Keeping Stick Insects
The techniques to keeping stick insects will vary depending on the species selected. For example, the size of your insect will determine the size of housing required. Without sufficient space stick insects have difficulty molting. Since a successful molt requires enough space for the insect to hang upside down and shed the existing skin, the rule of thumb is that the height of the housing must be at least twice the height of a fully-grown adult.
A lot of first time insect keepers leap to the conclusion that an aquarium is the best option, but in fact an aquarium will require some adapting. Stick insects require adequate ventilation, and a typical fish aquarium hood does not provide this. Without this ventilation molds that harm the insect are more likely to develop, thus a special ventilated hood that has been designed for insect keeping should be placed on the top of the aquarium. You will soon see that the vertical walls of a terrarium present no challenge for the stick insect, as it gets around through a combination of sucker pads and claws. They can even walk upside down, so when keeping stick insects a secure living environment is critical!
Glass or acrylic aquariums are equally suitable, and a further option is a small animal carrier designed for transporting hamsters and the like. These usually have adequate ventilation, and can make a permanent home for the smaller species of stick insect, such as the Indian Stick Insect. If the acrylic small animal carrier is the cheap and easy option, then it is the handmade insect house that can be the hardest. A combination of plywood, hardwood, netting and glass are used to make a home, which can be scaled to house as many stick insects as you have. But be warned they are usually a lot harder to clean and maintain than a factory-produced product!
When you are breeding stick insects you don’t want to invest in a massive amounts of unnecessary housing, and jam jars can be a suitable home for the early days of egg to nymph. For those that are more serious about breeding you can invest in purpose-built breeding housing.
The temperature at which you keep the terrarium/housing will depend on the species in question. Where additional artificial heating is required the best equipment to use is a heating pad that slides below the housing and can be regulated to the temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit that is suitable for most stick insects. These heating pads are also very good for breeding as the hatching process can be sped up. Some owners opt for heating with a regular tungsten bulb, but this can be problematic as it dries the atmosphere causing dehydration amongst your pets, and without a good screen the insects may climb onto the bulb and burn themselves.
When it comes to the flooring of the housing, or substrate to use the technical term, newspaper is a perfectly reasonable option. It doesn’t look very pretty, but it can be replaced easily for quick cleaning, and stick insects don’t really spend that much time on the floor anyway. There are exceptions though, such as the Giant Spiny, so you should ensure that the flooring meets the need of the species being housed. For keepers wanting a more aesthetically pleasing substrate, bark, peat and moss can all be used.
Stick insects are pretty delicate animals and you should avoid overcrowding otherwise them may break one another’s legs. Putting larger species with smaller ones holds the same risk of damage to their bodies. Theese are just some of the things to consider when keeping stick insects – do check out the other articles on this site for more information on our phasmidic friends!
