From a young age I had a natural fascination for bugs! I was ‘that’ kid who chased grass hoppers through the tall grass, saved spiders from impending doom of the rolled up newspaper or thong, and sent my dad up Willow trees to catch cicadas in the summer. I thought they were absolutely marvellous creations of evolution! Often my interest in insects would have others screwing up their noses with exclamations of, ”EEEWE!”, or scrambling to flee for their life, with a scream trailing in their wake. People always fear what they do not understand, and I always found that quite silly.
If I was to trace back my appreciation of bugs, I would say I was likely inspired by my uncle. He had an extensive personal collection of invertebrates, from tiny ants to Moths the size of a sparrow. He had draws and draws of them all set out, numbered, labelled and perfectly preserved. I would often stay at my Uncles as a child and he would bring out his collections and teach me about all the different types of insects and on dusk we would go to the local park to hunt for giant grass hoppers!
It has only been recently, later in my life, that I have started to keep invertebrates as pets, and it has been a fascinating and rewarding experience!
It started out with a container of Crown Stick Insect eggs sent to me by my friend who was doing her degree in Entomology. After that I was HOOKED!!! It was not long before I was investing in a larger enclosure, raiding Eucalyptus trees and watching in awe as they shape shifted with every shed of their growing bodies. Soon enough I expanded on my collection by adding other species of Phasmids, large and small.
My first arachnid was a beautiful Giant Banded Huntsman Spider, gifted to me by my friend, who I also work for part time as a Mobile Wildlife Educator. He too is hugely responsible for enabling my hobby of keeping invertebrates as pets. I have two of that particular huntsman’s offspring today that are a year old now and thriving.
Spiders were always going to be my favourite, so I was excited for my very first tarantula purchase, Phlogius sp. Proserpine yearling that also came with a bonus tiny Phlogius sp. Kuttabul spiderling. Since then my arachnid menagerie has expanded to 9 x species of tarantulas, 4 x Huntsman Spiders , 1 x Trapdoor Spider, 1x Sydney Funnel web, and 1 x Flinders Ranges Scorpion.
I have had the fortune to watched all of my arachnids grow from tiny little spiderlings to being well on their way to being impressive juveniles over the last almost two years. Given that the Tarantulas, in particular, can live for many years, there is still a allot more growing to do for them yet, so I am excited to see how big they will grow!!!
I have also recently found an interest in bio active set ups, and therefore have made each of my enclosures into mini eco systems. This part of the hobby has been the most interesting and fun so far, learning which substrates to use and which beneficial insects I should add for the duty of clean-up crew to help maintain a healthy clean environment within the enclosures. So now all of my enclosures are bustling with life, from spring tails and isopods to earwigs and millipedes. It is truly amazing to see these miniature worlds living their lives and going about their daily business. I often catch myself watching the isopods interact with each other and the earwigs weaving through the leaf litter and substrate as they forage for food.
It has been an amazing experience keeping invertebrates as pets. I would definitely recommend this hobby for children who have an interest in insects, and a bio set up in a school classroom would be an excellent opportunity for kids to learn about our environment and the important role of all of our living organisms that help maintain life!
(Pictured: Baby Walaphyllium monteithi Bio Phasmid enclosure)
By: Rachel Sydenham – Animal Care Australia Small Mammal Representative. Published: December 2025 ACE Newsletter
