# Best pet bugs for kids



## meghanbe (Jun 2, 2012)

I have a (very mature for his age) 7-year-old son who has been obsessed with all animals, but mostly reptiles and invertebrates, since he was 3 or 4. He's constantly watching nature documentaries and poring over illustrations in books, and loves to tell everyone he meets all the facts he knows about various critters. He has a corn snake and an aquarium with fish and frogs in his bedroom (birthday and Christmas presents, respectively), and a tarantula (G. pulchra) among my collection, and while he participates in their care, there are aspects he isn't really old enough to handle yet. 

Lately his interest in bugs has exploded. Because insects seem like an ideal first pet for a child (as far as taking on more responsibility), I'd love to get him one that he could care for on his own. Obviously I'm looking for something relatively inexpensive, harmless, and hopefully not prone to escaping. If it didn't feed on live food, all the better (though we do have mealworms and dubia roaches in the house as feeders for other pets). Does anyone have any good suggestions?

Blue death-feigning beetles seem interesting. He loves isopods when he finds them in the yard. Millipedes, to me, are super impressive, though I'm not sure how concerned to be about their secretions. My son is very conscientious about "rules" involved in handling certain pets (he reminds others to wash their hands after handling herps), so a pet that requires hand-washing after any handling is certainly not out of the question. Handleability also isn't too important. We have pets we handle and pets we don't, and he gets that...and enjoys every single one of them. He loves simply observing (but of course he loves handling too).

Anyway...I'd appreciate any suggestions you guys have! I'm pretty sure he's going to be someone who hangs out on boards like this in a few years...so I want to encourage his love of all living creatures as much as possible!


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## Tenodera (Jun 2, 2012)

Darkling beetles are an excellent idea;they're sturdy, long-lived, handleable and amusing to watch. 
Hissers are always a classic, and other large roaches like Blaberus and Archimandrita might also be suitable. Since you're in CA, there are plenty of katydids, grasshoppers, and of course Stenopelmatus that you could catch.


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## terrariumkeeper (Jun 2, 2012)

what about a praying mantis i have three right now, but they only live up to a year. when i was about your sons age i used to get praying mantis eggsacks on ebay and raise most of them up and release them in my backyard but I keep a few. there really fun to keep. and most of them you can handle. the younger mantids eat fruitflys and eventually eat crickets or the dubia roaches you have

or you can get a stick bug they eat mostly blueberry bush leaves. i heard they can eat rose bush leaves too. i had one when i was younger i really don't remember how to keep them. but they were extremely fun to watch.


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## ZephAmp (Jun 2, 2012)

Cockroaches. They're big, beautiful, easy to keep, and even easier to breed.


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## catfishrod69 (Jun 2, 2012)

I 2nd roaches. If you need them for feeders, then he could also have some as pets. Always a fresh supply of new pets/feeders hatching out.


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## zonbonzovi (Jun 2, 2012)

You are in a great area to take a field trip with your son to catch some local creatures.  This is the best way to encourage your budding, Jr. naturalist.  It sounds as if millipede secretions wouldn't be a problem so take a gander around bugguide.net to see what's available in your area.  There is an impressive array of them within 3 hours of your location.  I agree with the previous posters that roaches, mantids & darklings would be a great choice, as well.  While mantids don't live long he would get to see the life cycle within the year.  Roaches are prolific breeders and would give him an opportunity to experiment with foods, different colorations, etc.  I adore darklings and keep a number of them communally.  

That age is also fantastic to begin learning identification.  A quick anecdote: I had a friend that loved to hunt edible mushrooms and we would often take his son out with us.  In no time the child learned to spot them, associate the various edibles with choice habitat and separate look-alikes.  Seems he was sponging up our 'shroom chatter and reading his pops' numerous field guides.  

If I were you, I'd peruse one of the retailers for a pet bug or two to start him out with, get him a guide(this one is great overall: http://www.amazon.com/Kaufman-Field-Insects-America-Guides/dp/0618153101) & some starter field equipment.  You'll get ample time to get some exercise in, see some new areas and watch your boy grow intellectually.  Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Zoomer428 (Jun 4, 2012)

I would get a praying mantis pretty cool if you ask me


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## Louise E. Rothstein (Jun 6, 2012)

Perhaps he could choose his own.

You could join in researching which "bug" the kid caught.


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## pouchedrat (Jun 6, 2012)

hissing roaches, always great with kids!

Reactions: Like 1


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## meghanbe (Jun 7, 2012)

Thanks for the suggestions, all. He catches bugs almost every day, and spends his entire weekends hunting for lizards, snakes, and insects, but in the past we've always made him release anything he catches. I wanted a better idea of which bugs do okay in captivity before floating the idea of letting him keep anything...I'd like to give him the best chance of success I can! I agree that roaches seem like ideal pets for kids, but (and I should have probably mentioned this before) my partner REALLY hates them. Period. She grew up in Texas and has memories of turning on the kitchen light and hearing them skittering across the floor...or flying at her face. I keep some dubias to feed my tarantulas, and that was NOT a popular choice on my part. lol. They stay in the (warm) garage because they're not allowed in the house.

Thanks again for the replies!


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## ZergFront (Jun 7, 2012)

Roaches, preying mantis and silkworms are great for children. We had silkworms in our elementary school and other large moths would likely work. Despite their fierce looks, praying mantis can't hurt you.

 If you want something a lot faster, silverfish are pretty neat. They like starchy and sweet things but aren't really fans of light.


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## The Snark (Jun 8, 2012)

This is going to sound weird. Mosquitoes. Relatively easily kept, and the entire life cycle can be observed in a little over 30 days. The kid can even control their breeding by donating blood. The mosquito expert here keeps mossies known to not carry a disease and gives schools ready made terrariums with occupants and instructions. Really helps teach the kids about critters, and the hows and whys of mossies. You also don't feel too bad if you screw up and kill them all off.

Even weirder: grain mites. Collect a half dozen with a cotton swab and put them in jars with different grains. Rolled oats, rice etc. See which ones thrive. Watch a half dozen little dots turn into a million in 2 or 3 months. Maintenance free.

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## Camden (Jun 8, 2012)

The Snark said:


> This is going to sound weird. Mosquitoes. Relatively easily kept, and the entire life cycle can be observed in a little over 30 days. The kid can even control their breeding by donating blood. The mosquito expert here keeps mossies known to not carry a disease and gives schools ready made terrariums with occupants and instructions. Really helps teach the kids about critters, and the hows and whys of mossies. You also don't feel too bad if you screw up and kill them all off.
> 
> Even weirder: grain mites. Collect a half dozen with a cotton swab and put them in jars with different grains. Rolled oats, rice etc. See which ones thrive. Watch a half dozen little dots turn into a million in 2 or 3 months. Maintenance free.


That sounds more like a science project rather than pets. Cool ideas, but not good pets in my opinion.
As for a pet, if you don't want roaches I'd definitely go with a millipede. I love my millies, florida ivory would be a good choice. They don't secrete much (mine don't at least) and they don't get too terribly huge. Still a good size pede. (Also very good communals and theyre very inexpensive)


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## GiantVinegaroon (Jun 8, 2012)

meghanbe said:


> Thanks for the suggestions, all. He catches bugs almost every day, and spends his entire weekends hunting for lizards, snakes, and insects, but in the past we've always made him release anything he catches. I wanted a better idea of which bugs do okay in captivity before floating the idea of letting him keep anything...I'd like to give him the best chance of success I can! I agree that roaches seem like ideal pets for kids, but (and I should have probably mentioned this before) my partner REALLY hates them. Period. She grew up in Texas and has memories of turning on the kitchen light and hearing them skittering across the floor...or flying at her face. I keep some dubias to feed my tarantulas, and that was NOT a popular choice on my part. lol. They stay in the (warm) garage because they're not allowed in the house.
> 
> Thanks again for the replies!


You know, out of all 4000+ species of cockroach, only a handful of those are even considered to be pests.  Once you learn more about roaches, they aren't that creepy.  Heck, I get excited when I find an American or an Oriental in a building or sink!

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## le-thomas (Jun 8, 2012)

I'd be excited if I found a cockroach, too. They're great pets and incredibly interesting, not to mention easy to keep and breed. The negative ideas about roaches are just as biased and unfounded as the ones about all tarantulas being venomous and dangerous monsters that attack everything. It's unfortunate that your partner has that feeling about them.


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## SpidaFly (Jun 8, 2012)

The key to overcoming a phobia/hatred is understanding/awareness. Roaches are awesome creatures, and most people aren't aware that very few roaches are associated with human habitation, and even fewer are actually considered pests. While I'm fairly new to them myself (and I do keep my roach colony as feeders), I've derived great enjoyment observing them. Just last night I managed to catch a large nymph molting into mature male. I gently pulled it into a box I could place on my desk, and over the hours watched it pull out of its old molt and unfurl its wings. Fantastic experience.

As many have said above - roach(es) would make a fantastic pet for a kid, no smell, easy to feed, no worries about venom or allergy to venom, fun to handle...

Another fun project would be to have him rear some Morio beetles (superworms). One benefit is that they're cheap, you can get them as feeders at any nearby pet store. He would then get to grow the larva, pupate them (that in itself is pretty awesome), and watch them become mature adults. (If you do that project, of course you're going to have eggs! Lots of larva to sell/give to friends or feed to your own herps/birds/fish.)


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## The Snark (Jun 8, 2012)

Camden said:


> That sounds more like a science project rather than pets. Cool ideas, but not good pets in my opinion.
> As for a pet, if you don't want roaches I'd definitely go with a millipede. I love my millies, florida ivory would be a good choice. They don't secrete much (mine don't at least) and they don't get too terribly huge. Still a good size pede. (Also very good communals and theyre very inexpensive)


 Isn't the keeping of any non domesticated animal a science project?


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## bugmankeith (Jun 8, 2012)

The painted lady butterfly kit. The larvae eat inside a jar so you dont need to feed them. Then when they pupate you tape them up in the butterfly house and when they hatch he can let them go! That was my first pet I got to care for by myself.

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## ballpythonteen (Jun 9, 2012)

i would say ants might be,since your child can watch the queen start a colony lay eggs raise them up to worker ants who then care for her. They require minimal care and its perfect time of the year to find queen wondering about ready to start their own colony.


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## Thomas2015 (Jun 9, 2012)

You could also try a vinegaroon. They look like emperor scorpions, but without the sting or the rough claws.


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## SamuraiSid (Jun 9, 2012)

Maybe take your kid for a field trip and let him keep what he catches???? Me and my brothers used to do that all the time coming home with blue-tailed skinks, garter snakes and water scorpions. Not too mention you can teach him things about ecology and proper conservation in his new found love.


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## Bugs In Cyberspace (Jun 9, 2012)

I'm going to vote darklings too, or more generally tenebs (tenebrionidae family beetles). They are extremely active and easy to care for. It isn't too difficult to acquire five or six different species and they can all live communally. They look different enough from each other that it's hard to imagine they'd all be in the same beetle family. They are very long lived, safe to hold and forgiving of enthusiastic hands. Though velvet ants can sting, definitely falling into that "observation-only" category, they also do very well in the same tank and are equally active.

Here's a video I took while all my tarantulas were napping...

[YOUTUBE]ne0quoykU8U[/YOUTUBE]


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## Introvertebrate (Jun 10, 2012)

bugmankeith said:


> The painted lady butterfly kit. The larvae eat inside a jar so you dont need to feed them. Then when they pupate you tape them up in the butterfly house and when they hatch he can let them go! That was my first pet I got to care for by myself.


Would you happen to know what they make the artificial culture medium out of?  They're asking $20 a cup for it.


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## Widowman10 (Jun 11, 2012)

antlions can be pretty cool too. put them in a neat glass container (no lid) with sugar. fun to feed and in a span of months (ish) will molt into a critter with wings! fun stuff.


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## Mamata Polle (Jun 12, 2012)

So before I say anything I'd like to ask you an important question.
Does your boy get attached to his pets? Or is he more comfortable with short lifecycles?
He sounds alot like me when I was a kid.

BTW, Bugs in Cyberspace, I that LOVE your vid, it's so cool.

Be Well and God Bless,
Mamata


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## meghanbe (Jun 12, 2012)

He gets attached to his pets to some degree, but his attitude really depends upon the type of pet. He's still mourning the cat who died three years ago, was disappointed when two of his African dwarf frogs died unexpectedly (but not devastated), but is pretty zen about the death of bugs and other tiny critters he collects. Whenever we watch a nature video that involves some fuzzy creature getting eaten by a reptile and I say, "poor mouse" or something to that effect, he always assures me that "there are plenty of mice". He has a good grasp on the food chain and the fact that everything dies eventually. He'll probably always be disappointed in a pet's death just because it's a loss, but he definitely moves past the smaller losses without a problem. I think that as long as he knew up-front that a pet has a short lifespan, he can deal with that. Especially if it means he can get something new once it's gone. lol


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## lizardminion (Jun 12, 2012)

Good heavens, you all have some crazy suggestions, although I'd say The Snark won that contest. Lol
But as everyone's not so crazy suggestion, darkling beetles, hissing cockroaches, (may I suggest halloween hissers) or maybe an amblypygid. (just tell him to be gentle when handling it)


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## Mamata Polle (Jun 12, 2012)

Sounds like a very mature child. It'll serve him well in life to not feel too much pain when creatures die, who were never meant to have long lives in the first place.
That leaves alot of options.
When I was a kid I kept everything imaginable that was native, from roaches to spiders to my personal child-pet favorite, Lubber Grasshoppers, (Romalea Microptera.) They really are the perfect insect pet for a child in my oppinion, large, easy to care for, vegetarian, clean, doesen't bite or sting, and is very calm and easy to handle. The problem is you don't have those in CA, and the closest thing you do have are Horse Lubbers, which seem very similar but occur a little further south of your location, I don't know how far you're willing to go.
I also think Z. Morio is an excellent choice, once again they are clean, harmless, don't require live food, interesting, durable and easy to handle, they're also fairly large. Beetles in general I think are a good idea and lets just say the options are truly endless with them, both native and store bought. 
Other Grasshoppers and Katydids are actually terrific first pets too, but they are more delicate, don't take to handling well and some are easy to lose track of due to flight or a very good ability to jump, LOL.
Hehe, I never met a kid who could follow the, "Look but don't touch," rule. 
I suggest that you look around on the internet at the different inverts both native to your area and for sale, you know your child best and I'm sure you're better qualified to pick the right pet for him than anyone else.
Be Well and God Bless,
Mamata


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## shebeen (Jun 15, 2012)

I'm surprised that more people haven't recommended millipedes.  I just acquired some Florida Ivory Millipedes and I think they would make a great pet for a child.  Large, colorful, often active and out in the open.  They eat decaying hardwood and leaves along with fruits and veggies, and do well at room temperature.  They can be gently handled, just make sure to wash your hands before and after.


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## bugmankeith (Jun 15, 2012)

Introvertebrate said:


> Would you happen to know what they make the artificial culture medium out of?  They're asking $20 a cup for it.


I'm not really sure I've never seen the artificial diet sold anywhere so I don't know the ingredients.


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## Mamata Polle (Jun 15, 2012)

Actually I think a Milipede is a terrific idea, I just don't feel right about recomending a creature I've never kept, (But hope to!)
Be Well and God Bless,
Mamata


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## Fenn (Jun 16, 2012)

As with most problems, this can be solved with unreasonable amounts of Isopods.

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## cantthinkofone (Jun 17, 2012)

I know you are looking for non harmful stuff. but when i was around 12 i got my first pet. it was an emp scorpion  and i loved it. it taught me great responsibility such as misting the cage and feeding and such. i handled him maybe once a month and from when i got him till when he died never once got stung. i now have another and love him just as much as my first one. but another option could be roaches such as people said or millipedes. my millipede is nice and almost never has secretions. goodluck


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## lizardminion (Jun 17, 2012)

I think everyone, including me in my earlier post, forgot to mention shrimp. And by shrimp, I mean the freshwater tadpole shrimp, also popularly known as "Triassic Triops." I had these as a kid, and although they were short lived, they were extremely fun to watch hatch, grow, breed, and die, and were very easy to take care of. They only live 3 months from tiny hatchlings to adults BUT, they are prolific breeders if you do it right, and eggs can be stored dried seemingly (or literally) forever. So, although one triops (triops is plural and singular) may live only 90 days, descending generations can be continuously bred forever with ease and they can be very cool little animals to teach children about other animals and how to take full responsibility for pet, and even breed them. So, not only will he be an invert keeper, but he'll even get to be an invert breeder as some point before the end of the year.

I honestly think they truly are fascinating enough, I'm considering ordering some more eggs myself some time soon.


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## EbonyKatana1664 (Jun 19, 2012)

Mantids, they were my first. Easy to care for, just fascinating.


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