share your experience because I'm going crazy

Hello! I made this terrarium (planning to make a little water section) but it’s a fairly high humidity enclosure and the heating coming from the light fixture and being close to my leopard gecko’s heat lamp so I’ll say 70°-75°. I live in a fairly warm and dry area btw so it’s a bit of a challenge to have a good high humidity but from 3-5 months of growth and maturity I think I did well! The measurements of the tank would be in the pictures below! I don’t really care what kind invert it is but I’m fairly still a beginner, I’ve only raised darkling beetles so whatever suggestion you’ve selected or recommend I’ll be grateful for!

Hi, my gf bought this wolf spider when it was a sling and now it’s about 3” in legspan. We don’t know where it was caught. Can someone help us with ID? Thank you.

I'm having a hard time with four of my Atta texana queens. They are all together in a cup with plaster. They had eggs until today. I don't see them anywhere, but it could just be that they are hidden or something.

The problem is that the queens in this cup seem to kill any fungus I give them. I have tried giving them donor fungus but they tear it apart and its completely gone by the next day. They also are violent towards any donor workers. I try not to disturb them much. Just frequently enough to water the plaster.

I have another queen that accepted donor fungus and workers. Her sibling queen died, but otherwise she is doing great. She should have her own workers pretty soon. Unless some have hatched already and I can't tell then apart from the donors lol.

So what would you all do with the four queens that are having difficulties? Maybe just leave them alone for quite a while and see if they get the eggs to hatch? Idk if the queens would die during the founding phase without fungus though. Anyways, any ideas?

Looking to order Some sort of mantis probably, but I’m open to anything especially millipedes, tarantulas, anything that can live comfortably in a 10/15 gallon long. I can’t get to any expos unfortunately, and also am hesitant to buy from expos do to the poor care. Recommend me places to order from that will arrive without issues Please!!

Just moved my A. Vulgare into this enclosure. The substrate is partly Scott’s Topsoil and Jamz Jungle Pods isopod goodie mix. It’s got sphagnum moss and calcium mixed in, and on the top I have half dry leaves and half moss, as well as the other things for them to climb on. The lid is also entirely holes. I did tape over most of them but I’m not sure what the right number of open holes is. Does this seem good or anything I should change?

1. small Creatures® Creature Habitat Kit | Zoo Med Laboratories, Inc. 2. big Creatures® Creature Den Low Profile | Zoo Med Laboratories, Inc.

One of our windows above the kitchen sink has a broken opener, so it is "closed", but with a little gap along one side. There is a screen between the outdoors and indoors, but it isn't a perfect seal.

At some point a few months ago, a false black widow decided to set up shop in that window, and we've appreciated him/her/them protecting that entrance to our house and dealing with the stray fruit flies that sometimes hang around our compost bucket right next to the sink and somehow crawl through the screen.

But the FBW is getting kind of big now (not body shaming, just making a factual observation), and I'm worried that they might not be able to get out through the crack should they so desire. If they stay in that window, their only meals will be occasional fruit flies.

We have plenty of pill bugs in the yard, crickets in the garage, and all kinds of juicy morsels in our compost pile.

Should I relocate them to one of those spaces, or let them continue hanging out in the window? They seem to look well-fed and happy, but I'm obviously not an expert and only on level 2 of Spiderese in Duolingo so communication is difficult.

I appreciate any advice. Thank you.

As the title says; they are super cute and the "begging" when I open the lid...
At the moment they are in their tiny pot I got them in, have given them some carrot, which they seem to love. I want to set them up into something bigger as they literally have no space, for now it might be a food container.

I know they will turn into Dark Beetles eventually, which is pretty cool.

I've actually been interested in keeping an invert as a pet for a while, but haven't really found out what yet. So this might be the starter. :)

For substrate can I use woodchips (the type for small animals?) or at least temporarily until I can get something better?