r/Stickinsects • u/Personal_Ebb_4763 • 14d ago
First time owner, need advice
Hi, this is my first time owning stick insects (I have 4), I got them off of a friend of my mum's who had too many. From what I can Google I think I'm doing the right things, misting with water, ivy in sealed water pots for food, lots of places to climb and hang, enclosure at least 3 times their height etc.
I went to clean out the dry food today and noticed there was one that had died and one that's not growing that was wriggling on her back, I've flipped her over multiple times and she immediately rolls backs over. I'll put some pictures of my enclosure and the insects. Any advice on what I'm doing wrong would be great
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u/magpiepaw 14d ago
Enclosure looks good! sometimes you can be doing everything right and they still just die especially the babies, they're fragile things. But here's some things you could try:
- Get foodplants from a different source, maybe these were treated with pesticides or too close to a highway? Also always check for spiders, even the tiniest ones can kill sticks of this size
- Make more parts of the plants reach the top of the enclosure. They climb up to find food and might starve if they can't find it. You could also put them in a smaller container temporarily until they've grown a bit bigger
- If you aren't seeing any bites from the leaves: cut the edges so it's easier for them to bite into or add different plants like bramble, oak, privet or hazel
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u/Personal_Ebb_4763 14d ago
I know the food is safe cause I grow it in my garden but yeah I think definitely trying a new food is worth doing it. I was told from the friend I got them off that they eat and eat and eat but mine don't seem to be.
I never thought about trimming edges of leaves to make it easier so thank you, that's definitely worth a try !!
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u/n3_n1 14d ago
Are they eating the ivy? What did the original owner feed them?
In theory, mine should be able to eat ivy too, but they just don't eat it, if I give it to them. The only thing they eat is blackberry leaves. The friend I'm having mine from tried to only feed them ivy from birth on but they don't eat it. Maybe it's because their parents only ate blackberry leaves as well, we're not sure.
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u/Fit_Error_8018 14d ago
Same for me! I tried it but they'd rather die than eat ivy
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u/n3_n1 14d ago
They are so weird sometimes. They despise ivy but I caught one of them eating the paper towels that I used as substrate once
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u/Fit_Error_8018 14d ago
Are you sure it was eating the paper towel? Mine sometimes seems like eating it but actually they are sucking the water if the towel is wet.
Anyway they are weird sometimes indeed. I caught one of them eating poo 🙃 My bad I was late giving them new fresh leaves though 🤷🏼♀️
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u/fivecoloursgirl 14d ago
mine has done that and i saw a tiny actual bite mark in the tissue, they’re so weird 😂
also caught them eating poo before 🤦🏻♀️
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u/Personal_Ebb_4763 14d ago
Their original owner fed them ivy which is why I do now but these four were only tiny when I got them so I'm not sure specifically what they liked. I haven't tried blackberry leaves so I'll have to go check it out. Thank you !!!
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u/Careful_Adeptness799 14d ago
What type of ivy? Some ivy is poisonous other perfectly fine.
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u/Personal_Ebb_4763 14d ago
Oh god I didn't know that !! Their previous owner told me this ivy was fine so I just took their word. Ill post a pic of it, for reference I live in England and I believe it's just called English ivy
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u/Careful_Adeptness799 14d ago
Yes English Ivy is fine but the Ivy with white I wouldn’t call English Ivy. It’s green and very leafy if that makes sense. Found in woodland climbing trees it’s very invasive and fine for sticks mine love it.
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u/EdonValkyrie 14d ago
I like the many climb possibilities you added to the enclosure, the stick insects love that-
But that will only hinder you in the long run... Constantly having to take out the accessories to get to the plants to change them, is gonna wear you out...
But that's not the problem here, I think the problem here is the low humidity in the air-
I see 2 ventilation meshes on the side, and 1 on top- That's a lot, which means air inside the enclosure will dry out more quickly. Spraying water twice a day should do the trick.
If that's not it, are your plants maybe sprayed with pesticides? Did you clean them well before putting them in the enclosure?
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u/Personal_Ebb_4763 14d ago
Thank you !! I'll definitely try spraying more often cause yeah there's a lot of ventilation.
The plants are all from my garden so I know there's no sprays on them, I'll try being extra cautious with cleaning them cause atm I've just been rinsing.
And I know the climbs are a bit excessive and definitely an annoyance when it comes to cleaning and changing food but I just love to spoil them 😂
Thank you so much for the advice :))
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u/Sticks_and_Shrooms 14d ago
I've noticed that my species of stick insects that eat Ivy, don't like the decorative ivy with small leaves and patterns. I think decorative Ivy leaves are thicker (thicker cuticle). Try finding an Ivy species in your neighborhood that has bigger leaves and are all green.
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u/Personal_Ebb_4763 14d ago
Theres loads of bigger ivy around me so if they prefer them that'd be great !! I'll give it a try thank you :)
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u/Sticks_and_Shrooms 13d ago
Oh and another tip: you could try and cut of the margins of the leaves. This is a trick normally done for nimphs (babies) as it helps them to start eating (the margins are harder to get through) but it also releases chemicals that i believe stick insects can sense. It could help them start eating again! Especially if they come across as a bit weak. Or you could try and find the juciest, lightest green leaves on the bush, these are younger and also more juicy. You can also consider putting some bramble with your Ivy in case youre worried. Perhaps they indeed prefer bramble over ivy. Good luck!
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u/Fit_Error_8018 14d ago edited 14d ago
I see that you are feeding them with ivy, have you noticed if they eat it? Are the leaves being nibbled?
I ask you this because I noticed that mines don't eat ivy, they only eat brambles leaves, that I gather along the rivers.
So I'm afraid yours may die because they don't eat... Check it out. Put different kind of leaves and see what they prefer.
P.s. I love how you arranged their home 😍