Here are some better substrate options:. Giant prickly stick insects like having things to climb and hide behind in their enclosure. This encourages natural behaviors, which makes them more fun to watch, and decreases stress, which in turn increases lifespan.
Here are some ideas:. Climbing objects should be arranged at a variety of angles to give your pet options. Hot glue is excellent for adhering climbing objects and artificial foliage to terrarium walls. Make sure to leave an open space at the top of the enclosure twice the height of your pet for molting.
Stick insects are herbivorous , which means that they eat plants. They eat leaves from the following plants:. Oak leaves freeze well for winter, and blackberry leaves usually stay available throughout winter. If you are having difficulty sourcing appropriate leaves for your stick insect to eat, romaine lettuce can be used in a pinch.
Never use leaves from garden centers or florists, as these are likely to be treated with insecticides that will kill your pet! To handle your pet stick insect, place your hand under its front legs and use your other hand to scoop it up from behind. Stick Insects are clean animals, and require minimal maintenance. Collection of shed skins, poo and wiping down of the sides of the enclosure weekly will ensure good hygiene for your Stick Insect. Never use detergents or insecticides when cleaning.
Females live longer than males, however age varies between species. Males are long, straight and slender and have fully developed wings with which they are able fly. Females can lay anywhere from , eggs. The female flicks her eggs from the end of her tail.
These eggs resemble small, round, cream seeds and will generally hatch within a few months. If you happen to have a female lay eggs, mist the eggs every 2—3 days with a fine water sprayer, and keep your eyes out for tiny spiny leaf insects which will uncurl their bodies as they emerge from the egg.
The newly emerged stick insect babies, or nymphs, can uncurl themselves up to four times the size of their egg. Stick insects will feed mainly on eucalyptus gum leaves. Generally they prefer broad leaf varieties but you may have to try out a few different varieties to find one that they like to eat, as preference will differ between species as will the age of the leaf preferred.
Predators who are interested in eating a stick insect, see a scorpion and are not willing to take the risk and attack a poisonous scorpion. The stick insect is harmless but just uses its tail to bluff off predators! This is a subadult male nymph of Extatosoma tiaratum.
Extatosoma tiaratum eat the leaves of blackberry, raspberry, oak, rose, hazel and eucalyptus. In the winter you can still find fresh blackberry leaves outside. Beware of leaves from the store, which are sprayed with insecticide! Eucalyptus is often untreated, but for safety you should always inquire at the store. Notice the difference between this female and the picture of the male nymph posted above: males have a much more smooth skin without many spines.
In the night the temperatures can be allowed to drop a bit more. This species does not have high demands regarding air humidity. They must have some water to drink almost every day, you can supply this by spraying with water onto the leaves they eat.
Ventilation is very important, a too humid environment without much air flow is a common cause of death for these animals. As with all species of stick insects, the Giant Prickly Stick Insect needs an enclosure that is at least 3 times the length of the animal in height, and at least 2x the length of the animal in width. For an adult female this means at least 45 cm high about 18 inch and 30 cm wide approximately one foot.
When the females are very large and heavy, it is difficult for them to climb onto glass. The eggs will need to be removed before you throw out the frass, sand or newspaper. You can then set up the eggs as described above. The glass and other surfaces should be cleaned as well, which can be done with paper towel and water.
If detergent is used it should be rinsed thoroughly with water. The enclosure should be dried out before returning the leaves and phasmids. 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. 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.
Phasmids are most comfortable hanging upside down and so will stay still. Remember; let the stick insect do the handling. This harmless insect was used to terrify movie-goers in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and is one of the most interesting and sought-after phasmids kept around the world. Females are wingless and are very different in shape to the slender male. The eggs have a knob, called a capitulum, which is attractive to ants.
The young phasmids also known as nymphs hatch after one to three years underground and look and behave like Red-headed Black Ants. Spiny Leaf Insects eat eucalyptus leaves but have also been raised on rose and raspberry leaves by keepers overseas where eucalyptus is not always available. In this species the females look like 'leaves' and males look like 'sticks'.
The eggs are elongated, tan capsule-like and young are bright green to whitish-green. This species feeds and blend in well on eucalypt leaves. One of the largest species of stick insect in Australia with females growing over mm. These insects make spectacular display animals due to their impressive size and vivid green and gold markings.
Males have similar colour and patterning but are smaller, have wings and are capable of flight. The eggs of this species are large 3mm , have a grainy bark-like texture and are cylindrical in shape. The young are brown and stick like and remain so until they under go their final mature moulting phase. Goliath Stick insects will feed on Eucalyptus and females are hardy and tolerant of handling however some individuals can become cranky when agitated and will rapidly open their wings to reveal a pinkish-red stripe.
In some cases when a female is threatened she may compress the handlers fingers and palm with the sharp spikes on the hand which can be painful, however this is not usually encountered in Goliath females that are handled properly with care.
These are the true 'sticks' of the stick insect world and will blend in to become invisible on any branch. The females grow to around mm and have long bodies that are uniform brown without any markings or features. The males are shorter, more slender and have slender folded wings which they will readily use to take flight.
A rapid flash of the small wings of the female will be used as a defensive display once she is aware that her camouflage is not working. Margin-winged Stick Insect eggs are around 2mm long, smooth and black in appearance. The young are green for the first few weeks of life.
This species does not have any special care requirements and will eat eucalyptus leaves. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands. Image credit: gadigal yilimung shield made by Uncle Charles Chicka Madden. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more. Skip to main content Skip to acknowledgement of country Skip to footer Stick insects or phasmids eat leaves and resemble leaves or sticks. The biology of Stick Insects.
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