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Cinnamon was showing off his pretty stripes last night!

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Pumpkin decided it was Real Silly Boy Hours last night!

hes such a goof. 💚

i kinda wanna try cohabbing him with Holly?

hes my halloween baby, shes my xmas eve baby… it just makes sense. the cute holiday duo!

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hi Honey :)

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oh man, its been waaaay too long since i checked in here! im so sorry folks! im okay, i just have ADHD hffhgfggcx.

well okay, im not TOTALLY okay, because, unfortunately, Pachinko died today. i just buried the lil dude. really gonna miss him :( he was SUCH a character! hes been slowing down lately though, so… it was only a matter of time.

Sweet Potato passed away too, on May 28th. i miss her dearly, but she lived a long life despite having been in rough shape when i found her. im so proud of her 💚

i have a feeling theres gonna be more sorrow on the way, given how close in age a lot of my old-timers are, but… its not all sad news: ive also got a new a friend to introduce you all too! :)

he doesnt have a name yet, but i found this lil guy earlier this week, on june 3rd! heres some pics from the day i found him:

hes so teeny tiny! its been so long since ive had a baby spricket! so far he seems healthy and active, so fingers crossed!

i wanna try and get back into the swing of things here and start giving yall more regular Spricket Updates again. maybe i’ll post some old pics ive been holding onto and give you some more personal updates on everybody? i still have SO MANY sprickets right now (7 of them!), so its hard to post as much about everybody (possibly why i fell out of it for a while oops), but i really do love talking about these sweet lil beans and sharing their shenanigans with you all :)

anyway, thanks for being patient with me. i hope youre all well, and i’ll post more soon! :)

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man spreading…..

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BRO Pachinko scared the SHIT outta me earlier hcfhgdggcx. he’s okay, dw! but basically i was giving everyone veggies and couldnt find him, so i lifted up his tank to inspect it, and he was behind his cereal box, wedged between the box and the wall, just suspended in the air as if he was getting squished??? (not pictured obvs bc i yknow HELPED HIM instead of snapping pics)

he was just wedged there, slowly wiggling pathetically… when i moved the box and he dropped to the ground he seemed stunned for a sec, but VERY quickly sprung into action (literally!), so thankfully he seemed to have been unharmed!

he then proceeded to dart around his tank, investigating it as he patrolled, doing a lil wall dancing for good measure. sir be CAREFUL… i have a feeling trying to wall surf your way up to the ceiling and falling is how you managed to get stuck in the first place…

this guy, i tells ya… im just glad hes okay!!!

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We miss you! I hope the sprickets are nice and cozy✨

awww, thanks friend! everyones doing well :) heres carrot enjoying her afternoon veggies!

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ma’am…..

never a dull moment with these goobers, i tells ya.

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Um, I think I'm in love with carrot, her monching is so cute

Carrot thanks you, and requests some fresh veggies to munch on! her current ones are all dried out!

(dont worry; she’ll be getting some fresh ones shortly)

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Sesame did end up passing yesterday. i buried her in the little garden outside last night.

Rest easy, sweet Sesame 💚

i just found Sesame slumped over in a corner. im not sure if she’s alive or not.

i’ll leave her alone and see if she moves by the time i get home tonight, but she’s not looking good.

poor girl… shes definitely getting up there in age (iirc i caught her as a nymph in may of last year), so its not a huge shock to see her suddenly declining, but that never makes it any less tragic.

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i just found Sesame slumped over in a corner. im not sure if she’s alive or not.

i’ll leave her alone and see if she moves by the time i get home tonight, but she’s not looking good.

poor girl… shes definitely getting up there in age (iirc i caught her as a nymph in may of last year), so its not a huge shock to see her suddenly declining, but that never makes it any less tragic.

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hi Holly :)

(you need a tank upgrade, little one)

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oh! ive been meaning to say this, but Holly started developing a teeny tiny ovipositor bud a while back, meaning i can officially say she’s a girl!

its extremely hard to see in this picture, and not having a picture is a big part of why i didnt give this news sooner, but Holly can be tricky to get pics of. she’s a bit shy!

anyway… Good Job, Holly!

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i just gave everybody fresh veggies, and the Living Room Ladies are out in force!

well, aside from Sweet Potato, but shes one of my shyest buggies, and thats okay! i was surprised to see even Sesame come out though! Carrot and Parachute are often the first ones to the chow, but Sesame can be a bit more elusive. she even went on a little adventure around the tank before ultimately settling back down to munch shortly after the video ended (Parachute is on an after dinner stroll now).

several of my sprickets have absolutely started to associate my intrusions with food, which is a fascinating development! its proof that these little guys, despite how primitive they are, absolutely have the capacity to learn.

i so wish i could think of some way of testing their cognitive capabilities with some sort of more specific positive reinforcement training, but i have no idea how i would go about doing that. i cant think of a concrete way of signaling they performed the “correct” behavior.

for example: Wembley the cat is trained to shake hands. i clicker trained him and, by teaching him that click=treat (he only gets treats when training), i was able to signal to him by clicking the second he lifted his paw that when i stick out my hand and go “Put ‘er there!” i want him to stick out his paw for shakes, and that he gets a treat when he complies.

sprickets… well. for starters, theyre deaf, so the obvious clicker signal is useless. im not quite sure what would work in its place. more importantly though, as previously mentioned, i dont know what would be a suitable reward. they have constant access to food, so theres nothing special about me offering it, and while ive definitely observed individuals seeming to favor certain foods over others (ex: Honey and Carrot tend to go straight to the cucumber), im unsure if they have a sophisticated enough sense of taste to really have a “Special Treat” (like Wembley’s treats) thats distinct enough from their regular food to serve as a motivator.

i suppose what i COULD do though is try to see if i could train somebody to eat from my hand? could be interesting! Honey and Carrot are the standout candidates (perhaps Parachute too) to try it with.

dunno! either way, im glad to see that some sprickets are potentially developing a positive association with my intrusions, at the very least because it means they can have a little less stress in their day to day lives :)

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AWWWWWWW OMG… i would feel so honored if a silly green pal decided to adorn me with his silk!!! :,)

A rednote user ( http://xhslink.com/a/hGMGjJtnHQB ) keeps these big tree crickets as pets, they make silk with their mouths to join leaves together, they will try to do it anywhere and they are so cute I'm mad we don't have them here

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by the time i got home tonight, she seemed pretty ready to leave!

and so… RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!!

BACK FROM WHENCE YOU CAME, BELOVED BEAST…..

byeeeeee pretty lady! i’m sure i’ll see you again soon!

our guest from last night seems comfortable, ahaha

i think she’s snoozing. maybe i’ll wait til tonight when shes more awake to release her. i dont wanna disturb her food coma.

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our guest from last night seems comfortable, ahaha

i think she’s snoozing. maybe i’ll wait til tonight when shes more awake to release her. i dont wanna disturb her food coma.