Indian stick insects
Read our comprehensive Indian Stick insect Care Sheet here
Indian stick insects (Carausius morosus) make very good beginners pets. They are docile (you'll never be bitten by your indian stick insect), handleable (if a little delicate), easy to keep and maintain and don't take much time to look after. They are cheap and readily available as is all of the equipment you will need to keep them. They are also ideal pets for children.
- They are impressive looking and easy to handle
- They are easy to keep and maintain
- They don't take much time to look after
- Any specialist equipment they require is cheap and readily available
- The food they require is accessible to more or less everybody.
- They reproduce parthenogenically so anybody can witness a truly amazing life cycle in the comfort of their own homes.
- They are communal so you can have large groups providing you have the space
General indian stick insect care
Temperatures:Room temperature will be fine. In the cooler months it may be preferable to move them to a warmer room.
Humidity: Room temperature, keep them well ventilated and spray daily so they can drink
Vivarium size (young): A small tub with plenty of ventilation will house a number of them
Vivarium size (adult): A 1.5ft cube will house about 7-8 adults. I like to use all mesh cages which are available off ebay. Alternatively custom built vivariums work excellently.
Feeding: Indian stick insects are strictly leaf eaters and will eat a variety of food; including bramble, rasberry leaves, privet, hawthorn, oak, rose, and ivy. I find they do fine on just one of these food items (avoid using privet as a staple) and you can introduce others from time to time to add variation. Personally I like to use bramble as a staple. Indian stick insects like to live on their food. You should take a number of branches, place them in a glass of water (seal the top so the stick insects can't fall in and drown) then place them in the set up. So long as the water is kept topped up they should last about a week. When picking bramble and rasberry make sure you avoid new looking greener shoots. They have small ammounts of a poison in (a measure the plant uses to protect new growths, over time the leaves harden/darken and become less paletable so the poison is no longer needed) this over time can weaken and eventually kill the stick insects. All you have to do is look for darker coloured leaves and you will be fine.
Please note, use the above only as a rough guide and a starting/reference point. There is alot more to keeping heterometrus spp. scorpions than that. For a more comprehensive care guide see our care sheets page.
So, you've decided you want an indian stick insect, but what do you need to buy?
Here is a list of what you should buy to keep your indian stick insects happy and healthy.
- An enclosure. This can be a converted aquarium, a plastic faunarium, an all mesh set up or something in between. Ventilation is very important
- A jar to sit the food plants in
- A plant mister
A very handy general reference book.
