But, see next point.... Best to keep nymphs separate from the adults. Thanks. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so. Hi Liam, No, no idea where to get woodlice. How interesting.

Also, she would not eat eucalyptus at all. One off the eggs has hatched and I have ripped some bramble leaf up and put sone small sticks in a small tub with tiny holes, but it doesn't seem to be eating. Some 30 are even found right here in the United States, perhaps in your backyard! Otherwise, it could be something in the water - if you think that could be it, you could put a drop of Fish and Tap Water Conditioner (the one I have is API brand from the pet shop), into the spray bottle and the water you keep the leaves in.

Hold from the body. Many stick insects feign death to thwart predators, and some will shed the occasional limb to escape an enemy’s grasp. Hey, I was wondering if any1 could help??? I also dated the containers in one month lots so once it was around 7months I transferred them into a terrarium for hatching.

Their heads seem to be around the wrong way, and when they eat it looks as if their head is splitting in two. Hi Twitch, We've had some that have lost legs and they survive. The young phasmids (also known as nymphs) hatch after one to three years underground and look and behave like red-headed black ants.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://maven.io/company/pages/privacy. Good luck. The pet shop where you buy your stick insects will most likely sell the appropriate equipment for them. I know Museum of Victoria (Australia) has a really good department. The pet shop that sold them confused the sexes. They looked almost identical to the female when I bought them but after moulting had the long straight body with long wings. This occurs only in the longer and heavier species and can be found in both Australian and overseas species. On the other hand, the propensity / capability of young (especially freshly hatched) nymphs to cope with various micro-climatic conditions is better than that of older nymphs or even adults. Many phasmids, such as Carausius morosus, require only the most modest of living quarters, and can survive for endless generations in a Kritter Keeper filled with blackberry bush clippings. Matthews, R. W., Flage, L. R. and Matthews, J. R. 1997. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites. Thankyou Liam, bee-vee and Spike54 for your concern and advice. Using a special muscle to break it off at a weak joint, the imperiled insect simply sheds the leg in a defensive strategy is known as autotomy. Does it have a more common name? I've recently got a female spiny to go with my male spiny and female goliath stick insect and was wanting to breed them.

One of my females ( the largest one ) has been laying eggs for a couple of week now and she swelled up quite a lot which I presumed was normal due to the amount of eggs she is laying (20-40) a week. Hi Moonlake, thanks so much for taking the time to read my hub, and to comment and vote up. One specimen, held in the Natural History Museum in London, measures almost 2 feet in length from tip of abdomen to tip of antennae, with 14.1 of those inches being the body. Our cage is about 12 inches high and 13 inches wide, with a mesh top.

I'm very curious now. The group's name is derived from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or … "Bergmann's and Allen's Rules in Native European and Mediterranean Phasmatodea." great hub i love bugs any kind I've read on them I've got a tip don't feed the adult to much baby euclpts leaves they have a lot of oils and makes them harder to digest ;-).

www.ozanimals.com/insect/spiny-leaf-insect/extatosama/tiaratum.html. The young are brown and stick like and remain so until they under go their final mature moulting phase. This is another very good reason to keep the humidity in your phasmid room at a moderate level. Other things I could think of was that they were too cold/ hot. Hi Ady and Sfioretto, sorry I haven't responded. I used to have these....I am thinking about getting them again. ), and then you have no idea how old the male actually is. Phasmids are most comfortable hanging upside down and so will stay still. Paperbark are generally easier to reach than eucalypt leaves, and very common in the suburbs. For several mornings the males have been lying on the bottom looking dead but once the day warms they stert to move again. Many times they are one in the same, and their target audience is side by side. They tend to run around while the females spend days at a time in the same position. If a male fertilizes the egg, it has a fifty-fifty chance of turning out male. They will start to feed much easier and readily.

Phasmids can be taken from a branch, leaf or surface of the enclosure by placing a flat palm in front of the insect, unless the insect is stressed and unwilling to be handled the front legs should grip your hand and the insect will walk onto your hand. Hope you can help, Reguards Dionne, from a very chilly South Wales U.K...lol..xx. In some areas, the tap water is still sanitized or preserved by adding chlorine. Stick insect eggs that resemble hard seeds have a special, fatty capsule called a capitulum at one end. Thank you for reading. baby eucalyptus leaves - I didn't know that. This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. Probably too late to respond now, but sometimes they do go on the ground. However, I was just wondering if they like a bright light in the tank at all, if not, I can take it out. Once the young insects (nymphs) have emerged from their eggs they should be transferred to their enclosure. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help. They are supposed to moult several times as they reach their full size, but as I am not sure how large yours are, I couldn't say if they moult once their wings grow. Consider that the humidity within a cage like a Faunabox (or similar cage with reduced aeration), is easily 15 - 20% higher than in the room wherein the cage stands.

I love these things. Since my insects all died as they were about 13-14 month old. Can you find out where they came from and ask the pet shop for suggestions? Fantastic, I hope you enjoy having them as pets. They can't seem to get a good grip on the Saran wrap, especially when they're upsidedown, so they don't escape out of the holes. Mine love it. Males can fly away when stressed, but females cannot escape predators so easily and so will attempt to try to blend in to the background of twigs and leaves by swaying in a regular motion which may help the animal blend in with its surroundings. Does anyone know the exact name of eucalyptus they eat? It is almost unavoidable that in some phasmid cages mould will grow. One can even wash / rinse eggs under water when they arrive, thus further reducing the danger of introducing potentially harmful diseases. very cool! Gross, but efficient! In regards to getting them to feed it just took them alittle time (day or two) and they started to feed. If the females do mate with a male before producing eggs, the nymphs (babies) may be male or female. Ants enjoy the nutritional boost provided by the capitulum and carry the stick insect eggs back to their nests for a meal. Because we have 2 females, I haven't seen any mating, but remember, they don't have to mate to be able to lay eggs. Explore the fascinating world of insects from beautiful butterflies to creepy crawly cockroaches! Where can you buy them or can you sell me any. Phasmids generally mimic their surroundings in color, normally green or brown, although some species are brilliantly colored and others conspicuously striped. As for hatching the eggs, I suggest to remove them from the main enclosure, place into a plastic (throw away)container that has a whole cut out of the lid and fly wire glued on. My male is about 2 1/2 inch and my females are 3 inch and 2 ich? The Chan's Megastick, Phobaeticus chani, measures an incredible 22 inches with legs extended, with a body length of 14 inches., Shelomi, Matan, and Dirk Zeuss. Obviously the more spores the bigger the health hazard. The other one has successfully become an adult now. Others swipe at predators with their spine-covered legs, while one North American species, Anisomorpha buprestoides, emits a putrid-smelling fluid. Phasmids are most comfortable hanging upside down and so will stay still. I'd appreciate your help very much. They mean a lot to me :'(. Phasmids are easy to handle safely without harming their delicate bodies, the trick is not to handle them but to let the insect walk onto you and grip your hand. All rights reserved. The females are nearly always much larger than the male, sometimes two or three times as large! Phasmids are insects that eat leaves and look like leaves or sticks. Hi Raven, Thanks so much for reading and commenting on my hub. Maybe because I tried to put a link to an expert at the australian museum.

Children’s Stick Insects are easy to keep and both males and females are easy to handle, just don’t be surprised if the males like to fly off your hand.