Community enclosure question

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

Could this work?

• Exo-Terra Large X-Tall 36X18X36
• plenty of leafy cover

5" of water at the bottom

Inhabitants:

• MacLeay's Spectre (I learned that they are legal to own where I live)
• Vampire Crabs
• Jungle Nymphs (y'know....those things...)

I know Vamps would pick off baby Phasmids, but what if they grew to their full size? Would the Vamps end up being trampled? Would the Phasmids drown?

 

[pannaking22]

The biggest issue I see is providing a spot for the phasmids to lay their eggs. While I don't know about the species you listed, many will either flick them down to the ground below or will go down and bury them in the substrate. If they just flick the eggs down, would the crabs eat the eggs? Or would all the eggs end up in the water and drown (to probably be eaten later by the crabs)? A full size phasmid would probably be safe from the crabs.

I don't know a ton about vampire crabs, but do they climb or are they happy just sitting in the water? Do they need a filter, which could potentially stress out the phasmids?

I'd assume you'd need a lot more space to have a set up like that. Lots more floor space, though I think the height should be ok.

Where did you find out that it's legal to own MacLeay's in some states?

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

Where did you find out that it's legal to own MacLeay's in some states?

I contacted the USFW in my area (VT), they said the following:

"
Dear Nathaniel,

Thank you for your follow-up inquiry.

The Macleay's Spectre, Extatosoma tiaratum, is not a federally protected or invasive species. However, the import requirements described in our previous message will still apply.''

(import requirements being that if I were to get them shipped from another country, but since I wanna get mine shipped from within the US, it would be fine)

Also I know it's not "some states'' that i'm sure about, as far as I know it;s just Vermont. But that's probably wrong, I have no idea. Sorry, I should've said that instead, i'll edit that

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

but do they climb or are they happy just sitting in the water

They do both

 

[pannaking22]

I contacted the USFW in my area (VT), they said the following:

"
Dear Nathaniel,

Thank you for your follow-up inquiry.

The Macleay's Spectre, Extatosoma tiaratum, is not a federally protected or invasive species. However, the import requirements described in our previous message will still apply.''

(import requirements being that if I were to get them shipped from another country, but since I wanna get mine shipped from within the US, it would be fine)

Also I know it's not "some states'' that i'm sure about, as far as I know it;s just Vermont. But that's probably wrong, I have no idea. Sorry, I should've said that instead, i'll edit that

Didn't know that, thanks for the info!

They do both

I could see them causing some issues for the phasmids then if they can reach the branches and climb up to where the phasmids are.

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

I could see them causing some issues for the phasmids then if they can reach the branches and climb up to where the phasmids are.

Just wondering, what issues? I heard that Vamps are peaceful with larger animals

 

[schmiggle]

Just wondering, what issues? I heard that Vamps are peaceful with larger animals

Don't know about vampire crabs, but if I know anything about crustaceans, it's never trust a crab. Maybe land crabs are different, but I kind of doubt it.

 

[Mirandarachnid]

never trust a crab

The invert hobby makes the list of animals you perceive as a threat really funny

 

[pannaking22]

Just wondering, what issues? I heard that Vamps are peaceful with larger animals

Like schmiggle, I agree to not trust crabs with other inverts. Eventually they'll decide the phasmids are edible and give it a go. That or just the general crawling all over the place could stress out the phasmids/lead to fewer eggs produced/cause them to drop limbs or fall.

 

[schmiggle]

The invert hobby makes the list of animals you perceive as a threat really funny

I was at this marine biology camp a few years ago and we collected tide pool animals to put in a tank together. One group collected a large green crab. This crab proceeded to butcher everything in the tank--fish, barnacles, snails, mussels, you name it. I don't think it ate any of them, and I don't think it left a single thing alive. The water became visibly hazy, since all the dead animals rotted, so the crab kept trying to escape. One day they came down and found that the crab was not in the tank. It eventually turned out to be sitting behind a vending machine about 100 feet away.

At the same camp, there was essentially a communal tank that included a couple of rock crabs. One of the activities one day was using lobster pots to see what we could catch. The only thing we caught was a cute little decorator crab with some seaweed attached to it. We brought it back and put it in the communal tank. The rock crabs immediately started eyeing it, and it started desperately waving back and forth, trying to look like seaweed. We came back a couple hours later and its shell was broken in, with all the meat eaten.

There's nothing quite as destructive as an omnivore with claws capable of crushing whatever they come across. Crabs are awesome, but not to be trusted.

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

Like schmiggle, I agree to not trust crabs with other inverts. Eventually they'll decide the phasmids are edible and give it a go. That or just the general crawling all over the place could stress out the phasmids/lead to fewer eggs produced/cause them to drop limbs or fall.

There's nothing quite as destructive as an omnivore with claws capable of crushing whatever they come across. Crabs are awesome, but not to be trusted.

Yeah, you guys make a good point, looks like I have some redesigning to do

 

[Mirandarachnid]

At the same camp, there was essentially a communal tank that included a couple of rock crabs. One of the activities one day was using lobster pots to see what we could catch. The only thing we caught was a cute little decorator crab with some seaweed attached to it. We brought it back and put it in the communal tank. The rock crabs immediately started eyeing it, and it started desperately waving back and forth, trying to look like seaweed. We came back a couple hours later and its shell was broken in, with all the meat eaten.

That poor little crab

 

[sschind]

All the setups I've seen for vampire crabs have more land than water. If you are thinking of just an open water with plants above and a few branches sticking out I don't know if that would work very well. Also, as others have said, I wouldn't trust any crabs with anything I didn't want to get eaten.

Also also just because the phasmids may be legal to keep in Vermont doesn't mean they are legal to ship across state lines. Just something else to think about.