whoever has extatosoma tiaratum

[bugboy]

bought my first female at a show not too long ago and as all you keepers would know shes gonna be layin eggs soon and i was wondering just out of curiousity if colors depend on the type of environment they are raised in; just curious cause shes like a reddish brown but ive seen greens and yellows as well and just wondering wut the deal was. thanks and all comments appreciated.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

How much did you pay for her?
How old/large was she when you purchased her?
I am surprised someone was selling them. They are not legal in the states and shows are usually at least visited if not patrolled by regulatory agents.

By the way ... her color sounds fine.

-Brad

 

[bugboy]

shes a full sized adult and i was able to get her for 25 bucks. this guy has been at every show ive ever been to and there are plenty of police there too so im pretty sure everything is in check. i posted in another forum that im pretty sure the stick insects are illegal to transport between state lines without a permit but are ok within each state...........but im no expert so someone correct me if im wrong.

by the way, i know that her coloring is fine.

i was wondering if the coloring in offspring is due to genes or the type of surroundings they are brought up in; ie. plenty of foliage would produce green, lots of sticks and debris would produce brownish, all those in-between, etc.

thanks again

 

[bugboy]

no one has these or bred them?

 

[kenya]

Try giving her fresh eucalyptus leaves if you can find them (check parks and maybe post on your local craigslist in the farm and garden section)

These will make her grow larger and help her develop better coloring. A lot of it does come down to genetics, though. Access to a UVB light might help as well.

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Guava leaves work also, most people use bramble (we all use blackberry leaves here in Canada, raspberry I think works as well).

I'm sure you can find either of those quite easily in the States, Guava you can order online and propagate yourself.

They do change color based on surroundings, and at different stages of life (instars).

They're cool, good you got an adult. I got a small one once and it died at the first molt so humidity is really important but so is airflow (kinda like chams)

Latin names for searching the Guava are Psidium guajava and Psidium cattleianum. I just did a bit of research and sounds like if you buy seeds they grow quite quickly, and the Strawberry Guava (Psidium cattleianum) is an evergreen.

 

[Lizardlover]

You can buy a pack of 50 seeds (although you end up with about 200) from doubleds.com and you propagate them yourself, they take about a week or two to germinate, the kind I bought is pear guava and it grows here in FL (couldnt find any myself tho ) it too is an evergreen.

 

[bugboy]

sweet deal thanks for the info