Grashopper????

[forhorsmn]

My daughter found this in her bathroom. I looks like a grasshopper, but I've never seen one quite like this. Can anyone help with an ID. Something more than just the scientific name would be helpfull. I'm thinking about letting it go, but hte temps in north Texas are quite low at night. If I were to keep it, any advise on what to feed it, how to house it...
Oh yeah; here are some pics.

 

[KyuZo]

it remind me of a cave cricket. sorry i don't know what the scientific name

 

[arachnocat]

It is a cave cricket. They're also called camel crickets: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_cricket

 

[forhorsmn]

Cool

Thank you guys so much for the info. going to try to find a good container for him (my daughter want's to keep it). Any ideas about how to care for them?

 

[arachnocat]

I kept some for a few months in a kritter keeper with a bit of damp moss. I fed them veggies and cat food. I think they pretty much eat the same food other crickets do, which is just about anything.
If you put in a little peat moss for substrate I think they would do very well. I haven't tried to breed them but I'm sure it's possible. I have a lot in my front yard under logs. They're really neat looking. I saw a giant one when I was in Washington DC. I guess they get much bigger on the east coast.

 

[forhorsmn]

Thanks

Well, my daughter found a couple more in her bathroom yesterday, so I guess I'll give it a try. Thanks for all the info.

 

[Scythemantis]

I know at least two people who tried to feed these to a mantis. In both cases, the mantis stayed far away until the cricket chased it down, tore it up and devoured every last scrap. A similar account is in a book I read recently. I don't know if they're ever hunters in the wild (it may have been defensive behavior in an enclosed space) but I do know they will scavenge dead insects, so you should also offer them a little protein.