Keeping Bugs and Insects as Pets

Many people might tend to overlook the possibility of keeping bugs as pets, mainly due to the fact that they are often thought to be a nuisance, and that they are common. However keeping a bug can not only be rewarding in its own way, but can teach a child the responsibility of owning a pet without any major duties that tend to come along with larger pets. Bugs rarely need to be cleaned up after, their food is free and they can also be easily replaced if they die, particularly if they have been found rather then bought.

The basic provisions that you will need for setting up a bug to keep as a pet are simply a glass or plastic tank and garden materials. Plastic tanks tend to be better for children as they are a lot safer as well as being lighter for them to pick up, and can often be found at hardware stores and garden centers. The only reason I mention glass tanks is that many people tend to have old fish tanks lying around somewhere in their house, and they are also suitable for the task.

Snails can make excellent pets for younger children, as they require little space and are unlikely to escape. Most can be fed easily on a variety of garden leaves, and even enjoy the taste of beer if you have a shallow saucer to put in with them. They do require moist, damp surroundings to become active, so keeping them out of the sunlight is essential. If you catch several snails, then painting numbers on their shells and then racing them is also another activity which children can enjoy with them.

The first option many people tend to think of is to buy their bugs from a pet store or breeder of some kind. These are often a good place to go to if you have some kind of experience with keeping invertebrates already, although many of the exotic species on sale will require a heated tank and specialized diet. This can mean that they will tend to be fairly expensive to keep, as well as which they tend to be capable of inflicting painful bites, even if they have no venom. This makes them unsuitable for children for the most part, and often bugs found in the garden are a lot easier and more rewarding to keep.

Caterpillars can be caught at certain times of the year, although they will of course be a temporary pet. All they usually require is a good supply of the particular leaves that they feed on, and a little water mist sprayed onto them to keep them moist. After a few weeks they will usually attach themselves to a leaf and become a pupae, before eventually hatching out into a butterfly or moth. These can then be released into the garden, where they will often return to periodically to feed.

Stick insects are also very easy to care for, as for the most part all they require is a bundle of sticks and leaves to feed on. The drawback of stick insects is that they don't tend to move very fast to do very much, which can be boring for a younger child. Ordering a giant species of stick insect make them slightly more interesting, although they also tend to blend in with the foliage, hence the name, which can make them difficult to see.

Spiders can make fascinating pets, and most species tend not to need much by way of materials to keep. If you have a hunting spider which doesn't tend to trap prey inside a web, then a glass or plastic tank with a layer of mud and leaf litter is usually all they need. They will tend to build a burrow lined with silk, and can then be observed hunting other insects that you introduce to the tank. Although these spiders tend to spend a lot of their time on the ground, they are also very good at climbing, and so all tanks should have a securely fastened lid.

Web spinning spiders are also very interesting to keep as pets, and will usually make a new web in your tank a few hours after being put in there. Although some will make webs without any other surfaces than the glass inside the tank, often putting a few thin branches and sticks for them to attach their silk to is a good idea. Obviously some kinds of spider are quite dangerous, and shouldn't be caught of kept as pets just in case someone were to be bitten by them.

Most species of spiders, both hunting and web spinning, will eat most other insects and invertebrates smaller than themselves, and the misconception that they eat mainly flies is invalid. Small insects such as ants, beetles, woodlice, and many others will all fall prey to a spider if introduced to the same space as them, although most spiders don't tend to feed every day even if that have prey caught in their web.

Many species of beetles can also be kept as pets, particularly those who are predators of common species. Beetles such as the violet ground beetle or tiger beetle are voracious hunters and tend to feed on earth worms, slugs and similar soft bodied species. They tend to require some leaf litter and soil to burrow into, although many species tend to be nocturnal.