Stick insect help!!!

[chillipickle]

Are there any stick insect keepers out there??? I am looking after a couple for my neighbours while they are on holiday. All seemed very straightforward until I opened the lid of the tank and could only find ONE.

I know, I know, they are stick insects and they do disguise themselves as sticks, but I really don't think the other one is in there.

I don't think it could have escaped in our house, as the lid of the tank was closed all day until I opened it to spray inside with water, so it's possible we only had one to start with.

But just in case... can anyone tell me how they behave? If one had got out of the tank, would it hide somewhere dark, or climb up things? The one in the tank seems quite slow moving, so I'm hoping the other one couldn't have scuttled away without me noticing. They don't eat each other, do they?

Any advice will be most welcome!

We had some escape once and found them on the ceiling.

If they escape, they tend to head upwards and hide under something horizontal (like the ceiling, if that's the first thing they encounter).

Don't worry, they don't eat each other. Are you certain it's not still in there? Take out the branches/leaves/twigs they are on and remove the one you can see and put it somewhere safe. Then firmly tap the branch over some newspaper and if it is there it will probably drop off after a few goes.

Good luck!

Thank you both! No sign on the ceiling, but I will have a look under the bed and cot in case it's lurking on the underside.

And then I'll try the newspaper thing...

Our neighbour did mention that one is bigger than the other so I'm just hoping the reason I can't see the other one is because it's much smaller than I'm expecting.

If the worst has happened, how long can they live out of the tank, without food/moisture?

What type are they?

You may be able to get a replacement one if it is not a rare type. stick insect shop

Hmm, not sure of the type but they're brown, black and cream coloured and a bit leafy looking. My neighbour did (jokingly) say that they cost 6 quid each, when I asked how big a responsibility I was taking on, so I don't think they are very rare.

I didn't think to ask where she bought them!

Anyway, I'm sure she would be fine if we only had one to give back, it's her 5yo DD I'm worried about.

And thank goodness, it was just doing its stick insect thing and disguising itself very well indeed.

Thanks for all your help everyone. Actually I'm making a mental note that stick insects could be the answer when our DCs ask for a pet. What could be easier to look after? You literally don't even know they are there.

chilli just a word of warning- stick insects have a prodigious talent other than hiding, and that is reproducing. They are parthenogenetic (i.e. females can reproduce without need of a male) and pop out eggs at a tremendous rate. If you do get some as pets, make sure you have a strategy for coping with literally hundreds of eggs! Perhaps you know someone with a reptile that might eat the young (without telling your dcs!). The eggs are easy to tell from normal droppings as they are smooth and have an obvious "dot" on the top. Otherwise you will end up with escaped baby stick insects everywhere!

Ah, so they are not as simple as they seem! I wonder if my neighbour knows about this?

I think the answer would be to have only males. Assuming it's at all possible to tell them apart.

Unfortunately males are very rare, so any stick insects you have are pretty much guaranteed to be female!