30/01/2025
Care guide
Spiny Leaf Insect, Extatosoma tiaratum
Food: Fresh healthy gum leaves - ensure fresh leaves are always available for
your insect. Don't let the leaves dry out before you change them. The leaves
can be put into a jar of water to keep them fresh for as long as possible. Make
sure the jar has a lid or covering with holes in it to stop the young stick insects
from falling In and drowning. Place a few different types of gum leaves in the
enclosure to give your insects a choice. Spiny leaf insects may also feed on
Rose leaves, some Wattle leaves, Tree Lucerne Cadagi and Guava.
Water: Mist-spray the leaves around your insect once a day - it will drink the
droplets.
Enclosure: The enclosure needs to be large enough to allow your stick insect
o shed its exoskeleton properly. An enclosure should be higher than it is wide
as stick insects like to climb upwards. Minimum size requirements are 35cm
nigh x 30cm wide x 30cm deep. Place the enclosure in a spot where it gets a
oit of daylight each day, but be careful it doesn't over heat in direct sunlight.
Make sure there is plenty of ventilation in your enclosure,
Life span: Around a year.
This species will do best at 22 - 26° C, but will tolerate 10 - 20 C and have a
slower growth rate
Handling: They should be picked up gently, by coaxing them onto your hand.
They always prefer to climb up, so use this to your advantage when picking
them up and putting them back onto the leaves. They do have small hooks
on their feet that they use to hang on with - these may tickle a little
Reproduction: Adult males will mate with adult females all year round
Females may also lay eggs even when she hasn't been mated. Once the
female starts to lay eggs, they can be collected from the bottom of the
enclosure and stored in a small container. From 3 -9 months, the eggs will start hatching. They will hatch faster at 22- 25 degrees. The hatchlings should be fed on soft young leaves, and can be housed in the same enclosure as the adults.
Common issues: Sometimes stick insects will not shed their exoskeleton
properly. This may be because there isn't enough room in the enclosure for
them to do so, or that their environment is too dry and their new exoskeleton
nardens before they can free themselves from the old one. They can also lose
imbs through the moulting process if they aren't hanging correctly whilst
moulting. They can regrow lost limbs at their next moult, but need at least two
moults to regrow a limb to a usable size. If you find your Spiny Leaf insect isn't
eating, try offering another type, or a few different types of gum leaves to try
to find a leaf that it likes to eat.