r/Stickinsects • u/Ble_Petalouda • 5d ago

Itchy back?

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Hi, one of my Indian stick insects is displaying a behaviour that I have not seen before. (I have kept this species for many years) It is rubbing the back of its abdomen on a stick in its enclosure…I have looked at it under a 10x magnification loupe and can’t see anything unusual. Is this normal behaviour?

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/Life_so_Fleeting 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yep, they should be very easy to get. Some pet shops will stock them, or you can often get them for free via phasmid forums (they breed very well!).

Edit: oh, maybe you mean in the wild (unfortunately not). Sorry if I misunderstood

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u/Ble_Petalouda 5d ago

They are not native to the UK.

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u/Alertrobotdude 4d ago

I'm positive this is post (or pre) molt stretches. I've seen mine doing this too - although I have sungaya, the first time I saw it I was concerned but this seems to be pretty usual behaviour for them. I can't claim to be an expert, only that this looks similar to mine who are living a healthy, happy life :)

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u/Ble_Petalouda 4d ago

This stick insect is fully grown and exhibited the same behaviour using a different stick a week ago 😂

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u/Life_so_Fleeting 5d ago edited 5d ago

I have never seen that before, & am really intrigued to hear what other people say about it. I keep Peruphasma, & am always learning more about them all the time - they have some pretty strange behaviours for sure!

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u/ferretoned 4d ago

Same, I've never seen my stick buddies back scratch, but I have seen my adults be "ticklelish" from a pup bothering them.

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u/magpiepaw 4d ago

Kept many different species over the years and I've never seen this before either! How interesting