ITT we chit chat about insects/arachnids/pets with 6 legs or more

cheerfulgreek · #1 03-07-2011, 06:41 PM

I started a thread similar to this one about a year ago, but it was about exotic pets. This one is about insects and arachnids or any pet you've had with 6 legs or more. When I was a kid, I had a few ant farms, and then when I was in highschool, I had a few Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Right now, I have an emperor scorpion, and a tarantula. So, here we chit chat about pet insects/arachnids and the like.

Alumiyum · #2 03-07-2011, 07:08 PM

I've had a tarantula...I want another one as well as an emperor scorpion, but I have to wait until I don't have a roommate. I haven't had one yet that would be ok with either of those pets (plus my landlord doesn't allow them...I just bet I could get away with it if my roomie would let me). My current one has a serious spider phobia and she informed me she'd never been near a scorpion but thinks she won't feel any differently about those and I'm not heartless enough to make her live with what is to her a gigantic panic attack.

I'd like another Chilean Rosehair like I had as a kid...they aren't the prettiest, but they're friendly enough and are such easy keepers (just crickets is fine). Maybe a Mexican Redknee tarantula since it's about the same as far as an easy keeper. Maybe an African Giant Millipede just because they're so cool and no one I live with can possibly be scared of a Millipede (right?).

cheerfulgreek · #3 03-07-2011, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

I'd like another Chilean Rosehair like I had as a kid...they aren't the prettiest, but they're friendly enough and are such easy keepers (just crickets is fine). Maybe a Mexican Redknee tarantula since it's about the same as far as an easy keeper. Maybe an African Giant Millipede just because they're so cool and no one I live with can possibly be scared of a Millipede (right?).

Yep. Charlotte is a Mexican Redknee, and she's very easy to handle. She's never bitten me. At the most, when she gets upset she's only kicked hairs, but that's about it. Most of the time she's really friendly. She's big enough now to eat mice. I love African giant millipedes. I think they make really good pets. I've always wanted a Cobalt Blue tarantula, but their venom is way too potent. They're really cool to look at, though.

IrishLake · #4 03-07-2011, 08:15 PM

I've never had an invertebrate as a pet, but one of my areas of expertise is entomology. I'm partial to honeybees. I want to be a beekeeper and have my own hives.

cheerfulgreek · #5 03-07-2011, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IrishLake

I've never had an invertebrate as a pet, but one of my areas of expertise is entomology. I'm partial to honeybees. I want to be a beekeeper and have my own hives.

Seriously? I had no idea you were into entomology? That's like one of the coolest bioscience careers ever. Have you ever been to a bee farm? I went when I was in 5th grade, and we got a chance to eat the wax with honey on it. I mean, we couldn't swallow it, we had to spit it out, but was really tasty.

IrishLake · #6 03-07-2011, 08:23 PM

I have a minor in field biology, and ornithology, entomology and herpetology were my passions and I focused in those 3. Ornith is more of a hobby, herp is a passion, but I've been a bug girl all my life. Started in 4-H when I was a kid. I've been collecting and mounting insects for display since I was about 8.

cheerfulgreek · #7 03-07-2011, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IrishLake

I have a minor in field biology, and ornithology, entomology and herpetology were my passions and I focused in those 3. Ornith is more of a hobby, herp is a passion, but I've been a bug girl all my life. Started in 4-H when I was a kid. I've been collecting and mounting insects for display since I was about 8.

Interesting. Do you like parasitology? That's like one of three passions of mine. Wow, and you didn't want to go into vet medicine? I mean, with what you studied, I think you would have been a great exotic pets specialist.

IrishLake · #8 03-07-2011, 08:45 PM

lol, CG, biology/pre-vet was my major when I first started college. I couldn't hack the chemistry classes though (organic is the bane of my existence), and I had a tendancy to pass out when observing surgeries. I have a scar in my right eyebrow that reminds me of the last time I passed out. 8 stitches convinced me I was not meant to be a vet. Environmental scientist/field biologist is a good back up though.

Alumiyum · #9 03-07-2011, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Yep. Charlotte is a Mexican Redknee, and she's very easy to handle. She's never bitten me. At the most, when she gets upset she's only kicked hairs, but that's about it. Most of the time she's really friendly. She's big enough now to eat mice. I love African giant millipedes. I think they make really good pets. I've always wanted a Cobalt Blue tarantula, but their venom is way too potent. They're really cool to look at, though.

Yeah there are a lot of tarantulas that I'd like to have because they're beautiful or interesting but maybe one day...I know I couldn't get anything that was actually dangerous while living in an apartment building. I don't want to be responsible for someone getting hurt or worse. Before I got Thelma I had to show my mom several different articles and sources that said a Chilean Rosehair's bite would be about like a bee or wasp sting before she would let me get it. I did occasionally get allergic reactions to the hairs, but they always went away once I took Benedryl. That's the worst that ever happened.

IrishLake · #10 03-07-2011, 08:51 PM

Oh and parasitology was one of my profs concentration. It was ok for me. I really preferred the insects though. I had to have a 100 species collection for my ento class, and I think I was the only one who ended up with an A because I had species from all of the 12 required Orders, where most others only had 10 or 11. It was tough too, everything had to fit in a 12"x16" box. Then for the other classes I needed an insect collection (invert zoo and natural history), I was the schmuck who was collecting bugs for everyone in the damn class, lol.

cheerfulgreek · #11 03-07-2011, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IrishLake

lol, CG, biology/pre-vet was my major when I first started college. I couldn't hack the chemistry classes though (organic is the bane of my existence), and I had a tendancy to pass out when observing surgeries. I have a scar in my right eyebrow that reminds me of the last time I passed out. 8 stitches convinced me I was not meant to be a vet. Environmental scientist/field biologist is a good back up though.

Oh yeah, I remember you telling me that you had to get stitches from passing out during surgery observation. Ouch.

When I was in highschool, I had so much trouble deciding what I wanted to major in once I got to college. I was either going to pick zoology or physics. I actually wanted to be an astrophysicist at one time. Vet medicine is actually a plan B for me. Just the frustration of knowing we don't really have the technology to really go anywhere, I decided on a dual major in zoology/biology, instead. That worked out really well for me, though, because a few courses that were requirements for one major satisfied the requirements in the other at the same time, and in other cases, the courses sometimes counted as electives in the other.

I think you have really awesome interests and a cool collection. Thanks for sharing.

cheerfulgreek · #12 03-07-2011, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

Yeah there are a lot of tarantulas that I'd like to have because they're beautiful or interesting but maybe one day...I know I couldn't get anything that was actually dangerous while living in an apartment building. I don't want to be responsible for someone getting hurt or worse. Before I got Thelma I had to show my mom several different articles and sources that said a Chilean Rosehair's bite would be about like a bee or wasp sting before she would let me get it. I did occasionally get allergic reactions to the hairs, but they always went away once I took Benedryl. That's the worst that ever happened.

lol
I love the name Thelma.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IrishLake

Oh and parasitology was one of my profs concentration. It was ok for me. I really preferred the insects though. I had to have a 100 species collection for my ento class, and I think I was the only one who ended up with an A because I had species from all of the 12 required Orders, where most others only had 10 or 11. It was tough too, everything had to fit in a 12"x16" box. Then for the other classes I needed an insect collection (invert zoo and natural history), I was the schmuck who was collecting bugs for everyone in the damn class, lol.

lol @ what's in bold.
Yep, I love parasites, not just the internal microscopic parasites, but insects, too. Like, a lot of bugs are social parasites of ants that aren't ants themselves. I know some butterflies, for example can trick ants into raising their caterpillars. They lay their eggs on flowers, and when the caterpillars hatch, they drop to the ground where ants come across them. Normally, ants look at a caterpillar as food, but if they come across a social parasite, they kind of act as if the caterpillar is a lost larva from it's own colony. It's really interesting because, the ants are deceived by the caterpillars ordors, so then they take it back to their nest, where they feed it, and groom it the same way they would any of their own larvae. Crazy thing is, sometimes the ants even prefer the parasite to their own young.

IrishLake · #13 03-07-2011, 09:22 PM

We are doing a prairie burn at a site this spring. I've convinced the project manager to let me go through the field in the days before hand and clear out the box turtles. Other animals have no problem escaping, but there is a large box turtle population in the area, and I'll feel terrible if the fire kills too many.

IrishLake · #14 03-07-2011, 09:24 PM

lol, last summer, my daughter and I watched a parasitic wasp lay her eggs in a caterpillar. I felt bad for it at first, but it was fascinating!

cheerfulgreek · #15 03-07-2011, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IrishLake

lol, last summer, my daughter and I watched a parasitic wasp lay her eggs in a caterpillar. I felt bad for it at first, but it was fascinating!

Yep. There are some species that prey on tarantulas, too. They sting the spider to paralyze it, then she lays an egg onto its abdomen or (opisthosoma) where it can be dislodged. I mean, she/he will recover, and continue on like nothing just happened, lol but eventually she/he will be in big trouble, because when the egg hatches, the wasp larva clings onto the spider and eats it alive. Social parasites essentially do what any conventional parasite does. They just find the weaknesses in their hosts defenses and turn them into their own advantage. There are even vertebrates that do the same thing. The cuckoo bird is notorious for this. It's hilarious, especially watching the mother of another species feed a baby bird that's over twice as big as she is. I shouldn't have laughed, but it was hilarious watching him push the eggs out of the nest so the mother won't notice the difference in her own young and him. I always call parasites puppet masters, because most internal parasites have evolved to alter the cells that surround it inside its host, so it makes it easier to outsmart its host defenses. I know of one species that has the ability to control its host brain. It's like the host is the puppet and the parasite is the hand inside, lol. They are so amazing. Annoying, but very amazing.