Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom

And I don't need Marlon Perkins narrating, either. I've got the whole "Savagery of Nature" going on in the laundry room (Poison's temporary home, until we move him/her to Nate's class tomorrow).

This is taken from underneath the cage, so you can see why he's a "Fire Belly Toad"...

Poison is going through the crickets at an alarming rate. If he doesn't slow down, he's gonna need a new cage soon, because he'll be MASSIVE! (unless crickets aren't all that nutritious, or give him the runs, and he doesn't grow bulk at the same rate as he's consuming the little bugs). This morning, the Littles and I had to run out to the pet store to purchase more size-small crickets, because we were down to our last TWO, out of the original 10 that we bought on Saturday afternoon. Now, I will admit that there is a percentage of attrition that I wasn't expecting, and I think that the crickets might be a little cannibalistic, when all is said and done, because I can't account for the whereabouts of three of the original 10. I did find one in the laundry room sink this morning, so there may be a little bit of Hogan's Heroes going on in the Cricket Keeper Cage that we're borrowing from Q's mom.

Anyways, I bought another TWENTY crickets, and installed them in the Cricket Keeper, with plenty of cardboard hidey-holes (they're territorial, AND nocturnal, apparently) and big cubes of Cricket gut-load so they wouldn't take bites out of each other, and then I dropped a cricket into Poison's cage, and watched.

He was standing at one side of the cage, looking longingly at the Cricket Keeper...

It's like he KNEW that's where his supper came from. And he's waving to them. "Hello, Supper!"

So then I dropped a cricket into the cage, and the cricket made a bee-line for the water-line. I think maybe they don't get enough to drink at the pet store. I remedied that in the Cricket Keeper, so now they've got a little drinking station. I'm all about the Geneva Convention with my little prisoners.

Anyways... the cricket goes to the water line, and takes a drink. Poison notices...

You can't really tell, but he's got one eye on that cricket. And he's doing these little 'I am a leaf in the wind' bob and weave motions, which would be WAY more convincing if I'd put a plant in the cage...

The cricket keeps drinking. Poison moves in a little closer....

Cue the theme music from Jaws...

When he finally does make his move, it's SO fast, I'm never ready with the camera, even if I'm RIGHT THERE! But we've only had him for 2 days. I bet I'll get better at it as time goes on...

And he DIVES in for the kill!