Reptiles, arachnids, and other creepy critters thread - Because I know I'm not the only Kiwi into that shit

[Oddjob OTP]

Your skink is literally shitting rocks, that must be awful.

It's hard to gauge lizard reactions sometimes but he seems to mind the act of shitting a rock much less than the soaks, syringe feeding, and antibiotics shots that I have to inflict on him as a result of eating those rocks. He took two shits yesterday (one in my hand while I was holding him for his shot and one in his cage) so I'm hoping he passed the stones and he doesn't need more treatment and/or surgery.

 

[Android raptor]

Here's a random memory that popped up in my head.

I used to just think spiders were creepy, but I've also had a fascinating with them at the same time.

When I was a kid there was this banana spider that lived in my grandparent's backyard, I would stop and stare at it sometimes and think "ooh, creepy!" but the thought never occurred to me to try to squish it or hurt it anything, not at all, I always had a healthy respect for it.

I don't want spiders touching me lol, but they're interesting creatures.

If it was the US, it was probably a writing spider. They're large, docile, harmless orb weavers that are fairly common and can be helpful if you like gardening (eat many pests).

A while ago my friend gave me her bird eater (?). The spider stays underground most of the time, she has 3-6 inches of soil in her enclosure and has some pretty elaborate burrows she's dug. Occasionally I'll see her above ground but as soon as I try to get a pic she runs and hides. Fucking hikkikomori spider.

 

[Cup Noodle]

Most people grew up with their parents yelling at them to close the door because they were letting the air out. I grew up with my parents yelling at me for what I might let in. I live out in the sticks and a open door is a open invitation for wildlife to find a more comfy place to reside. A few hours ago I found that the kids had left the front door wide open and a few minutes ago I found this guy hanging out in the kitchen.

He is a good snek. He was just out of place. This is a young rat snake known colloquially as a chicken snake because they will eat your hatchlings. He does me a great service in eating rats and mice that might try to enter my house so I caught him, bagged him, and released him right into the back yard. He wasn't too happy about it and tried to rattle his tail around like a rattlesnake to intimidate me, but I managed to relocate him without getting bitten.

 

[Pee Cola]

I live vicariously through DankPods and Frank.

 

[XYZpdq]

this guy was crawling up the outside of my pants the other day at work
even though I could probably capture him in a pokeball and train him up to a mothra or whatever I put him outside

 

[Amputechture]

this guy was crawling up the outside of my pants the other day at work
even though I could probably capture him in a pokeball and train him up to a mothra or whatever I put him outside
View attachment 2056837

Looks kind of like a Tussock Moth, though I could be wrong. Very kind of you to put it back outside. Neat find!!

 

[Android raptor]

Most people grew up with their parents yelling at them to close the door because they were letting the air out. I grew up with my parents yelling at me for what I might let in. I live out in the sticks and a open door is a open invitation for wildlife to find a more comfy place to reside. A few hours ago I found that the kids had left the front door wide open and a few minutes ago I found this guy hanging out in the kitchen.
View attachment 2032030
View attachment 2032036
He is a good snek. He was just out of place. This is a young rat snake known colloquially as a chicken snake because they will eat your hatchlings. He does me a great service in eating rats and mice that might try to enter my house so I caught him, bagged him, and released him right into the back yard. He wasn't too happy about it and tried to rattle his tail around like a rattlesnake to intimidate me, but I managed to relocate him without getting bitten.

I've heard about rat snakes getting into kitchens and eating eggs people had lying out. As well as eating fake eggs people put in their chicken coops.

Rat snakes are always getting themselves into predicaments, especially because they're such good climbers. They're fun, harmless, and good to have around.

If you see a snake up high or otherwise in some weird-ass place, chances are it's a rat snake.

I don't know much about butterflies/moths but every now and then I find swallowtail caterpillars. They're cool.

 

[Android raptor]

Double post because my retarded scorpion won't stop clanking around

 

[Oddjob OTP]

Update: My Blue Tongue has been pooping again and eating on his own, I guess he passed the rocks alright. The soaks also helped with some stuck shed on his tail that's been on there since the last owner and he has better mobility in it now. He seems happier now that I don't have to ritualistically abuse him every day.

This is him after I pulled some shed off of his toes and he wasn't happy about it. Standing with some not quite dead moss I've had a bunch of trouble with and an asparagus fern I'm kind of surprised he hasn't killed yet.

 

[PaleTay]

One day I saw a clump of grass in my basement and walked toward it to pick it up, and it turned out to be a greenish spider. I left it be but wish I got a picture of it as it looked and moved pretty distinctively. It was a medium sized grass green colour, a fat body, and short legs and it moved delicately forward and sideways. I think it was a type of flower crab spider as that's the closest thing to it I've seen online, but I regret not getting a picture of it.

 

[XYZpdq]

Looks kind of like a Tussock Moth, though I could be wrong. Very kind of you to put it back outside. Neat find!!

a couple of his relatives

 

[Android raptor]

One day I saw a clump of grass in my basement and walked toward it to pick it up, and it turned out to be a greenish spider. I left it be but wish I got a picture of it as it looked and moved pretty distinctively. It was a medium sized grass green colour, a fat body, and short legs and it moved delicately forward and sideways. I think it was a type of flower crab spider as that's the closest thing to it I've seen online, but I regret not getting a picture of it.

Yeah that sounds like a crab spider. It probably hitched inside with the grass.

I don't know much about butterflies/moths but I know lots of people enjoy raising them. They sound difficult to me. I'll stick to roaches and arachnids.

One of the best things about raising roaches is they're a great way to get rid of bad produce. They don't care if an apple is too mushy for people to eat, they'll eat it.

 

[Friendly Primarina]

Do rats count? I don't keep any but they can be surprisingly affectionate:

 

[spider egg salad]

With spring rolling along, I've seen a lot more Furrow spiders on my front porch, pic related.

By the end of fall, they're fucking everywhere. I appreciate their attempts to catch all the pests, so they get to stay and infest my porch as much as they want. They need to do a better job at catching stinkbugs, because fucking god their population booms during summer and they are nasty, invasive insects- to the environment and my damn house.
I've had those large black and yellow orb weavers make their home on my front porch but I can't seem to keep them around every year, so I assume they simply don't have enough to eat or something. Would it just be a good idea to relocate them whenever they show up? I'm sure they would probably fare better in a tall bush or a shrub, rather than the side of the house, but I feel like disturbing them and ruining their intricate webbing might stress them out.

 

[Android raptor]

Its should be ok to relocate spiders, they have to remake their webs constantly anyway.

I'm cool with rats but I think this thread might get talk of dead rats too. Speaking of I should defrost the ones I have and feed my snakes tonight. I need more after that though.

 

[Oddjob OTP]

Rats/Mice are great pets as long as you are willing to tame them. If you are afraid of being bitten a few times until the rodent appreciates you aren't there to eat him they aren't great but they are a ton smarter and more social then hamsters/gerbils/rabbits and much less loud and attention hungry then Guinea Pigs.

 

[Android raptor]

I know rats also are at high risk of cancer and don't live very long

I mainly deal with dead, frozen ones because snakes but I can't say I've ever really had a problem with live ones. They sound a bit like birds where you have to tame them and win their trust.

 

[Ribbit]

 

[Ribbit]

 

[Coffee Druid]

Most people grew up with their parents yelling at them to close the door because they were letting the air out. I grew up with my parents yelling at me for what I might let in. I live out in the sticks and a open door is a open invitation for wildlife to find a more comfy place to reside. A few hours ago I found that the kids had left the front door wide open and a few minutes ago I found this guy hanging out in the kitchen.
View attachment 2032030
View attachment 2032036
He is a good snek. He was just out of place. This is a young rat snake known colloquially as a chicken snake because they will eat your hatchlings. He does me a great service in eating rats and mice that might try to enter my house so I caught him, bagged him, and released him right into the back yard. He wasn't too happy about it and tried to rattle his tail around like a rattlesnake to intimidate me, but I managed to relocate him without getting bitten.

I love rat snakes. I live in a place where snakes are common wildlife, but where most people have the “snakes are vermin and should be killed on sight” mentality. I feel like 75% of the time someone asks about the identity of a local snake it’s a rat snake. 20% of the time it’s a garter. I also see blind snakes that crawl into my house and die from dehydration. Poor buggers. They’re so tiny you’d think they were worms.

I know rats also are at high risk of cancer and don't live very long

I mainly deal with dead, frozen ones because snakes but I can't say I've ever really had a problem with live ones. They sound a bit like birds where you have to tame them and win their trust.

I too love rats, but couldn’t bring myself to have them as pets due to having snakes. I have chickens but I never feed my snakes fowl so I’m not worried about them smelling it on me and thinking “food!” Hopefully.

Plus my chicks are starting to get too big for my breeds of snake to eat. One of them bites more than any snake I know, I swear. I like the part about earning trust. It’s like having a bunch of two year olds.