Does anyone have an unusual pet? Meet "Pancake" (probably don't click if you don't like insects - she's a praying mantis)

[lucysmam]

Meet Pancake, dd2's praying mantis.

She's smaller than my thumbnail at the moment, & very very fast. She likes to scare the shit out of me by jumping onto my hand when I least expect it 🤣

I was just checking on her temp/humidity & wondered what unusual pets you lot have?

Not really unusual these days but we have Freya, a leopard gecko. Do her feeder insects that we breed count

Pancake is so cute!

We too have a corn snake, called Plato. Here he is hanging out in our pear tree on a sunny day.

Trying again

@Redhound the size of them would be enough. She just about tolerates sitting across the kitchen table from Pancake but is always ready to move if she comes near 🤣🤣

@WhenDovesFly we have a large, black, dining table that is the only place dd is allowed her out after Errol nearly ran down the side of the sofa. Doors and windows are always closed before getting her out.

There is always the chance she'll jump further than one of us though - if she does, we'll search as well as we can for her.

@Watchkeys I'll attach a couple of pics of Errol; he was an adult when they were taken.

@GrouchyKiwi dd was quite keen to have a snake at some point; a friend has 4 and a gecko and she's always been interested in them.

@drinkingwineoutofamug

Meet Luna the African land snail

Ooh, I'd love an African land snail, but I have cats who might hurt it so not an option. Yours is beautiful!

Thank you. My daughter has one as well. He's huge , size of my hand . Called Gary .

I have 9 alpine newts, a musk turtle (in different tanks 😁) and a tortoise. I also have 2 cats that the tortoise loves to chase.

@drinkingwineoutofamug my friend used to have GALS too! Luna's shell is pretty. Will it change if she grows? Gary seems like a good name for a snail!

I dont have any photos on this phone but ive previously had 3 skunks
Conventional dog owner these days

She’s rather gorgeous @lucysmam, although not something I would like to have.
How did she get her name?

[quote lucysmam]@drinkingwineoutofamug my friend used to have GALS too! Luna's shell is pretty. Will it change if she grows? Gary seems like a good name for a snail![/quote]
I don't know if it will change , she will grow apparently up to 20 cms
Gary on the other hand will be a beast. This is him having a bath in an old butty box

Gary looks very thoughtful in his bath!

@YanTanTetheraPetheraPimp mantis' tend to flatten themselves when they feel threatened, or cold(or, run while looking behind them, if feeling threatened, which is quite comical 🤣).

When we first took her out of her travel enclosure & packaging, she went flat so (flat like a) Pancake stuck. Presumably she was cold as she was sent with a heat pack, bubble wrap, and loads of packing peanuts as insulation so would have been warm in the box.

drinkingwine Gary is rather large. Do they enjoy baths? & will he outgrow that tub?

Gary is a Anchatina Anchatina so will be huge. Yes he will need a bigger bath! His tank is 2ft and he's very busy.
Luna is albino Anchatina fulcia and won't grow as big. Her tank at present is 1ft.
Hope I've spelt that right 😂

Easy to keep , think her set up cost about £50 . Tank, peat, heat mat, thermostat and moss.
I love watching her turn orange when she eats carrots 😂

Wow, I've just googled; I had no idea a snail could be so large!

Seems I've reached my photo limit. Will post a pic tomorrow of Gary as a baby snail . He was the size of my thumb nail 😳

I've just googled and seen an Anchatina Anchatina the size of a rabbit! 😲

There's a hit on YouTube , she cuddles her snail like a baby. It's bloody massive

@lucysmam, thank you!
As a child I was given a matchbox full of stick insect eggs and told to put it in the airing cupboard. Which I did. But not in another container so.....we were finding baby stick insects all over the house for weeks afterwards. That was as far as having anything remotely exotic went!

Don't watch if you have molluscophobia (fear of snails)!

Gosh! They're amazing!

She's beautiful!

Just joining in... more giant African land snails here.. Speedy and Racer. 🐌🐌

Morning, finally can add the picture of a baby Gary. The beast now is the size of the palm of my hand!

@tinofbeans

Just joining in... more giant African land snails here.. Speedy and Racer. 🐌🐌

Love the names 😂