Indian Walking Sticks

ViolentJ said:

I can't imagine they'd be much good? I've bred Indians and there's nothing to them, they're very thin. If they are any good then I'll start breeding them again!

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Heika said:

Actually, Indian stick eggs take 2-3 months to hatch at room temperature... 70-75 degrees F. Those tall deli cups used for fruit flies with the cloth covered ventilation holes work well for hatching the eggs. A paper towel or a piece of sponge, a bit of dirt, play sand, etc. in the bottom of the cup helps to hold in moisture. Moisten the substrate of your choice, dump in the eggs. If the substrate gets dry, moisten it. 2 to 3 months later, just about the time you think the eggs are never going to hatch, they do. Then, feed them bramble, etc. and mist them every day. They can stay in the tall deli cup for a bit, but will quickly outgrow it.

A tall clear container with a screen top works well for them as they grow to adulthood. Some keepers prefer drainage layers of substrates on the bottom, including charcoal. That way, the inevitable standing water from the daily mistings in the drain layers stays somewhat fresh. Once the habitat is established, it just needs to be kept up. The sticks will lay eggs, the eggs will lay on the substrate and eventually hatch. Using the green brick stuff that florists use for flower arrangements keeps bramble and other vegetation fresh for a bit longer. Plus, it makes it easy to just poke fresh vegetation into the brick. Poo, dead walking sticks, dead leaves, stripped vegetation and general debris needs to be removed fairly regularly. Because of the stick's parthenogenic nature, disposing of this debris in a manner that will prevent the distribution of an egg or a stick into your local agricultural setting is important. Burning it in a fire place or a wood stove is great.. freezing it for a long time (months) works. Double bag it before it goes to the dump.

Although chameleons absolutely love walking sticks, it is still easy to be overrun by them. They are very, very prolific. Be sure to have a good source of food on hand.. bramble, ivy, privet, etc. Also be certain that what you are feeding your sticks won't poison your chameleons. Privet and certain ivys are toxic, so you can use them to grow up your sticks, but will need to flush their guts for a few days with either bramble or romaine lettuce before you feed them to your chameleons. Start talking with the people you know as well. You will need to find homes for some of the walking sticks, especially if you only have a few chameleons. Luckily, demand is high especially among chameleon owners.

Most species of non-indigenous walking sticks are illegal to keep in most of states in the United States. They are illegal to distribute across state lines in all states. The big issue is distribution. Live insects or their eggs can't cross state lines. That makes it really hard to get them in. If you know someone who keeps them in your state, it makes things a lot easier. Places to check are local universities, nature conservancies, etc. They may or may not kick down with a few eggs or insects. My state's USDA department was extremely helpful in clarifying the laws and the position of the government on this insect. I found I had a much better response by calling them than by emailing them. Walking sticks are considered a pest insect because of their voracious appetites and extremely prolific nature. Regardless of what country one lives in, responsible ownership of this insect is important. Never allow any of them to be released into the wild, where they could potentially start a plague.

Heika

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sandrachameleon said:

I've grabbed a quote out of one of the old threads linked to above:



The above seems good and useful information.
Below is another care-sheet on the same subject (lots of similarities):

There are almost 3,000 species of stick insects (order Phasmatodea) in the world. The best known of the stick insects is the Laboratory Walking stick insect (carausius morosus), aka Indian Walking Stick Bug.

They grow to roughly 10 cm (4 inches) and live from 10 to 14 months. These make excellent pets as they can't bite, don’t sting, make no noise, don’t smell bad, are safe for kids of all ages to handle, and require very little care.

The younger bugs may be damaged with clumsy handling so it is better to let them climb onto a piece of paper or stick to examine or transfer them. Adults aren’t particularly delicate - and even if a couple legs get accidentally removed the stick bugs can live on.

Apart from perhaps swaying like a twig might if there were a breeze, they are fairly still during they day - unless disturbed / played with. They are most active (moving around, eating) at dawn and at dusk.

For housing, all you need is a fish tank or really large jar or one of those large plastic "critter carriers" one finds in a pet store. Make it big enough that they can walk about and hang upside down to moult; it should be minimally 12 inches high and wide, with holes or screen for ventilation. Height is more important than width or breadth of the container. Make sure the container has a stick placed high in the container, or some other place where the insects can climb up to and hang down from, in order to shed their skin when they molt. They need to molt several times before becoming an adult.

They prefer a slightly humid environment, so mist (a fine mist, not a heavy spray as little ones can drown) with water every day. Keep them at room temperature or a little warmer (70-80F, 21-26C).

Their preferred food is blackberry bramble leaves. Clip a couple blackberry branches and put the stocks in a small jar of water - Putting thestems in water keeps the leaves fresh longer, thus allowing you to put more in and clean/refresh less often (every other day instead of every day). Other food options are privot, raspberry, rose, oak leaves and green romaine lettuce. Romaine is not their preference, but they'll usually eat it if there's nothing else to choose from, which is helpful if the other options do not grow year round where you live. Privot is not good for chameleons, so be sure not to use this in the week before feeding off.

The one thing you must be extremely careful about is disposal of the droppings. Not because there is any special or nasty about their poop, but because their small eggs will be amongst that poop. Once they reach adult size, stick insects lay viable eggs without the need for a mate; they reproduce parthenogenically. It is critically important that the eggs (or live insects) of this (or any) non-native insect not be accidentally released into the wild. So when cleaning out the droppings (and with them the eggs) care must be taken to dispose of properly, such that the eggs will not hatch. No direct composting. No putting straight into the trash. Depending where you live, even direct flushing could be risky. These are the three best ways to dispose of eggs:

Method #1: Place droppings (with eggs) in a paper bag, and burn.
Method #2: Place droppings (with eggs) into a container, put in a few inches of water, microwave on high for several minutes (boil), and then flush down a toilet.
Method#3: place droppings (with eggs) into a container, add water, put in deep freezer for a minimum of three months or more. Thaw and flush down a toilet.


It should be noted that these insects are Illegal in many areas as there is risk of them infesting the natural environment. A single stick insect quickly turns into thousands, Those thousands can turn into millions in no time at all.

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