Has anyone kept Giant water bugs?

[dtknow]

Do you mean it would be hard to ship them due to regulations?

They'd be pretty easy to ship if you mean the task itself. Cups or margarine tubs, moistened paper towels as bedding, pop em in a box priority mail.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Oh, ok then. In that case, the only problem would be me trundling off to the post office between work and class.

And I doubt many people on here want to come all the way out to Corvallis to pick up some bugs . . . darn.

 

[dtknow]

LOL I am one state down so its a little far...but I'd be glad to cover shipping and a little extra, or possibly a trade.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Let's just see what happens if / when I get bugs from him. He hasn't emailed me back yet.

 

[dtknow]

If it works, please let me know.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I'll post it on here.

 

[Crono]

I have two that I am quite successfully keeping in a giant rectangular water jug turned on its side, with one side cut off. Gives lots of space to swim around, with a low water level. Rocks and fake plants and decorations to hold onto are a must. I'm in a dorm room and I'm not supposed to have a fish tank or anything, so this can sort of be hidden!

Feed them feeder goldfish slightly smaller than they are, though I've heard they can eat just about anything they can catch in their claws.

One of them escaped once, but that's it. As long as they have food and places to hide they should be happy, though a cover is probly always a good idea.

Good luck They're tons of fun to have around, just watch out for the beak! Never been bitten but I've heard it's nasty.

Nice to see where they are living. And I love the log.

Cheers,
Dave Mc

 

[froggyman]

very good idea for the tank.

where did you get those rocks

 

[funnylori]

Mike, you should post a pic of Arlo's special lab set up. The water bugs are kept in plastic tubs in a special (looks like a refrigerator door going that opens into a room) vault like climate controled room. Very awesome.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Awesome indeed, but I've only been in there once. I'll have to carry a camera around and then track him down.

 

[funnylori]

Thats a good Idea, I would have tried checking all the doors that looked right and ended up where they keep the 'bodies' for the human anatomy classes... Oooh that freaks me out when I walk past the labs and the doors are open and they have one out on the table...

 

[Mr. Mordax]

The only time that happened to me, they had a cloth or something covering everything they weren't working on, so I didn't see anything.

Creepy, though. But I at least know Arlo's lab is on a different floor.

 

[Timmy]

Hmm, I'm getting super interested in these water scorpions. Eating goldfish sounds awsome to watch. Btw, AvicLover, what keeps the scorpions from climbing out. Are there any water scorpion species in northern california?

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I know I'm not AvicLover, I know that but water bugs can't climb very well against a smooth surface. But they can fly sometimes, so I'd still put a lid on mine.

 

[Timmy]

Do you own any? Are they pretty cool pets? Seems like a pretty sweet thing to have a bug aquarium.

 

[AviculariaLover]

Thankfully they can't climb up the plastic sides, though one once climbed up the tubing for the bubbler and escaped. So whenever I leave the room, I put the lid back on. Though sometimes I forget, and they don't feel the need to run away. They can fly, but I've never seen them try. And if they do get away they're pretty easy to find!

And it is quite fun to watch them hunt fish! Especially when the fish are large, it can be quite a struggle. Though once the fish is caught, it's quite boring, they just suck the juices out, and you have a very dead nasty looking (but whole) fish to dispose of later (can take a few hours).

 

[Timmy]

Have you kept water scorpions, which are more fun - water scorpions or giant water bugs?(in your experience{if you have any with water scorpioms}

 

[Timmy]

What kind of water bug is this, and are these good pets? I beleive someone here has one of these in his/her avatar.

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=Belostoma+cummingsi

 

[AviculariaLover]

I've caught water scorpions in my pond many times, but have never been able to keep them successfully for too long. This summer I aim to try a bit harder, with a good set up and feeder fish from a pet store (it's tough trying to get natural prey consistenly) They're equally fascinating, just more delicate, and perhaps not as impressive upon first glance.

The picture in the link is of a giant water bug, like mine

 

[AviculariaLover]

After actually reading about it, that one is a more tropical species, but I suspect it is quite similar to normal ones in behaviour and such.