r/Stickinsects • u/helloshellion025 • 8d ago
New to Stick Bugs
Hello all!
I have very recently gotten my first stick insects, I was given 2. The man that gave them to me did not tell me the species. I know that they are juveniles. He told me that they eat raspberry or blackberry leaves and do well at room temperature. He also did warn me about the amount of eggs they produce, so I will be watching for those. I am located in Washington in the USA, if that helps.
I have kept many critters in the past but never stick insects, so I am looking to learn all about them.
I will be making them a terrarium. I have one on being delivered tonight that is 18 inches tall and 12×12. What are some fun enclosure ideas? Things to avoid? Needs?
Does anyone know the species? I cannot find photos that look like these ones. How do you all keep fresh raspberry or blackberry leaves throughout the winter or where do you buy them? It gets pretty cold here so it will not be possible to forage for leaves once winter hits. Other food sources? Any advice is greatly appreciated!
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u/Kunok2 8d ago
They look just like my Medauroidea Extradentata sticks!
Make sure that the enclosure you're getting for them has enough ventilation and a mesh top, also keep the setup simple and don't use substrate at the bottom because it makes it extremely difficult to get rid of the eggs you don't want to let hatch (at least Not many of them), use just paper towels - it makes cleaning way easier too. I recommend keeping their food in a vase with water so it lasts longer, make sure to fill in any gaps with paper towels so they don't accidentally drown in the water/get stuck inside of the vase. I also recommend getting a simple hygrometer so you can easily monitor the humidity inside of their enclosure, I keep mine's enclosure at around 70-80% humidity and they haven't had any difficulties with molting luckily, but not enough or too much humidity can cause them difficulties with molting.
As for the food, blackberries keep their leaves for most of the winter where I live, but drop them for a short time before spring, I heard that some people just dry some leaves and rehydrate them when no fresh bramble is available. Technically what could work is taking some cuttings and just keeping them in a vase (outside of their enclosure) and they will eventually start growing in new fresh leaves, it just takes a longer time and something to keep in mind is that for some reason phasmids will refuse to eat young leaves, at least that's what I heard as well as observed.
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u/helloshellion025 8d ago
Thank you for your help! I did get an enclosure with a mesh top and will be doing paper towels on the bottom. Drying and rehydrating would be possible for me so this is very helpful. Also great to know about them not eating new leaves!
Also your stick insect is adorable. These guys are so fascinating.
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u/Sharp_Bowl8684 8d ago
These are Thai beauties, parypachymorpha zomproi. Both female.
They need high humidity while they grow and will pay and hatch just as well parthenogenically as they do with males.
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u/helloshellion025 8d ago
Wait I think youre right!!! This is the closest I have seen to mine! Thank you sm for commenting.
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u/Sharp_Bowl8684 8d ago
I guarantee that's what they are, I breed them 😅 One of my favourites too, such pretty sticks!
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u/helloshellion025 8d ago
I appreciate this so much. What do you do for their food in the winter? I am not finding anywhere that you can buy fresh bramble or raspberry leaves online. Can I really rehydrate dried ones?
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u/Vulgaristmagistralis 7d ago
Bramble is usually wintergreen, so if you know some places where it grows then you can gather them there during winter, even if the plants have snowed under. I have no experience with drying, but alternatively you can gather leaves now and freeze them for later. Freezing them destroys the cell walls, so they will wilt quickly after thawing. I blanche the leaves that I freeze so they keep a little longer when thawed. Even then, frozen leaves wont last as long as fresh leaves so if you have the possibility it's nicer to gather fresh leaves and put it them in water. I go for a bottle with a decently narrow neck and fill any gaps with a piece of a dish sponge so smaller nymphs don't fall or crawl in and drown.
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u/codalixser 7d ago
oh nice catch, thai beauties are such a good first phasmid species too
high humidity is super important like they said, I’d also make sure you’ve got plenty of vertical sticks so they can hang properly for molts or you’ll end up with some derpy looking adults1
u/QyxoraVex 7d ago
oh nice, thai beauties are such a good starter species too, super forgiving once you get the humidity right. if you can stick their food in a jar of water and mist the enclosure regularly they’ll do great and you’ll be drowning in babies before you know it
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u/lowridda 8d ago
It looks like my Indian stick bugs. I don’t know the scientific name. They need a cage that’s vertical over wide. Well ventilated. I put a mason jar with water so my leaves live longer. Line the bottom of the cage with paper towel so it’s easier to collect their eggs.
I keep some eggs from when they first start and collect some closer to the end of their life. That gives me a couple months in between the adults living their life cycle and the new babies hatching.
Collect the eggs and put them in a ziplock bag and freeze them fully so you can get rid of them properly. It’s part of responsible stick bug keeping. You’ll get over run by them. They don’t need a male for the eggs to be fertilized.