Hi! I'm Sam, or Kaiju if you'd rather. I am based in Cambridgeshire in the UK. I have the tendency to ramble, as you're likely about to see.
I am a brand new mantid keeper. I got my first on the 12 of Sept, a Timor Shield Mantis (I believe an L3). Done lots of research prior and wanted a mantid for ages, my dream is an Orchid mantis but I decided to look into a slightly more beginner friendly species first. And thought the Timor shields are awesome.
I have always loved animals and nature, but if you'd asked me 10 years ago if I would ever own an insect or bug-adjacent critter I'd have said no. As a kid I enjoyed bugs, but my mother's over the top fear eventually rubbed off on me, unfortunately.
The past few years though, I've been working on it and made great progress. I have figured out most of my phobia stems from touch, particularly just being touched unexpectedly. So actually, keeping a few creepy crawlies has helped me immensely, since I can do everything on my own terms. I started breeding mealworms for animal food. Then I got into isopods (which I realise are crustaceans not insects) and found that I really enjoy them. I also have a Leopard gecko, so getting different bugs to feed him has helped a lot. And then, I saw an Orchid mantis at a pet store and fell in love. And realised that mantids don't scare me even a tiny bit.
So I started doing research on these awesome creatures. And the more I learnt the more fascinated I was (and am). Til eventually I felt ready to try owning one!
Keeping insects and bug-adjacent creatures feels like it has opened up a whole new world for me. There's still some arthropods that scare me but I find that the list is slowly dwindling. I was pretty frightened by moths due to their erratic flying, but recently I just stopped to observe how pretty the moth in my house was, before gently collecting it to put it back outside.
Anyway, that's enough rambling about that lol!
Other than my one mantid, I have a whole host of other critters, including a dog, rodents, rabbits, snakes, a gecko, ferrets, isopods, and ducks. I am disabled and have fairly bad anxiety, and am unable to work. Keeping animals and caring for them helps my anxiety immensely and gives me a sense of purpose. I'm not just sat in bed all day feeling miserable and in pain - I'm up and about, cleaning enclosures, filling feeders and bottles and bowls, and spending time with them. I wouldn't have it any other way to be honest.
So anyway. Newbie mantid keeper and newly found mantid lover. I hope to be able to learn lots while here and be the best keeper I can!
I am a brand new mantid keeper. I got my first on the 12 of Sept, a Timor Shield Mantis (I believe an L3). Done lots of research prior and wanted a mantid for ages, my dream is an Orchid mantis but I decided to look into a slightly more beginner friendly species first. And thought the Timor shields are awesome.
I have always loved animals and nature, but if you'd asked me 10 years ago if I would ever own an insect or bug-adjacent critter I'd have said no. As a kid I enjoyed bugs, but my mother's over the top fear eventually rubbed off on me, unfortunately.
The past few years though, I've been working on it and made great progress. I have figured out most of my phobia stems from touch, particularly just being touched unexpectedly. So actually, keeping a few creepy crawlies has helped me immensely, since I can do everything on my own terms. I started breeding mealworms for animal food. Then I got into isopods (which I realise are crustaceans not insects) and found that I really enjoy them. I also have a Leopard gecko, so getting different bugs to feed him has helped a lot. And then, I saw an Orchid mantis at a pet store and fell in love. And realised that mantids don't scare me even a tiny bit.
So I started doing research on these awesome creatures. And the more I learnt the more fascinated I was (and am). Til eventually I felt ready to try owning one!
Keeping insects and bug-adjacent creatures feels like it has opened up a whole new world for me. There's still some arthropods that scare me but I find that the list is slowly dwindling. I was pretty frightened by moths due to their erratic flying, but recently I just stopped to observe how pretty the moth in my house was, before gently collecting it to put it back outside.
Anyway, that's enough rambling about that lol!
Other than my one mantid, I have a whole host of other critters, including a dog, rodents, rabbits, snakes, a gecko, ferrets, isopods, and ducks. I am disabled and have fairly bad anxiety, and am unable to work. Keeping animals and caring for them helps my anxiety immensely and gives me a sense of purpose. I'm not just sat in bed all day feeling miserable and in pain - I'm up and about, cleaning enclosures, filling feeders and bottles and bowls, and spending time with them. I wouldn't have it any other way to be honest.
So anyway. Newbie mantid keeper and newly found mantid lover. I hope to be able to learn lots while here and be the best keeper I can!
