#sprickets

[lilsherlockian1975]

Funny you should ask, @therealbucky05 . When we moved from the old house to the new, I was expecting to be rid of them. Foolishly, I assumed we’d left those little demons on the other side of town. (“Oh, you sweet summer child”, I can hear them distantly whisper.)

I was so very wrong.

At the old house we had only a small, dirt floor basement; more of a cellar (that once flooded whilst a dead raccoon floated within, creating a sort of ‘raccoon soup’, if you will, that my poor husband had to wade through to retrieve said animal - but that’s a story for another time). This house, however, has a full basement. Five large rooms which, for quite some time, allowed much more space for the spricket army to thrive. And thrive they did. Their numbers grew and for a while, they did indeed have full control of the basement level of our home. I had counted it as a loss and though I missed the extra storage space (and access to my washer and dryer), I found that I didn’t really need to decorate for holidays and that the laundromat is quite convenient (who really needs that many quarters, anyway?).

But, when my mother-in-law passed away, my husband and I took in all her cats and gave them the full run of the basement (complete with their own sofa and two brand new cat trees). Frankly, they probably live better than we do.

Then we noticed a distinct lack of sprickets.

I know what you’re thinking: the cats are killing them. But there are no spricket bits, lying about. There is no evidence of a bug culling. It is possible, I suppose, that the bugs have relocated. I, however, have an alternative theory.

I think they’re all in league! They’re working together. Are the cats in charge? Are the sprickets? Who knows (it’s the bugs! The cats are idiots and couldn’t lead themselves out of a dark hallway). Either way, I can’t see the bugs and the cats are happy. I honestly don’t care what’s in charge of who and who’s worshipping what!

: )

You realize you should’ve done something about the spiders in your attic before they multiplied, gained intelligence and started a civilization. Recently they started worshipping you as their deity.

[spricket-central]

when i first met Donut, i wasnt sure he'd survive the night.

i caught him while he was hiding in the folds of my bedsheets, with my cat Wembley still in pursuit. the poor thing had taken a beating: he was missing his right jumping leg, and his 2nd right walking leg appeared to be completely paralyzed, dragging behind him as he nervously skittered around in his temporary enclosure.

luckily, his injuries were purely external, and he pulled through brilliantly!

i moved him into a large enclosure with Baguette, a solitary adult female i had rescued only a week prior. she was a tad stand-offish with him at first, but the two quickly became friendly, spending most of their time hanging out together!

his paralyzed leg was eventually discarded, possibly by him gnawing it off himself. he moved about rather clumsily, only having one leg on his right side to work with his undamaged left limbs, but he seemed to have no problem getting around regardless. he loved to climb around the enclosure, and could still haul ass when he felt surprised or threatened, ahaha.

Donut was such a character. i have no idea how he managed to fit so much energy (or cucumber) into that funny little bean-shaped body. im so glad that i was able to give him a calm, easy life after his brush with death. i just wanted him to be comfortable, but he didnt just survive: he thrived.

Donut, i love you dearly, and I'll miss you and your antics so much. i promise I'll take good care of your girlfriend. im even thinking of incubating some of her eggs, so who knows, you may even end up a father!

I'll think of you tomorrow when im cutting up everybodys cucumber 💚

Donut

10/17/23 (caught) - 1/8/24

[elzore-da-great]

My Doc Ock!!

Their tentacles can control them. Octavius herself is a trans woman but since the tentacles they are literally plural and use they/them.

They used to date Joanna when they younger.

[pkmndaisuki]

it's cricket season 🙃

[aroacemarie]

SUPER appreciated! i love these lil guys so much, and i wanna do right by them, and learn about them in the process. the most amateur of amateur research, ahaha.

mine go CRAZY for tiny dried bloodworms (the kind you give to small fish), and are also a fan of freeze dried baby shrimp. they LOVE their veggies too: cucumber, squash, carrots... im giving peas right now too, which theyre not as enthusiastic about, but they do nibble them here and there. i also give them some generic fluckers calcium rich cricket chow and a bit of wheat bran.

but yeah! I'll deffo take you up on that. i actually have a side blog just for them too (@spricket-central) where i fuss about them.

also, i feel like you might appreciate this full timelapse i got of croutons final molt (sorry for link; it would NOT upload to tumblr):

wait oh my GOD you keep Tachycines asynamorus??? ive only encountered maybe 2 other people who keep them this is so exciting. can i talk to you about them/get some pointers sometime? its my first time keeping any sort of invert pet and theres so little info on these charming lil fellas out there!

anyway heres my girls, crouton and breadcrumb. theyre besties and love to vibe with each other :)

I don’t have asynamorus at the moment, but I have kept them in the past for a few generations in captivity. I noticed mine would eat just about anything but showed a preference for meaty foods like fish flakes, dead roaches, and mouse meat. they prefer moderate to high humidity, although the adults are very tolerant of dryness. substrate of 1-2” is sufficient for oviposition, and eggs are both drought and cold tolerant, needing a cooling period before hatching.

feel free to DM me any questions!

[the-golden-ghost]

Someone will be like "Ghost tell me about spiders!" and I'm like "SURE I'll get right on that let me open wikipedia real quick. Also did you know there's 12 kinds of arachnid? I can't name them though"

[magicmetalblog]

InsertAnInvert 2024 Subterranean week 3: troglofauna

spricket (sraculoides)

[feastofsnakes]

Had a dream last night that people kept mistaking my wasp tattoo for a flea tattoo until I snapped and just got an actual flea/tick tattoo and I think this is a sign to keep getting disgusting bugs tattooed on me until I die

[aroacemarie]

yea 👍

you're telling me this bugs is shrimps?

[feralthembo]

i just had a spricket fall on the small ofmy back and i have never scrumpt such a scream in my life when i realized what it was in my hand

[keeps-ache]

i wish you could hear what it sounded like when my brothers try to kill a spricket

[ratzboi]

[feralthembo]

i mean there were spiders too. and roaches. we got those here too. its fun to watch them wage war against eachother

[elzore-da-great]

Spider-Sona universe Halloween doodles!!

Joanna, Boy-Wolf, and Ock

J Joanna Jameson vs Spricket dressed as her

Johnny and Wyatt

Ock tried to prove they don't look like a minion but only proved the opposite.

Robbie <3

[aroacemarie]

i love stella, but as the #1 Spricket Super Fan im obligated to vote tetra.

crouton and breadcrumb are here to cheer them on!

(these girls dont bite or barf goo, but they are excellent at BOING BOING BOING)

antenna contest!!

Stella vs. Tetra:

as an arachnid, Stella (Phrynus longipes) doesn't actually have true antennae—but she’s more than made up for that with her pair of antenniform legs. highly mobile and bendable in every direction, they allow her to track and target prey entirely though scent, her primary sensory mode since her 8 tiny eyes don’t form complex images.

Tetra (Diestrammena japanica) is a formidable challenger, though. like most raphidophorids (also known as cave crickets or camel crickets due to the characteristic humped backs), they have incredibly long antennae. highly sensitive to air currents as well as scent, Tetra can use their antennae to smell or even touch a predator from several body lengths away, allowing them to make a flying launch to safety.