Crickets as Pets

tslmy•about 2 hours ago

Born and raised in Northern China (2hrs drive from Beijing), my parents bought me crickets & taught me how to catch grasshoppers when I was in early school age. They have short lifespans, so they are quite affordable and low-maintenance pets for families who aren't yet sure about (or can't yet afford to) keep pets that lives for years (cats, dogs, ...). Plus, they teach young children lessons on caring, feeding, life and death, just as well as the latter. I like it.

cyberpunk•about 2 hours ago

I had a chinese friend who was apparently really into fighting them, which seems a bit of a fringe sport…

jhbadger•about 1 hour ago

The Japanese are also into fighting insects, although mostly with beetles. Pokemon is more understandable with this in mind as the idea of people collecting creatures to fight with other people's creatures is an extension of this.

Borg3•36 minutes ago

Beetles? Hmm I never heard about that. Spiders, yes.. And they are huge :)

Rendello•about 1 hour ago

The clothing patterns of the Japanese cricket vendors in the article are awesome [1]. By a "Torii Kiyohiro" [1] who seemed to have a thing for drawing/carving intricate clothing [2][3].

1. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Torii_Kiyohiro_-_Thr...

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii_Kiyohiro

3. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?artist=Torii...

4. https://www.artic.edu/collection?artist_ids=Torii%20Kiyohiro

willmeyers•about 1 hour ago

My partner had a jumping spider as a pet for some time in a terrarium. It was really interesting because he would jump out onto my partners arms when we opened his terrarium and then climb around and then go back after doing some wandering. Pet beetles are also pretty common (and something that I really want tbh). There are a lot of animals that you wouldn't think can be pets, but honestly, if you're helping a critter survive you'll create some attachment to them and maybe they will too. A lot of pet insects can live for 5-7 years too if done right.

SoftTalker•19 minutes ago

Tried to keep crickets as food for a bearded dragon. Never had any luck. I'd end up going outside to catch some or buy them from a pet store or bait shop.

thisisauserid•about 2 hours ago

Fits in pocket, chirps for attention, low lifespan...

It's an analog Tamagotchi.

hnlmorg•about 2 hours ago

Stick insects are a common “starter pet” for infants school (kindergarten) kids in England

satvikpendem•about 1 hour ago

What's brown and sticky? A stick insect.

I recently went to this insectarium and saw a ton of stick and leaf insects, so cool how they evolved to mimic their environment to such a degree.

batuhandumani•about 1 hour ago

I haven't looked into whether this happens in other countries, but in Turkey, when kids ask for a cat or a dog, parents will often buy them a baby chick from a local market instead. Sadly, within a week or so, once the child loses interest, the chick is often gotten rid of somehow by the parents.

dmurray•about 1 hour ago

Goldfish are what stereotypically served this purpose in the UK and Ireland, though this seems to have got out of fashion as pet shops no longer sell goldfish to be kept in tiny bowls.

ButlerianJihad•about 1 hour ago

Sometime in California of the 1990s, goldfish were superseded by Bettas or "Siamese Fighting Fish". You could find them lounging boredly in those same tiny goldfish bowls, even though they were probably better served with a filter, pump, furniture, and tropical water temperatures.

If you brought together the bowls of two male Bettas, each would viciously attack the glass to get at the other fish. I suppose there were actually people who set up cockfight-like contests, and bet on which fish would survive the fights.

I think I had one of these at some point. They are ornamental, in bright colors and long, flowing fins all over the place. They probably don't live long, no matter what.

GrayShade•14 minutes ago

> Chinese breeders of the 21st century strive to extend the fighting season to the whole year. They advertise farm-bred "designer bugs" as super-fighters and agree that their technology is "completely counter to the natural process". However, they refuse to use hormones or the practice of arming crickets with steel implants.

Um, what?

readthenotes1•20 minutes ago

There's a good Judge Dee novel that incorporates pet crickets as a central plot ploy.

Crickets as Pets

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