If you are a lover of insects, then you might be wondering if it is a good idea to keep one as a pet. While not all insects are going to make the best pets, there are many that will. Looking after a pet will require just as much effort as any other pet as they have their own needs and environments that you will need to cater for.
Looking after an insect is easy once you have all of the required skills and knowledge that will allow you to do so, which is why preparation is key when you are getting an insect. The things that you will need to do to care for an insect will depend on the type of insect that you want, as they will all require different things.
In this article, we are going to talk you through some of the things that you can expect when you keep an insect as a pet, and what you need to do to prepare for it. There are lots of things that you will need to know, and we will explain everything here for you.
Do Insects Make Good Pets?
Insects make great pets and many people like to keep insects as pets. In some places, insects are sold in markets where they are really popular as pets, like in Japan. It is becoming more and more acceptable to keep insects as pets due to the knowledge that we have about them and their requirements.
Just like with any other pet, there are things that you will need to know about before you go ahead and purchase one. You will need to know about their diet and food requirements, the temperatures they need to survive, and their living environment and habitat. These are all things that you will need to provide your insect to ensure that they are living out their best lives in your home.
So, before you go ahead and bring your new pet insect home, you will need to start researching everything that there is to know about them. This will help to ensure that you are able to provide them with everything that they need to have a long and happy life. You will also be able to find out more about the best insects to keep as pets, which we will talk more about further on.
You will also need to know about which insects can bite you, which is really important to know if you have children that are going to want to handle them. There will also be some insects that require live food in order to survive, so if this is not something that you want to deal with, then they might not be the best insect for you.
Overall, insects can make great pets as long as you know how to properly look after them.
What is the Most Common Insect to Keep as a Pet?
One of the most common insects that people like to keep as pets is ants. More specifically, there are lots of people that own ant farms, and these can make a great addition to your home.
If you didn’t already know, an ant farm is a type of vivarium that is designed for ant colonies that allow you to see what they are doing and how they behave. Interestingly, those that study ants are actually called myrmecologists.
If you are the type of person that wonders what ants get up to when they are out of sight and below the ground, then an ant farm might be perfect for you. With a real ants nest, it is impossible to see what is going on, and they wouldn’t appreciate it if you were to dig it up to find out.
This is why ant farms are so great, as you can see them through the glass and observe them as they work. The ants will think that they are underground in their nest when they are not. Watching them go is really interesting as ants are unique and clever insects that you can watch.
What is the Most Practical Insect to Keep as a Pet?
Some of the most practical insects to keep as pets are field crickets, praying mantids, and more. They are some of the lower-maintenance insects when it comes to bringing them into your homes, and they don’t require too much work.
Field Crickets
Field crickets are insects that do not have any wings underneath their wing covers, which means that they are not able to fly away. They make great pets, and they can be kept in either a large glass bowl or an aquarium. The container that you keep them in should contain several inches of soil or loam, and it will also need to be covered in a piece of cheesecloth or mesh that will stop the crickets from breaking out. These insects eat things like lettuce, fruit, and moist bread.
Praying Mantids
Praying mantids are some other insects that are going to make great pets, and you can use a fish aquarium as their new home. It will need to have a top to stop them from escaping, but you can also use insect glass or plastic tanks to keep them in instead. Their environment will need to include a thin layer of soil on the bottom of it and small plants or branches for them to climb onto.
Which Insects Make the Best Pets?
Two of the best insects that you can keep as pets are stick insects and millipedes. We will provide you with some information on each of these insects below.
Stick Insects
As you might have already guessed, stick insects look like sticks. There are also some varieties of them that look like leaves, and there are actually more than 6000 species of stick insects around the world. However, only a few hundred of these are kept in captivity, and they have great camouflage when they are outside.
Stick insects are so good at blending in with their environments that their owners often think that they have escaped, but really, they are still safe and sound in their enclosure. Stick insects will typically live for around 1 to 1.5 years old, and they can range in size from anywhere between a few inches long to a foot long.
They typically like to eat the leaves from brambles as well as other types of leaves, so it is really easy to find them food. You will need to look at the specific stick insect that you want to get to make sure that this is the correct type of food for them.
Millipedes
This is another insect that has many different varieties, and there are over 7000 different types of millipedes around the world. They are really easy to keep when you know what you are doing, and you will be able to keep more than one of them in an enclosure.
Something that you should know is that they breed really easily, which can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. Their diets typically include a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, and they do not require a tall enclosure. However, they are going to need lots of space to move around.
If you want to keep a millipede as a pet, you will need to provide them with a leaf litter that they can burrow in during the day, as these insects are most active during the night. Millipedes can grow up to a foot long, and they can live up to 10 years.
The Benefits of Keeping Insects as Pets
There are many benefits of keeping insects as pets like the small space that they need, easy food to get a hold of, and helping children to learn about them. There are even interesting night-singing crickets that are used in the Orient to indicate the presence of intruders, as they will stop singing if they are disturbed by other noises.
Saving Space
One of the biggest advantages of keeping an insect as a pet is that they don’t require a lot of space. They typically only require small tanks or enclosures, and as long as you imitate their natural living environment, you are good to go. This is perfect for those who don’t have much space in their homes.
Easy Maintenance
Insects are pretty easy to maintain once you know exactly what you need to do. They don’t require much food and water and they are much easier to look after than some animals. Once you have their environment set up, there isn’t much that you will need to do.
They also don’t need someone to look after them all day if you were to go away for a while, and they don’t rely on you for company and other similar needs. They also don’t cost as much money as it would cost to care for an animal, which is a great added benefit.
