Could this be a good buy?

i havent seen them be able to get through a screen lid,

they are good feeders, but the problem is that they have a high die off rate, and you have to feed them tons of fruit flies till they are big enough for most chams (cept neonates)

NTM- you have to seperate them out into multiple homes as they will eat each other.

after they shed the first time.. i seperated out into groups of ten.. an i had 3 ooths hatch at the same time.. hundreds of babies.
 
Check your local hardware stores and nurseries. Many carry mantid eggs- often for cheaper (you are at almost $9 there). I would also look at reviews on the vendor ;)
 
ooooh. Sandra I believve told me they are good. They eat leaf litter too so easy to feed since I live in the woods :) Only problem is finding any which is why I thought mantids would be better because they are more readily available but i forgot they need prey.
 
I know stick insects are in her blog. I looked around and tried to find some but they are actually an invasive foreign species in the US (at least the indian sticks are). Supposedly there are a few populations living not that far from me.
 
AllFallDown said:
I know stick insects are in her blog. I looked around and tried to find some but they are actually an invasive foreign species in the US (at least the indian sticks are). Supposedly there are a few populations living not that far from me.
Click to expand...

If you could find any, would you be able to send them to me :D I can't find them at a good price anywhere if at all! What would you ask for?
 
justjumpit621 said:
If you could find any, would you be able to send them to me :D I can't find them at a good price anywhere if at all! What would you ask for?
Click to expand...

Oh I don't even have any idea where to look. I cant even remember where I read that or where exactly it said the populations were. Somewhere in CA along the coast as I recall. When I read they were invasive I kind of wrote them off as something I would probably not want to culture. I vaguely remember seeing one as a kid somewhere.
 
Ah, looks like there was an outbreak in Orange County:

"The last has been more problematic than most, with many reports from gardeners of the insects reaching pest proportions, especially in Orange County."

Ah, found this on the UC Davis website:

"The Indian walking stick is native to southern India, but the precise time of its establishment in California is unknown; the first official finding occurred in San Diego County in 1991 and shortly thereafter in San Luis Obispo County. There has been an increase in homeowner reports of walking stick damage in the last 10 years along the Central and Southern coasts of the state."

I will say that this is very very close to home.
 
Yeah, as I read more and more.... it turns out they are actually a major nuisance to gardeners in my county. Evidently they like to attack hubiscus too. I might have to keep an eye out this year as I have some of these plants outside now.
 
I posted on the classifieds if anyone knows where to get them if they would be willing to send some to me. If they are a garden pest maybe if someone there has a garden with a lot of them they sure would want to part with them lol. I wouldn't be releasing any into the wild here, i'm not that dumb :rolleyes:
 
justjumpit621 said:
I posted on the classifieds if anyone knows where to get them if they would be willing to send some to me. If they are a garden pest maybe if someone there has a garden with a lot of them they sure would want to part with them lol. I wouldn't be releasing any into the wild here, i'm not that dumb :rolleyes:
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Hey justjumpit621,
I do not think you are that dumb by any means. Not at all. I do not mean to be a wet blanket here but... I would like to encourage you to remove your classified post. I know we have been talking about indian walking sticks and it has been an interesting conversation, but from what I have been reading, these guys have really been a big pest here in CA. From what I have read, it is illegal to bring them into the US, it is likely illegal to ship them across state lines (I have not looked, I am guessing). Penaties for violating regulations like this can be pretty severe (I have know people who have been hit with some pretty big fines by the USDA for even less than that). Given that there are already many alternatives that do not carry such an ecological risk, unless they are already established in your area, it seems to me it is just not worth it.
If it can be established that sending them to you is not illegal or you can get an appropriate permit to have them and the ecological risk is very very low, that is one thing. I guess my biggest concern is in posting an ad like that, I am concerned about a bunch of people getting some very very bad ideas. From what I read, Indian walking sticks established themselves here in CA because someone bought some on the internet and they got loose. I would hate to hear about that happening somewhere else. Lets face it, you personally might be very careful, but given enough people cultivating these guys- escape is inevitable.

Sorry, really dont mean to be a bummer, but I had to say something.
 
I had them as pets in the UK, where winter temps tend to kill off any escapees. They are sold in kits, like the butterfly kits you see here. When I moved over with my reptiles last year I had to give them away, as we weren't allowed to import them. Some organisations have them with special research and scientific permits, but I can only echo what AFD has said, it's just not worth it.
 
Mummy said:
I had them as pets in the UK, where winter temps tend to kill off any escapees. They are sold in kits, like the butterfly kits you see here. When I moved over with my reptiles last year I had to give them away, as we weren't allowed to import them. Some organisations have them with special research and scientific permits, but I can only echo what AFD has said, it's just not worth it.
Click to expand...

Oh okay didn't know that. That bites.
 
It sucks, they are cool pets, lay piles and piles of eggs (they don't even breed, they are all female and just lay eggs once they reach maturity) and are really easy to look after, but I understand why they are outlawed as pets here.
 
Allfalldown, I believe you may be able to keep them as feeders if you want to, if they are already established in your area. I hill have to see what species are native to this area, probably only mantids though :rolleyes: I could do it but I would need a lot of plastic cups.
 
Last edited:
Indian stick insects are illegal. You can keep any that are native to the US though. There are quite a few species that are legal and one that gets HUGE (M. denticrus) in the southern states. There is a subforum on mantidforum.net for US native stick insects if you want to check that out.

They don't eat leaf litter, they usually eat ivy, bramble, and some other plants depending on which species they are and where they are from.
 
pssh said:
Indian stick insects are illegal. You can keep any that are native to the US though. There are quite a few species that are legal and one that gets HUGE (M. denticrus) in the southern states. There is a subforum on mantidforum.net for US native stick insects if you want to check that out.

They don't eat leaf litter, they usually eat ivy, bramble, and some other plants depending on which species they are and where they are from.
Click to expand...

Oh sweet. Thanks for the info!
 
If you're in California, or any other place they are introduced, you can keep them too. You just shouldn't relocate them or release them in ANY way whatsoever. Any and all substrate should be frozen or burned to prevent any eggs from hatching.
 
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