FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Yeah, I don't mind immigrants. But I would appreciate more people from different parts of world, not just from Eritrea. I would love to see some americans here, french, japanese and many more. But these people from 3rd world countries never brought anything good with them.

I think we have talked on this topic already enough

Yeah I do think over there is beautiful though, and I would definitely like to visit one day and see everything. I don't see myself moving out of Georgia though because I dont want to leave family. Maybe one day, lol, but definitely not now

Crabby died today. Well, at least I have the place where I can grow nepenthes.

IHaveNoIdea wrote:Crabby died today. Well, at least I have the place where I can grow nepenthes.

efficiency
At least he didnt die in vain, sorry for your loss

He just crapped and stinked. He didn't even eat during his last days, so he wasn't even fun to watch. He looked a bit weird yesterday, today I found him with his belly up. Maybe he was sick.. maybe he was old.. maybe he really needed that UV light

IHaveNoIdea wrote:Crabby died today. Well, at least I have the place where I can grow nepenthes.

That's so terrible. I'm so sorry. Didn't you like just get him? How long are they supposed to live?


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I had him for about two months I think. The first month he was just hiding, so I didn't see him much. These crabs are supposed to live for 2 years, but I don't know how old he was when I bought him. He could have been hurt, the lady at the store even dropped the other one on the floor when she was trying to catch him.

Or maybe, he could not hold his breath anymore!

That's the spirit!

My crab is dead, so here are some pics of the cat at least

When I first posted on this thread My praying mantises weren't too impressive yet. Now I think is a good time to post about them

This is Assassin. She is a Chinese mantis and she's almost an adult, she only has one more molt to go. I had another named Thorn. But she died in a molting accident (she fell) . I really can't wait until she's full grown. I will post more about her when she is.

These are some baby pictures.
https://vimeo.com/135347975

Here she is now.
And here's a video of her eating a fly. (Two molts ago)

https://vimeo.com/135348457




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Lovely photos - many thanks to everyone who has shared them! I love pet topics (we've had a few on the forums so if you see this merging into them then blame me ). I'm sorry for your loss, IHaveNoIdea!

yellowjacket7, your mantis is gorgeous! Mantids are what got me into phasmids; I wanted to keep orchid mantids but didn't like the thought of live food (bit squeamish in that regard) so went for the herbivorous alternative. It opened up a world of insects to me - I'd always loved insects but this really sparked a passion! My first phasmid species was Extatosoma tiaratum (giant spiny leaf insect/Macleay's spectre). These things are enormous, the female in the photo (named Terra, her mate was called Firma... hurhur) below was about 13cm long.



I loved sitting at my desk with an ET chilling out on my forearm while I scoured the forums and did my usual stuff (as well as editing photos of them to give them a classic British appearance because the males look like they have handlebar mustaches - hooray for inducing stereotypes!). It was fantastic having a female (named Gaia) hang onto my elbow for an hour while I watched a film... she would not budge! I always thought the females looked a bit like the tooth fairy critters from Hell Boy 2.

You've all got me rummaging through pet photos now! Just found one of my hissing cockroaches shortly after they were born... they are so, so, so big in comparison now!! I can't believe how tiny they were when they were born.

I've also had three bettas: Kaze, Echo, and my lovely deformed boy (who was creatively named...) Red. I unfortunately was never able to get a decent of Red - try as I might! My photography skills have improved a lot since I last kept a betta (about eighteen months ago, yeesh!)... so I'm hoping I'll do better next time around - which will be soon as last week I went out and bought a new set up - yay!! I'm very excited. It's a planted aquarium, unfortunately I'm not the best aquascapist out there but I want to make sure it is functional for the inhabitants. I'll share photos once everything is finished. The favourite set up I've done was Kaze's aquarium in the linked photo, I don't think I'll ever be able to replicate that.

I've also had other tropical fish, shubumpkins, beetles, snails (terrestrial & aquatic, love apple snails - they're mad!), hamsters, and recently took care of some friends' mice (which I will be doing again for a couple of weeks as of this weekend I'm hoping!).

And anyone who has taken the slightest peek at my (much-in-need-of-an-update) photo thread will know that I also have two cats...

... Misi


And Skatty...

Thank you for the compliment Grey! Your insect collection is amazing! I really like the picture of the classic spiny leaf insect. Lol. You don't seem squeamish to me at all to keep those insects, but maybe it's because you don't want to see insects killed. Praying mantises are rather gruesome eaters. I also want an orchid mantis but they are illegal to keep here. I'm sure they're are still illegal sellers in the U.S. but I would rather not keep them illegally. Too bad so many insects are illegal to keep in the U.S.


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Thank you for your compliments. I think it is more the fact of feeding something live to something, though that is kind of a contradiction as I keep Pinguicula, and have an abundance of fungus gnats in my room that I tend to spot wriggling about on the leaves of the plants... I don't like it, but the plants help keep my room in good order! Pings are superb if you have multiple tanks with moist soil about, as the soil is an ideal breeding ground for gnat larvae.

I've read about some of the restrictions in the U.S., totally understandable but very frustrating!! I hope you can find something just as beautiful as an orchid mantis (if not more so) that'll satisfy both the law and your desire.


On Saturday I headed down to my favourite fish shop to pick up the last supplies for my aquarium, as well as the fish. At the end of July I spotted a gorgeous, friendly little crowntail betta spledens that had the colouring I had been after for a couple of years: mustard gas! A mustard gas has a gunmetal blue body with yellow fins... at the time I wasn't going to be getting back into fish keeping (I was actually in the shop to buy some pebbles to block off digging areas that my cockroaches were scratching about in at night, thus keeping me awake!) so I passed him by.

When I decided to start keeping fish again I wondered if this one would still be there, as he was so friendly and his fins were in perfect condition. When I went into the shop to buy the aquarium, substrate, plants and other bits and pieces I'd need to get started he was still there but I wanted to get the aquarium set up and cycling beforehand... so when I went in on Saturday and saw he was still there I was thrilled! I wanted a fish that was vibrant, healthy and friendly, rather than the colours I was hoping for, but this one fit all the criteria anyway so hooray! I named him "Ezekiel" (after a famed biblical prophet), which is a name that has been floating about in my head since I first saw him, to be honest hah. Curiously enough, during prayer at church yesterday, most of the content featured around the book of Ezekiel and a particular passage that had been on my mind while settling the fish in. Love the way God works.

I've attached a couple of photos, they aren't the best quality but at least you can see something of his home and colouring. He's settling in very well, eating like a pig and seems to be enjoying his new territory, exploring every nook and cranny - it's amazing how a betta utilizes every inch of their aquarium when given the chance. I'm hoping to introduce some ghost shrimp (or other large freshwater shrimp species) at a later date. Can't wait for the plants to fill in!

a new member of our family