Spiny Leaf Insect care
I am in no way an expert or anything, just a hobbyist who adores my pets! But the couple of months that I've had my Spiny's I have read A LOT of information on them and love just sitting and watching mine :) although I am continuously learning more about them, from my personal experiences and from other's knowledge & experiences!
So I though I would make a care page sharing some of that information that I have collected over the last few months, as well as from my own experience.
I currently have 8, 4 males, 3 females and two nymphs that I won't know the sex of until their first moult. (Clove, Oscar, Pippa, Queenie, Ragnor, Rookie, Spike & Twiggy, and the nymph is Juno)
My two biggest females are now sub-adult with 1 moult left until adults, and three of my males are all adults now, while the rest are all fairly juvenile. I also have some eggs.
So just an introduction to these great little guys!
Their scientific name is Extatosoma Tiaratum, and they are also known as Macleay's Spectre and Giant Prickly Stick Insect, although they are not actually a true leaf insect, but part of the stick insect family, and are native to some parts of Australia.
I think spiny leaf insects make great pets as they don't require much attention, their food is pretty much free (In Australia their food is everywhere), and they are fascinating to watch! Keep in mind they do not usually live very long, and females can still produce fertile eggs whether or not they have a male.They aren't a pet that needs much attention, and they are delicate, so make sure you handle them with care, otherwise legs can become detached. I find just watching them fascinating, although some of my younger spiny's do actually try to climb onto my hands/arms while I'm cleaning their enclosure, and when I have them out they seem to enjoy trying to climb to my face.... Or they'll sit and wave their font legs at me.
These guys make great first pets, as they are harmless (About all they can do is females will sometimes rub their spikes on their belly on you, although this will just feel like Velcro) they don't require much attention, their food source is pretty readily available, and the only thing you really need to buy is the enclosure!
Females are larger than males, can grow to about 15cm long, have spikes along their back, tail and tummy and cannot fly, whereas males are smaller and have a smooth back and tail, although when they moult into adults they will have fully grown wings, although they can only flutter small distances.
So I though I would make a care page sharing some of that information that I have collected over the last few months, as well as from my own experience.
I currently have 8, 4 males, 3 females and two nymphs that I won't know the sex of until their first moult. (Clove, Oscar, Pippa, Queenie, Ragnor, Rookie, Spike & Twiggy, and the nymph is Juno)
My two biggest females are now sub-adult with 1 moult left until adults, and three of my males are all adults now, while the rest are all fairly juvenile. I also have some eggs.
So just an introduction to these great little guys!
Their scientific name is Extatosoma Tiaratum, and they are also known as Macleay's Spectre and Giant Prickly Stick Insect, although they are not actually a true leaf insect, but part of the stick insect family, and are native to some parts of Australia.
I think spiny leaf insects make great pets as they don't require much attention, their food is pretty much free (In Australia their food is everywhere), and they are fascinating to watch! Keep in mind they do not usually live very long, and females can still produce fertile eggs whether or not they have a male.They aren't a pet that needs much attention, and they are delicate, so make sure you handle them with care, otherwise legs can become detached. I find just watching them fascinating, although some of my younger spiny's do actually try to climb onto my hands/arms while I'm cleaning their enclosure, and when I have them out they seem to enjoy trying to climb to my face.... Or they'll sit and wave their font legs at me.
These guys make great first pets, as they are harmless (About all they can do is females will sometimes rub their spikes on their belly on you, although this will just feel like Velcro) they don't require much attention, their food source is pretty readily available, and the only thing you really need to buy is the enclosure!
Females are larger than males, can grow to about 15cm long, have spikes along their back, tail and tummy and cannot fly, whereas males are smaller and have a smooth back and tail, although when they moult into adults they will have fully grown wings, although they can only flutter small distances.
The top three pictures are all males- as you can tell by their flat tails, the first two images are both juvenile males, and the last picture shows a adult male with his fully grown wings.
The bottom pictures are all juvenille females, and as you can see they have the 'spikes' along their backs.
Diet: Spiny leaf insects generally eat eucalyptus and gum leaves, although they have been known to eat bramble, wattle, oak, blackberry leaves, rose leaves, raspberry leaves, as well as others, although they do seem to mainly like eucalyptus leaves.
I personally feed mine a few different varieties of eucalyptus and wattle - each insect has it's preference of eucalypt and one of them loves wattle.
Make sure that you throughly wash any leaves you collect as to get rid of any sprays, other bugs or any other contamination - I usually soak all my leaves in a big bowl of warm water and remove any already chewed or deformed leaves. Also make sure to remove and thorns or other sharp bits if you feed them rose leaves.
Be aware of where you collect your leaves from, often leaves beside roads can have exhaust fumes on them, or even pesticide spray, so just always be careful and make sure you always wash foliage! I have also read that if you feed bramble, ensure that you do not feed young, fresh bramble as they contain more toxins, compared to the darker mature leaves.
After soaking my leaves I use a clean bottle or jar and cover the top with some layered glad wrap then poke the end of the stems into the glad wrap so that the stem is in the water (this will help keep the leaves fresher for longer), although keep in mind it is a good idea to have both fresh and older foliage (younger insects prefer newer, fresh leaves). I then lightly spray the leaves twice a day to keep them moist - do not directly spray your insects though, and make sure that they cannot fall into any water!
So having a sprayer just for bottled/filtered water is handy - using bottled or filtered water to spray and also to sit the leaves in is better for them.
With my jars I make sure that the leaves do not touch the ground and that they are quite higher up so that if the insects hang from them to moult they do not bump into the ground.s
The bottom pictures are all juvenille females, and as you can see they have the 'spikes' along their backs.
Diet: Spiny leaf insects generally eat eucalyptus and gum leaves, although they have been known to eat bramble, wattle, oak, blackberry leaves, rose leaves, raspberry leaves, as well as others, although they do seem to mainly like eucalyptus leaves.
I personally feed mine a few different varieties of eucalyptus and wattle - each insect has it's preference of eucalypt and one of them loves wattle.
Make sure that you throughly wash any leaves you collect as to get rid of any sprays, other bugs or any other contamination - I usually soak all my leaves in a big bowl of warm water and remove any already chewed or deformed leaves. Also make sure to remove and thorns or other sharp bits if you feed them rose leaves.
Be aware of where you collect your leaves from, often leaves beside roads can have exhaust fumes on them, or even pesticide spray, so just always be careful and make sure you always wash foliage! I have also read that if you feed bramble, ensure that you do not feed young, fresh bramble as they contain more toxins, compared to the darker mature leaves.
After soaking my leaves I use a clean bottle or jar and cover the top with some layered glad wrap then poke the end of the stems into the glad wrap so that the stem is in the water (this will help keep the leaves fresher for longer), although keep in mind it is a good idea to have both fresh and older foliage (younger insects prefer newer, fresh leaves). I then lightly spray the leaves twice a day to keep them moist - do not directly spray your insects though, and make sure that they cannot fall into any water!
So having a sprayer just for bottled/filtered water is handy - using bottled or filtered water to spray and also to sit the leaves in is better for them.
With my jars I make sure that the leaves do not touch the ground and that they are quite higher up so that if the insects hang from them to moult they do not bump into the ground.s
This is an example of how I have the leaves set up in my enclosure, I just put some water in the jar and put some glad wrap over the top and secure it with a rubber band, and just poke some holes in the top and poke the stems into the water. The third image is some blue gum after being soaked in a bowl of warm water.
Housing: You will need an enclosure to keep spiny leaf insects in, which will need to be at least 30cm tall and 25cm wide, height is more important than width as they like to climb high and they need to be able to moult without touching the ground. Ventilation is also very important, although I kept mine in a fish tank that was on its side to that it was taller, and I just attached some mesh to the side, the second ever enclosure I had them in was a glass tank made for hermit crabs/frogs, it had a plastic slide in lid that had holes in the top, not ideal but it did the job until I got a larger completely mesh enclosure.
If you can't get a mesh enclosure, a plastic or glass enclosure is okay, I've even read of some people making their own mesh enclosures!
Just as long as they have some type of ventilation and are cleaned out regularly, and are easily accessible.
I usually put paper towel (Non scented) on the bottom to catch any scats or leafs (or if you have adult females and they lay eggs, they will land on the paper towel and are then easily found).
Extra heating isn't really required as they do well in room temperature (About 15-25 degrees), although I do have a heat lamp that sits above my enclosure as my unit can get quite cold - I just make sure that the insects don't get too close and that I spray the leaves a little bit more regularly if I have it on.
Housing: You will need an enclosure to keep spiny leaf insects in, which will need to be at least 30cm tall and 25cm wide, height is more important than width as they like to climb high and they need to be able to moult without touching the ground. Ventilation is also very important, although I kept mine in a fish tank that was on its side to that it was taller, and I just attached some mesh to the side, the second ever enclosure I had them in was a glass tank made for hermit crabs/frogs, it had a plastic slide in lid that had holes in the top, not ideal but it did the job until I got a larger completely mesh enclosure.
If you can't get a mesh enclosure, a plastic or glass enclosure is okay, I've even read of some people making their own mesh enclosures!
Just as long as they have some type of ventilation and are cleaned out regularly, and are easily accessible.
I usually put paper towel (Non scented) on the bottom to catch any scats or leafs (or if you have adult females and they lay eggs, they will land on the paper towel and are then easily found).
Extra heating isn't really required as they do well in room temperature (About 15-25 degrees), although I do have a heat lamp that sits above my enclosure as my unit can get quite cold - I just make sure that the insects don't get too close and that I spray the leaves a little bit more regularly if I have it on.
The first picture is the glass enclosure I had when I first got my insects, it was okay for them but I only had two in it, the second and third pictures are my current set up, I have 6 insects all up (4 juvenile and 2 adults), and it is awesome, it has great ventilation as it's all mesh, it has two doors, a big one and a smaller one at the bottom. I do put a cover over the back and sides just to keep it slightly warmer - especially when I have the heat lamp on for them on cold nights. This enclosure is 41x41x51cm and a great size for them, although I would not keep more than 4-6 adults in here.
Molting: As previously mentioned, spiny leaf insects moult to grow, usually doubling in size at each moult, males moult about 5 times and females about 6 times. They need humidity to moult properly, so spraying the leaves is not only good for them to drink but to keep the humidity up.
If they do not moult properly they can die or lose limbs, although they can regenerate limbs from molting they can only do this before they moult into adults, and it makes it more difficult for them to climb and hang around.
When they are about to moult they generally stop eating and will hang upside down, so ensuring that their enclosure is tall and that the leaves are in a tall jar/glass is ideal. When my first male started molting he was too low to the ground so I had to gently lift the leaf he was hanging off and peg it up higher - Although he still managed to get two dents in on of his antenna, and also a dent in the end of his wing.
After they have molted they are incredibly delicate so make sure not to bump/touch or pick them up for at least a day, they will also sometimes eat their moult, so sometimes you might not even realise they have molted besides the fact that they are bigger.
This is a picture of one of my females molted skin.
Breeding: Even if you have a female and no males, they will still produce eggs, and those eggs will still hatch, it is called parthenogenesis - where females can still make eggs without fertilisation from a male, it just means that any eggs laid without a male will be genetically identical, so all eggs will be females, and they generally take longer than male fertilised eggs would take to hatch.
Eggs can take anywhere between 6 months to 2 years to hatch, this usually has to do with the temperature and condition they are kept in.
Neither of my females are adults yet and I have never had eggs, although I am planning on breeding my Spiny leaf insects when my females and younger males are adults, so I already have a set up and plan for when that happens.
Females can lay between a few eggs, to a few hundred in their adulthood (Even up to 1000....)
The eggs look like small seeds, and are dropped to the ground, and will be easily recognised compared to the scats which are small thin and brown.
You will need to collect any eggs that you find in the enclosure and put them in a separate, smaller enclosure (you can use just a clean take away tub, or any other plastic container, as long as it has small ventilation holes, - do note that they are good escape artists when nymphs. Before placing the eggs in the smaller container make sure there is something like paper towel in the bottom as lining, and keeping it moist is ideal (Just don't let it get mouldy as it can be fatal for the youngsters!), I've also read of some people putting the eggs on substrate like coco peat and keeping that moist, but just be wary and make sure it had no chemicals or anything!
Checking on the eggs every day and making sure that there is no mould growth, and keeping the paper towel moist, having them in a warm room should also help the eggs while they're developing.
Adding a label to the containers which eggs are stored in until hatching is ideal, that way you can know what month and year eggs were laid and roughly when they might hatch. When they first hatch they will be very ant looking, and fast! They will most likely climb up and be looking for food, so providing them with fresh, new foliage. Breaking a leaf is helpful as it might encourage them to start eating, I have heard of a few people who have had nymphs die because they just won't eat. Also making sure the foliage has a very light spray of water on them so they have access to water too.
After a while they will go through their first moult and will then look like spiny leaf insects, and you'll be able to tell if they're female or male.
Below is a picture of my eggs, I currently have them in a container with some holes drilled into opposite sides with some mesh over the top for ventilation and for better grip for when they hatch, there is also a hole cut out of the lid with more mesh over it. They are just sitting on some paper towel which I spray every second day or so.
Molting: As previously mentioned, spiny leaf insects moult to grow, usually doubling in size at each moult, males moult about 5 times and females about 6 times. They need humidity to moult properly, so spraying the leaves is not only good for them to drink but to keep the humidity up.
If they do not moult properly they can die or lose limbs, although they can regenerate limbs from molting they can only do this before they moult into adults, and it makes it more difficult for them to climb and hang around.
When they are about to moult they generally stop eating and will hang upside down, so ensuring that their enclosure is tall and that the leaves are in a tall jar/glass is ideal. When my first male started molting he was too low to the ground so I had to gently lift the leaf he was hanging off and peg it up higher - Although he still managed to get two dents in on of his antenna, and also a dent in the end of his wing.
After they have molted they are incredibly delicate so make sure not to bump/touch or pick them up for at least a day, they will also sometimes eat their moult, so sometimes you might not even realise they have molted besides the fact that they are bigger.
This is a picture of one of my females molted skin.
Breeding: Even if you have a female and no males, they will still produce eggs, and those eggs will still hatch, it is called parthenogenesis - where females can still make eggs without fertilisation from a male, it just means that any eggs laid without a male will be genetically identical, so all eggs will be females, and they generally take longer than male fertilised eggs would take to hatch.
Eggs can take anywhere between 6 months to 2 years to hatch, this usually has to do with the temperature and condition they are kept in.
Neither of my females are adults yet and I have never had eggs, although I am planning on breeding my Spiny leaf insects when my females and younger males are adults, so I already have a set up and plan for when that happens.
Females can lay between a few eggs, to a few hundred in their adulthood (Even up to 1000....)
The eggs look like small seeds, and are dropped to the ground, and will be easily recognised compared to the scats which are small thin and brown.
You will need to collect any eggs that you find in the enclosure and put them in a separate, smaller enclosure (you can use just a clean take away tub, or any other plastic container, as long as it has small ventilation holes, - do note that they are good escape artists when nymphs. Before placing the eggs in the smaller container make sure there is something like paper towel in the bottom as lining, and keeping it moist is ideal (Just don't let it get mouldy as it can be fatal for the youngsters!), I've also read of some people putting the eggs on substrate like coco peat and keeping that moist, but just be wary and make sure it had no chemicals or anything!
Checking on the eggs every day and making sure that there is no mould growth, and keeping the paper towel moist, having them in a warm room should also help the eggs while they're developing.
Adding a label to the containers which eggs are stored in until hatching is ideal, that way you can know what month and year eggs were laid and roughly when they might hatch. When they first hatch they will be very ant looking, and fast! They will most likely climb up and be looking for food, so providing them with fresh, new foliage. Breaking a leaf is helpful as it might encourage them to start eating, I have heard of a few people who have had nymphs die because they just won't eat. Also making sure the foliage has a very light spray of water on them so they have access to water too.
After a while they will go through their first moult and will then look like spiny leaf insects, and you'll be able to tell if they're female or male.
Below is a picture of my eggs, I currently have them in a container with some holes drilled into opposite sides with some mesh over the top for ventilation and for better grip for when they hatch, there is also a hole cut out of the lid with more mesh over it. They are just sitting on some paper towel which I spray every second day or so.
Health: Fly sprays, pesticide sprays and other insecticides are lethal to spiny leaf insects, so NEVER spray these anywhere near them, and be wary where you collect foliage, and ALWAYS wash it!
They have also been known to get fungal diseases if their enclosures are kept too moist, so never over spray, and always clean out at least once a week to dispose of paper towel or other lining, as well as any old, dried foliage.
Always have clean hands when handling spiny leaf insects.
Always provide them with fresher foliage, and make sure you do not over or under spray the leaves with water. Too hot or too cold temperatures can have an effect on them as well, such as if it's too cold their bodies will actually slow down, which essentially might mean they might end up living a little bit longer, although too cold and they can become lethargic and could possibly become ill and may not feed from lack of energy.
Last, but not least: If you decide to keep spiny leaf insects as pets, NEVER EVER release them into the wild! They may not be native to your area, as well as they also probably won't survive. Also if you do have a female who lays eggs whether they are fertilised by a male or not, if you do not want to keep them all or any, please do not just throw them out! Firstly please get into contact with who/where you got them from, or even other breeders or others who own them in your area, or even with breeders/suppliers/hobbyists online and at least try to re home them first!
If worst come to worst, at least either burn or freeze them before disposing of, although this is not an ideal situation. Anyone wanting to own spiny leaf insects should know that females probably will lay eggs, this is a responsibility that comes with owning them!
I really hope this helps anyone currently wanting to get spiny leaf insects, or anyone who owns them :) Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all! Or even if you think I should ad any more information to this page!
They have also been known to get fungal diseases if their enclosures are kept too moist, so never over spray, and always clean out at least once a week to dispose of paper towel or other lining, as well as any old, dried foliage.
Always have clean hands when handling spiny leaf insects.
Always provide them with fresher foliage, and make sure you do not over or under spray the leaves with water. Too hot or too cold temperatures can have an effect on them as well, such as if it's too cold their bodies will actually slow down, which essentially might mean they might end up living a little bit longer, although too cold and they can become lethargic and could possibly become ill and may not feed from lack of energy.
Last, but not least: If you decide to keep spiny leaf insects as pets, NEVER EVER release them into the wild! They may not be native to your area, as well as they also probably won't survive. Also if you do have a female who lays eggs whether they are fertilised by a male or not, if you do not want to keep them all or any, please do not just throw them out! Firstly please get into contact with who/where you got them from, or even other breeders or others who own them in your area, or even with breeders/suppliers/hobbyists online and at least try to re home them first!
If worst come to worst, at least either burn or freeze them before disposing of, although this is not an ideal situation. Anyone wanting to own spiny leaf insects should know that females probably will lay eggs, this is a responsibility that comes with owning them!
I really hope this helps anyone currently wanting to get spiny leaf insects, or anyone who owns them :) Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all! Or even if you think I should ad any more information to this page!
References:
All photos used are my own :)
These pages also have some great information on Spiny leaf insects!
http://www.whisperofwolf.com/stickinsects.html
http://mayg.hubpages.com/hub/Keeping-Spiny-Leaf-Insects-at-PetsAre-they-the-New-Goldfish
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-keep-a-pet-spiny-leaf-insect/
http://www.minibeastwildlife.com.au/Care%20guides/Minibeast%20Wildlife%20Care%20Guide%20-%20Extatosoma%20tiaratum.pdf
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Care-of-Stick-Insects/
Also if you are on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/480812141975117/?fref=nf
If you are in Australia there are some online sites where you can purchase Spiny leaf insects, also check Gumtree for your area, or local pet shops if you are wanting spiny leaf insects as pets!
http://www.insectpets.com.au/buy-stick-insects.html
The above site is where I purchased my two juvenile females, great communication and they came interstate overnight! (Note I live in Tasmania, they came from the mainland Australia)
http://shop.minibeastwildlife.com.auhttp://www.insectfarm.com.au/pets.php
http://www.insectfarm.com.au/pets.php
All photos used are my own :)
These pages also have some great information on Spiny leaf insects!
http://www.whisperofwolf.com/stickinsects.html
http://mayg.hubpages.com/hub/Keeping-Spiny-Leaf-Insects-at-PetsAre-they-the-New-Goldfish
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-keep-a-pet-spiny-leaf-insect/
http://www.minibeastwildlife.com.au/Care%20guides/Minibeast%20Wildlife%20Care%20Guide%20-%20Extatosoma%20tiaratum.pdf
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Care-of-Stick-Insects/
Also if you are on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/480812141975117/?fref=nf
If you are in Australia there are some online sites where you can purchase Spiny leaf insects, also check Gumtree for your area, or local pet shops if you are wanting spiny leaf insects as pets!
http://www.insectpets.com.au/buy-stick-insects.html
The above site is where I purchased my two juvenile females, great communication and they came interstate overnight! (Note I live in Tasmania, they came from the mainland Australia)
http://shop.minibeastwildlife.com.auhttp://www.insectfarm.com.au/pets.php
http://www.insectfarm.com.au/pets.php
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