How to look after your very own spiny leaf insect (extatosoma tiaratum), a unique species of stick insect from Australia! These are commonly found in pet stores all over the world, and are quite popular as pets.
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Signing UpStep 1: Things you will need
1: An enclosure of some sort- preferably a fly screen cage. If it is rectangular as most cages are, it should be placed vertically due to the insect's instinct to climb. As a general rule, the cage should be at least 3 times as long as the adult insect- Adult females grow to about 110mm long so I would recommend a 40 cm by 30 cm by 30 cm cage.
Stick insects are accomplished escape artists- so you must be careful not to leave any gaps and make sure there are no tears in the fly screen. (I didn't completely close the cage lid once, and all of my young insects escaped into the house- they took hours to locate)
2: A source of eucalyptus leaves- you must be able to access young foliage as well as older leaves. When collecting the leaves, make sure that nobody has sprayed any chemicals on the tree you cut branches from.
The leaves will be the insect's food. If you don't live in Australia, you can feed them on bramble leaves- although these will be hazardous to collect.
If you feed your insect on eucalyptus leaves, they will turn a shade of tan to camouflage against dry, curled eucalyptus leaves, but if you feed it on brambles it will turn green in order to better blend in to their environment.
3: A plant sprayer- an empty windex sprayer will do- as long as you wash it out VERY carefully (nothing kills a pet stick insect faster than cleaning chemicals)
4: A vase of some sort- to hold water and eucalyptus leaves. Doesn't need to be fancy- I use an old milk jug.
5: Newspaper- you will need 1 or two sheets of this every few weeks (the newspaper is to protect the floor of the cage from stains if it is made of wood and/or the need for cleaning)
6: A small tupperware that you are willing to wreck
7: A spiny leaf insect (quite obviously). You can often acquire one from your local pet store- if not, there are websites that will ship eggs or young insects to your house (I purchased mine from www.terrificscientific.com, a business in Sydney, Australia) I would recommend getting a female- the males have fully functional wings and can escape- although they are clumsy fliers that tend to crash into the nearest object when flying.
Stick insects are accomplished escape artists- so you must be careful not to leave any gaps and make sure there are no tears in the fly screen. (I didn't completely close the cage lid once, and all of my young insects escaped into the house- they took hours to locate)
2: A source of eucalyptus leaves- you must be able to access young foliage as well as older leaves. When collecting the leaves, make sure that nobody has sprayed any chemicals on the tree you cut branches from.
The leaves will be the insect's food. If you don't live in Australia, you can feed them on bramble leaves- although these will be hazardous to collect.
If you feed your insect on eucalyptus leaves, they will turn a shade of tan to camouflage against dry, curled eucalyptus leaves, but if you feed it on brambles it will turn green in order to better blend in to their environment.
3: A plant sprayer- an empty windex sprayer will do- as long as you wash it out VERY carefully (nothing kills a pet stick insect faster than cleaning chemicals)
4: A vase of some sort- to hold water and eucalyptus leaves. Doesn't need to be fancy- I use an old milk jug.
5: Newspaper- you will need 1 or two sheets of this every few weeks (the newspaper is to protect the floor of the cage from stains if it is made of wood and/or the need for cleaning)
6: A small tupperware that you are willing to wreck
7: A spiny leaf insect (quite obviously). You can often acquire one from your local pet store- if not, there are websites that will ship eggs or young insects to your house (I purchased mine from www.terrificscientific.com, a business in Sydney, Australia) I would recommend getting a female- the males have fully functional wings and can escape- although they are clumsy fliers that tend to crash into the nearest object when flying.
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The weak nymph ended up dying a few days ago. I didn't do anything because didn't want to kill him because of handling him. Another nymph died aswell im not sure if it was because he had only 5 legs when i got him but im not sure why. I still have 3 healthy nymphs that are going good. Thanks for the help anyway and i will ask you for help if i need it.
Thanks Kate
p.s these are only two of the three but i know the brown ones (i have another one too) are spiny leafs but i just was wondering what the green ones species was?
thanks again
It's difficult to tell from this picture, but if you are in Australia it is most likely a goliath stick insect. Here is a picture of the species I mean:
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2167/2180833766_90a9f53799.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flickriver.com/photos/centralaustralia/2180833766/&h=333&w=500&sz=59&tbnid=xKYxJ3Ztl3EVnM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=136&zoom=1&usg=__LmaxA_jHbHUNJy9Nfk5NPs3TLTM=&docid=YJLczYI0iRi2cM&sa=X&ei=eoBwUcP1MqmZiQL_5IC4CQ&ved=0CDsQ9QEwAQ&dur=2576
Long link, sorry
I got 5 nymphs of 3 different species yesterday and one of them seem to be not doing too good. It seems quite weak and it cant grip on the leaves very well. I just wanted to know if i should separate it into a smaller container so it can recover in a smaller space so it wont fall from the high leaves etc. or should i just leave it and just expect that it will die? I have provided my nymphs with the appropriate supplies (correct leaves, humidity, temperature, housing etc.) so i am not sure what i should do.
Thankyou,
Kate
It might be a good idea to move the weakened nymph into a smaller container to reduce potential fall damage.
Its a possibility that the weakness is due to malnutrition (insects can become weak enough that they cannot eat). If you think this is the case, you can try syringe feeding him/her a small amount of sugar solution; this can give the insect enough energy to eat and regain some of the things it needs.
Best of luck!
sunshiine
I was Just wondering, are regular tissues ok to use to raise the eggs on, or to they hold to much moisture? (resulting in fungal growth)
I just wanted to know because my female spiny stick insect has just recently laid 3 eggs.
Thanks,
Leon
The only thing I could think of was that it was due to insecticide. So I thoroughly rinsed out the enclosure with clean water. A few weeks have passed without any hatching (the eggs are left on the floor amongst tan bark, leaves, etc) we used to have them hatching daily.
We also have another type of stick insect, not sure which. They're very thin, green as nymphs, brown once older and grow to 20+ cm's. The strange thing is that 3 of these guys are doing well (in the same enclosure).
Do you have any idea why this could be?
I hate to be unhelpful, but I haven't heard of anything like this! It might be the continued effects of malnutrition, although it sounds like she could be recovering nicely if that's the case. Is she alright now?
It doesn't sound like there is an issue. They are generally very white after shedding, which is where they almost double in size. If she has shed, then she is fine.
Spinys are generally inactive and just hang in one spot all day.
I'm not sure what kind of set up you have her in, but make sure it's not too hot.
Get her some fresh leaves you have washed first and mist her tank lightly every day.
Maybe get her a friend too. Spineys do better when they are not alone.
Sun will prevent them from shedding when they need to, as it dries out the skin before they can start to get it off, and this alone can lead to death. They don't lose limbs to shedding, although they can sometimes come out deformed due to drying out before it's shed.
They will regenerate limbs on their next shed, starting out with tiny limbs that get larger on further sheds.
The soap too may have done it. They absorb what's on their skin.
(Spiny breeder)
I'm sorry for the death of your pet. It doesn't sound like its your fault or your son's.
If anyone has any suggestions for areas that need cleaning up, I would appreciate your input! Comment below or send me a private message if you would like to contribute.
I am amazed at the activity on this page, and I'm proud that people come to me for information on these insects :)
Thank you all.
You have my sympathy, I have also had problems with high mortality in young insects. It is extremely difficult to keep them alive, and to keep a large percentage of them alive seems to require near perfect conditions (humidity, availability of leaves, cleanliness, quality of leaves, etc.)
As a few pointers, I would recommend:
- Offering a mixture of young and mature leaves
- Washing all leaves to remove any pesticide
- Keeping the enclosure well ventilated - I would recommend a flyscreen cage
- Misting LIGHTLY every day with water (too much can contribute to fungal growth)
- Avoiding the use of cleaning chemicals and fly spray near the insects.
Thank you!
Males naturally have a shorter life span than females, so it may just be old age. If they appear to be dying for another reason, it could be a disease - in this case you may wish to quarantine any insects that are behaving strangely.
There is no evidence of 'loneliness' or any emotion we can identify with in the insect order - in fact, in this species, the females can produce eggs without a male present at all! The females also store sperm in their bodies for some time after the mating ritual, so they can continue laying fertilized eggs for several weeks or months (unsure on the time exactly)
Your blog has been a great help! I have two adult females and an adult male, the male seems to be mating with both of the females and I have found eggs at the bottom of the enclosure, they are about a week old. The problem is that I don't partially want any more stick insects, I like just having three. Is there any way I can dispose of the eggs without being cruel?
Thank you so much!!
This is a common dilemma - these things breed like... insects.
If you wish to dispose of your eggs, I recommend putting them in a fire, or cooking them in the oven - this will kill the undeveloped embyro, preventing it from hatching only to die from starvation in the garbage dump.
Bear in mind that fertilized eggs can be valuable, and you may be able to sell/give them to other spiny leaf insect keepers in your area.
my sister was recently given two adult female insects and we put them in the cage with our male. The lady that gave us the females said that sometimes the male doesn't survive long after mating? is this true? Thanks :)
In my experience, the male can mate many, many times - with no risk of early death :)
on another note, your blog has been very helpfull, thanks so much!
The leg will probably heal/grow back during the next few molts, I had a baby with this problem but the leg regrew completely before the insect reached adulthood. Additionally, the insects are usually more than capable of climbing with only five legs.
I have had a pair of prickly leafy stick insects for a few months now and the male died about 3 weeks ago, before the female reached maturity (molted and got her tiny wings) she just seem very lethargic of late and it worries me she still consumes water however she fails on diet. I am afraid she has stopped eating altogether. Could you advise as to why this is prevalent. We are in the midst of winter and I have added a heatpad to see if it helps but to no resolve. Is this a sign of her lifecycle nearing the end?
I will look out for your reply in future.
thanks!
Also bear in mind that she may not be fully mature yet, and this state may be in preparation for the final molting stage.
I wish you luck.
If mold growth occurs, you can introduce some woodlice (potato bugs) which will eat the mold.
Your female insects will most likely lay eggs a few months after reaching maturity. Interestingly, they will do this whether or not a male is present, although if there is no male the delay period between sexual maturity and egg production will be longer.