Giant water bug care questions

[Wolfspidurguy]

Hi! So I watched brave wilderness’s newest video where he gets bitten by the giant water bug A.K.A. the toe biter, and while stalling and putting off being bitten he went into great detail about its anatomy and behavior and I want one so unbelievably badly now. It's actually kind of ironic that a video meant to be a warning against messing with these guys actually convinced me to keep one. But anyways, I did a quick google search and found out they live here in Tennessee where I live. I did some basic research but since no one on the internet really talks about keeping these guys as pets I only know the basics: they don't need too big a tank, they need something to climb up onto, they need some sort of plant whether it be real or fake to latch onto, they eat live fish, they don't need much if any filtration, and definitely the most important thing you need to know about keeping these guys: NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE HANDLE THEM. But that isn't enough info so I was hoping you could answer a couple questions:

1. What varieties of giant water bug live in tennessee
   
   
2. Are giant water bugs out hunting during our current season in tennessee if not what season do they come out
   
   
3. Is it best to hunt for them at night or during the day
   
   
4. Could just a normal large sized tub with a clip on lid from home depot be large enough to house them in
   
   
5. Could just mud on the bottom of the tub leading up towards a mud mound thing for it to climb onto work as substrate and a thing for it to climb onto
   
   
6. Could I feed it mealworms or crickets as I don't have much extra money to spend on housing feeder fish right now so I figured I could feed it fish every once in awhile. If not is there anything else besides other expensive aquatic pets that i can feed it.
   
   
7. Are hides necessary
   
   
8. Can they climb plastic
   
   
9. And finally if i get bitten (which i highly doubt I will because i've dealt with aggressive invers before and know the precautions to take when dealing with them) what can i do to alleviate the pain.
   

Thanks in advance

 

[SolFeliz]

Yes, I saw that video too and couldn't understand why he hated them so much; I think they're awesome!
I don't know too much about Tenessee, but I'm pretty sure its the same species throughout most of the states, and I think they're out all seasons. I'd say its better in the day because that's when they hunt I think, and it'll certainly be easier to see them!
I'd say about a 4 to 8-litre box depending on how much room you want to give him/her.
Yeah, you can just collect mud and sand or whatever's at the bottom of the pond or lake you're hunting in, and have something at the top of the water for it to sit on as well.
Yes, live insects (or dead, if you want) dropped in the water should be fine, just make sure it realises its meant to eat them! They eat insects anyway in the wild. Do you get tadpoles in your area? If so, take a few, make sure you don't take too many, and put that in the tub too, and if you go with a net through the pond/lake, you should catch something to feed to it. You could probably find things to feed it around your house.
You could maybe actually have something similar to a turtle habitat, so there's a land part and a water part, so yes you could use some hides, just bark ect.
I doubt they could climb plastic, I mean you saw it in the video, it was scrabbling madly and not going very far!! If you're scared of it escaping, rub Vaseline or something around the top inch or so.
If you get bitten, go straight to the hospital and get it checked out, it probably won't be bad, but if too much saliva gets into your system it can be really bad. After you get it checked out, set it up on a stool, and hold ice to it, and just try to relax, do some breathing exercises and it will probably only last for a few hours, but as you saw Coyote, its really bad first thing, and not as bad after. Hope you don't get bitten though, that would be bad!!
Good luck with your bug, please post pictures when you catch one!!

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

Yes, I saw that video too and couldn't understand why he hated them so much; I think they're awesome!
I don't know too much about Tenessee, but I'm pretty sure its the same species throughout most of the states, and I think they're out all seasons. I'd say its better in the day because that's when they hunt I think, and it'll certainly be easier to see them!
I'd say about a 4 to 8-litre box depending on how much room you want to give him/her.
Yeah, you can just collect mud and sand or whatever's at the bottom of the pond or lake you're hunting in, and have something at the top of the water for it to sit on as well.
Yes, live insects (or dead, if you want) dropped in the water should be fine, just make sure it realises its meant to eat them! They eat insects anyway in the wild. Do you get tadpoles in your area? If so, take a few, make sure you don't take too many, and put that in the tub too, and if you go with a net through the pond/lake, you should catch something to feed to it. You could probably find things to feed it around your house.
You could maybe actually have something similar to a turtle habitat, so there's a land part and a water part, so yes you could use some hides, just bark ect.
I doubt they could climb plastic, I mean you saw it in the video, it was scrabbling madly and not going very far!! If you're scared of it escaping, rub Vaseline or something around the top inch or so.
If you get bitten, go straight to the hospital and get it checked out, it probably won't be bad, but if too much saliva gets into your system it can be really bad. After you get it checked out, set it up on a stool, and hold ice to it, and just try to relax, do some breathing exercises and it will probably only last for a few hours, but as you saw Coyote, its really bad first thing, and not as bad after. Hope you don't get bitten though, that would be bad!!
Good luck with your bug, please post pictures when you catch one!!

Thank you so much, and yes there will be pictures if I catch one. But do you know how much saliva would it take to cause serious health complications and/or death

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Feeder fish are totally unnecessary, they can eat crickets and mealworms.

They don't need too big of a tank, and they don't move around much. They can't climb smooth surfaces, but if there's a stick or other object protruding from the water (there should be something at least close to the surface so they can hang close to the surface to breathe) they might be able to fly out. I had one giant water bug that lived around 6 months in an open lemonade pitcher and escaped that way a couple times.

Putting mud or any kind of substrate on the bottom will only make the water cloudy and the setup hard to clean. They barely spend any time at the bottom anyway, they're always hanging or floating near the surface except when disturbed. A small, simple setup that makes it easy to change the water (though water quality doesn't matter that much, giant water bugs being air breathers) is best.

As for how to find them... you might be surprised to learn that one of the best places to find giant waterbugs is a parking lot or gas station at night. They fly around quite a bit (particularly in early spring from my experience) and are strongly attracted to bright lights. You can also set up your own light trap with a UV light, which is even more effective.

Of course, you can also search ponds. They prefer shallow, weedy swamps and lily ponds, they're less common in large fish- inhabited lakes or temporary vernal pools. If you're searching for them visually it might actually be better to do so at night. During the day they hide among plants and are well camouflaged, but at night they tend to be out in the open more and it's actually much easier to spot camouflaged insects at night with a flashlight than it is during the day. The unnatural light makes them stand out. (This also applies to terrestrial insects like mantids and stick insects- don't bother looking for those during the day.) But it's more effective just to take a big net and blindly scoop up clumps of vegetation from ponds during the day. You'll find one sooner or later, along with other cool critters like diving beetles, water scavenger beetles, and waterscorpions.

 

[SolFeliz]

Thank you so much, and yes there will be pictures if I catch one. But do you know how much saliva would it take to cause serious health complications and/or death

You're welcome, and I don't think you can die from the saliva, but if too much saliva gets in, I think that it can be incredibly painful.

 

[darkness975]

I hate that channel. Promoting getting bitten and stung by whatever just for ratings is a sellout and a detriment to the already flimsy status invertebrates have with the average Joe Schmo.

 

[SolFeliz]

I hate that channel. Promoting getting bitten and stung by whatever just for ratings is a sellout and a detriment to the already flimsy status invertebrates have with the average Joe Schmo.

No, it isn't. Clearly, you've only seen the videos where he gets bitten and/or stung. There are so many more videos where he shows how cool all these bugs are.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

I hate that channel. Promoting getting bitten and stung by whatever just for ratings is a sellout and a detriment to the already flimsy status invertebrates have with the average Joe Schmo.

Feliez is right, he even did a vid to show that the black widow and all other spiders arent out to get you

 

[darkness975]

No, it isn't. Clearly, you've only seen the videos where he gets bitten and/or stung. There are so many more videos where he shows how cool all these bugs are.

Feliez is right, he even did a vid to show that the black widow and all other spiders arent out to get you

Since you guys are going to keep handing me "dislikes" like popcorn I might as well indulge you with a reply.

It doesn't matter how many videos he has of however many different angles. The fact remains that there are plenty of those sensationalists who will take one or two videos that depict a specific thing and blow it up out of proportion. The average Joe Schmo could care less if these animals are really not dangerous. They are pre-programmed to believe it and many refuse to change their minds due to their own ignorance of the Topic at hand. Sensationalist videos promote it. Someone looking for "SCARY SPIDER BITE VIDEO" or whatever will find the sensationalist videos and scare their spouses and buddies with the depicted content. How many of them do you think are going to afterwards say "Hey lets look up the truth behind these misunderstood creatures" ?

Odds are not many.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Since you guys are going to keep handing me "dislikes" like popcorn I might as well indulge you with a reply.

It doesn't matter how many videos he has of however many different angles. The fact remains that there are plenty of those sensationalists who will take one or two videos that depict a specific thing and blow it up out of proportion. The average Joe Schmo could care less if these animals are really not dangerous. They are pre-programmed to believe it and many refuse to change their minds due to their own ignorance of the Topic at hand. Sensationalist videos promote it. Someone looking for "SCARY SPIDER BITE VIDEO" or whatever will find the sensationalist videos and scare their spouses and buddies with the depicted content. How many of them do you think are going to afterwards say "Hey lets look up the truth behind these misunderstood creatures" ?

Odds are not many.

Well at least he shows that they aren't as dangerous as many people think by letting them bite him and not dying. The bite videos are what gets the views and attention for a channel that actually has a great deal of educational content.