Indian Stick Insects

[xxBarneyxx]

So my mrs phones me at lunch today and apparently some kind person in our family has bought my 4 year old daughter some Indian stick insect eggs which arrived unexpectedly in the post.

I kept stick insects as a kid and from a quick look it doesn't look too challenging but having raised moths and butterfly with my kids I have to say I don't enjoy cleaning out insect enclosures when they are small and easily hurt/removed without noticing.

I was maybe thinking of picking up/making a small tank, adding a bit of height to it and growing some ivy in there and maybe some other smaller plants/mosses. Ideally with some isopods and other compatible critters to make it a bit of of an enclosed ecosystem?

Anyone done anything like that? Do they eat more then a live plant will be able to grow? Any tips or advice?

My daughter will absolutely love them as going out bug hunting is literally her favorite past time. Just wish we had been given a heads up first.....

 

[Anonymous Fox]

They are stunning insects, but they are nocturnal and your daughter, being four, might find them boring.
They need a tank around 10-15 gallons, or 3 times as long as the bug itself, and need to be kept in 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit.
they like humidity, but not too much humidity, so spray down the bottom of their cage daily.

you should check out the r/stickinsects for more details

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Thanks a lot, will check out that sub.

Lol me and the girl spent almost an hour watching a bee while we gave it some sugar water and it was recovering in the spring so she will probably still be pretty into them even if they aren't doing much.

I'm thinking of making something I can wallmount to keep them in. Ideally I would like to make something with live plants in they can just eat so its a bit more self sustaining and interesting looking but not sure if they will eat stuff faster than it grows. We do have privet hedges in our garden and also ivy so food sources shouldn't be an issue if live plants won't work.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Just replying for anyone that comes across this in the future asking the same question.

After talking to other people I figured it wouldn't work very well.

They eat to much to make keeping live plants viable.

They lay too many eggs and if you can't separate the eggs and and make them "non-viable" then you will be over run.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I used to look after the stick insects from school when I was a kid. It was OK cos we had huge privet hedges around the garden so I used to trim lots of it off, put the cuttings into a jar of water and they would strip the leaves in about a day.

Worked out well cos they got fed and the privet hedges got a decent trim