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

[Android raptor]

Most of, if not all the snakes ate tonight

 

[Cheerlead-in-Chief]

one complaint I have about my turtles: every time I grab them when we have to clean their pool they either hiss (I know why they hiss) and kick my fingers in self-defense.

 

[Cheerlead-in-Chief]

Last post: a lolcow that I watch just posted this:
https://www.deviantart.com/darlaltonthebearcat/art/Scorpion-864860393

 

[Cryptojew]

Does anybody here have a dream reptile/invert? I'd love to own a Rough Green Snake, but from what I understand there's not many breeders and most of the ones on the market are wild-caught animals. They are very pretty though, they almost look like a cartoon depiction of a snake rather than a real animal.

Spoiler

 

[Android raptor]

Rhino roaches are a literally childhood dream for me. Which is part of why my bad luck with them is so soul-crushing (also how expensive and hard to get they are). Still it's because they're a childhood dream I haven't given up and why I'm willing to spend hundreds of dollars on roaches when i have that spare cash and someone has one available.

Successfully breeding giant tailless whip scorpions is also a dream of mine, as is getting a copperhead someday.

 

[ulsterscotsman]

Does anybody here have a dream reptile/invert? I'd love to own a Rough Green Snake, but from what I understand there's not many breeders and most of the ones on the market are wild-caught animals. They are very pretty though, they almost look like a cartoon depiction of a snake rather than a real animal.

Spoiler

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Already own my dream invert a Goliath Tarantula (Theraphosa Stirmi), However I really do want some more Trapdoor Spiders.
I'm sure if you look around forums and facebook you'll eventually find some Rough Green Snake breeders.

 

[Android raptor]

The trapdoor spiders with oreo butts are pretty cute. I hear trapdoors are basically a pet hole though (not like that's not the case with tons of spiders).

There's currently a thread in A&H that has people clutching pearls over feeding pets soldier fly larva (apparently Purina is developing a kibble that uses them in combination with chicken and other protein sources). We actually get soldier fly larva donated to help with rescues and in my experience they're pretty good feeders, especially for beardies with MBD since they are high in calcium. Even my picky rose hair will eat them (though I try not to feed them to my spiders too often because calcium).

Currently we have a wild box turtle that was left on the curb with an absess. When she has a clean bill of health we're going to release her but in the meantime she's definitely enjoying stuffing her fat face especially with soldier fly larva and other bugs (I've noticed box turtles are fucking beasts when it comes to eating bugs and worms, they will never turn them down). Seriously whenever I walk into the reptile room she just stares at me like where's my fuckin food bitch. Won't be surprised if even after we release her she shows up at the house again wanting food.

 

[Android raptor]

Bumping with more pics

The box turtle is the wild one I mentioned in my previous post. The copperhead belongs to an acquaintance and was a relocation fail a few years back. She was apparently gravid and when her babies were big enough her owner donated them to a medical research facility (facilities that study venom for medicine like to keep their own snakes to get venom from, and like to have many so one snake isnt getting constantly stressed from milking).

 

[Android raptor]

So the people that give us soldier fly larva donated some hornworms for Christmas and I'm fucking pumped because hornworms are normally a bit pricey. Already given some to frogs and turtles, I want to see if the foster beardie with mouth issues will eat any.
EDIT: worm party images

I got the beardie to eat at least 2 hornworms as well

 

[nekrataal]

Keeping venomous snakes is pretty fun. I’ve been wanting to find a cape coral cobra to add to my collection. They’re cute and they stay small.

 

[Oddjob OTP]

I have an adolescent blue tongue skink, he's a cutie and he's been warming up to me since I got him a month ago. My dream reptile would probably be an Argentine Tegu so I can evolve to my final form: that guy who takes his lizard to the park for walks.

 

[Coffee Druid]

Giant African millipedes are hard AF to get now because the countries they're native to cracked the fuck down on catching and exporting wild ones. Which is probably for the best, but makes it sadly really hard to get ahold of them now. I've gotten to interact with some though, they're fantastic.

Bloods are fun looking, but I've heard they can be mean. Sounds like you lucked out with a good tempered one. I also hear they need lots of water.

Another thing I want to add with spiders for beginners to be aware of is that it's not good to feed them vertebrates (i.e. pinkies) more than occasionally. The high levels of calcium and fat can be unhealthy and even kill them if they get too much. Even bird eating spiders, despite their common name, mostly eat invertebrates in the wild and should only be fed vertebrates maybe every couple months (if at all).

Same thing with other big, carnivorous inverts. I know there are tons of fuckboys that get a kick out of feeding giant centipedes mice or small lizards, but it's not healthy for them to get that every meal and in the wild they mostly eat invertebrates.

Tossing your inverts an extra pinkie a picky snake refused occasionally is fine, but I have heard horror stories about people feeding them vertebrates every damn meal and killing or seriously sickening their pets.

I’m late to the reply but re: blood temperament. In my own experience and from following other owners and breeders bloods have such a bad rap. The babies are often nippy because the world is big and scary. But just by handling regularly while growing up bloods become super tame. My girl is such a docile lap snake, and even lets me clean her nostrils without huffing (she likes to burrow so she sometimes gets substrate in em).

As for millipedes, I’d like some giant American species since I can have them here. Also where I live we get a ton of some tiny (one inch long) millipedes that crawl into our house and die from dehydration. It’s sad but I save any I find to put into my tub of clean up bugs.

Slightly bad photo but here’s my boyfriend’s red headed centipede. She’s huge. I put a roach that grew up in my big bin (must have come with my collected isopods) in with her. Named it Ralph. A month later Ralph is still there chilling with her. She likes dubias but I guess American roaches are too fast or not as delicious.

 

[Android raptor]

I have an adolescent blue tongue skink, he's a cutie and he's been warming up to me since I got him a month ago. My dream reptile would probably be an Argentine Tegu so I can evolve to my final form: that guy who takes his lizard to the park for walks.

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I know people like that and I definitely recommend it.

The beardie and turtle went to the very today, the turtle is fine and it was just Scar tissue, not the absess returning. The beardie got antibiotics and pain meds so hopefully that will work to heal her mouth swelling.

The German roaches are still an issue in the kitchen so more poison will be put out. I have to keep being very careful not to get any upstairs where my bugs are.

Might add some critter pics later.

 

[nekrataal]

Does anybody here have a dream reptile/invert? I'd love to own a Rough Green Snake, but from what I understand there's not many breeders and most of the ones on the market are wild-caught animals. They are very pretty though, they almost look like a cartoon depiction of a snake rather than a real animal.

Spoiler

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If you can get a long term captive then you’ll be all set with these guys. The ones available in the trade are all wild caught. They can be one of the most rewarding colubrids if you do decide to get one.

My dream animal would have to be a Gila monster or beaded lizard. The only thing that keeps them from being a part of my collection is the pricetag. They’re wild caught and uncommon in the trade so people will ask for a lot of money for them. To me it’s just not worth spending $1.000+ on a lizard and then have to spend that much or more setting up their enclosure and getting them to the vet. It adds up quickly.

 

[Coffee Druid]

I was really worried yesterday. Glanced at my python's tank and saw the temps were really low. I took my girl out and stuck her inside my zipped up hoodie so at least she'd be warmer there and went to troubleshoot. I though her ceramic heat bulb was shot, then remembered I had an extra somewhere in the boxes of stuff from when I moved in. That didn't work either, maybe the lamp was broke? Turns out the dimmer switch on the lamp somehow got flipped off. Took the opportunity to give my snake a lukewarm bath. She's got a "sausage butt" that means she's going to poop soon-ish. It's been 8 months since the last dump, which is normal for this species but I'm going to try to help get things moving.

My dream reptile is a monitor lizard. Like a black or white throat, as I've interacted with a few and fell in love. The main issue is how much money, space, and husbandry is required. I wouldn't mind a tegu either, they're like scaly puppy dogs with chubby cheeks. But they also have a bit of space requirements and care knowledge I currently lack. I'm not looking to get any new snake for awhile but I love spotted pythons (also called eastern children's python). They stay a good size, 3-4 feet and not too wide, and are pretty imo.

I also technically have pet garter snakes, as a joint effort with my bf and another friend. A friend of a friend rescued a gravid female garter a few months back, and she had ten babies. We released mom and kept the babies. Unfortunately we let 5 of them go into the wild since they wouldn't eat and their siblings were outpacing them in size. Hopefully nature treated them better. The other 5 are doing great, with one of them eating incredibly voraciously. Feeding them is definitely different than other snakes due to their size. Can't just thaw a mouse or rat for them. We started them on pieces of worm, tilapia and chicken liver. They loved tilapia. Now we give them that (dusted with calcium) and parts of mice pinkies. What's nice is you can cohabit them (we have two in one tub, three in another) and they're more energetic than some other species so they're fun to watch.

 

[nekrataal]

Something that’s bugged me is how underground reptiles will have these listings of various imported wild caught reptiles that they label as exclusives and as such are the only distributor of them in the states. I normally like to keep primarily hots and inverts, but I’ve fallen in love with these East Asian cave geckos and I can’t find anyone else besides UGR that has them.

I’ve also discover what I think are mancae in my milk back laevis isopods. I’m hoping they’re the babies from them because a couple of months ago I had an invasion of dwarf white isopods. Dwarf whites can outcompete other species because they are all female and reproduce via parthenogenesis. You’ll start with 1 and next thing you know they’ve overrun your whole culture. I won’t be able to tell until after a couple of months once they have time to grow if they’re laevis.

 

[Android raptor]

I've heard some iffy things about Underground Reptiles. My Red-knee came from them but I don't think they'd be my first choice for shit.

More random pics

 

[Android raptor]

Doublepost because I fed the snakes last night, went pretty well except for this

Foster boa misfired and tried to eat a pee pad instead of the rat. Thankfully I was able to get it out of his mouth with tongs and get him to strike the rat instead. After one of my friends boas ate one and had to have surgery to remove it, I have no time for boas eating pee pads.

 

[Android raptor]

Dumping more pics. The baby sulcatta got adopted a few days ago





Last two are from my hisser/palmetto bug tank. They are eating bananas. The palmetto bugs (Periplaneta fulinginosa) are a common semi pest species in my area. They hang around houses and sometimes wander inside, but they cant really breed in houses like Germans can except in really humid areas like garages or basements. Some years back a few snuck in my hisser tank as nymphs but they all seemed to get along, so I let them stay. I've introduced more I've caught. I keep them and my hissers contained with vasoline on the inside of the tank.

 

[Cryptojew]

I built a new enclosure for my childrens python the other day, since she was starting to outgrow her old one. I may have gone overboard with decorations a bit, but she seems to enjoy having the extra climbing space. Being able to watch your animals explore an enviroment ypu created yourself is easially the most rewarding part of the hobby for me.


Here she is curled around my finger. She's very cute.