Mantid Keeping

[Ferrah88]

Indian Walking Stick Keeping

To provide as much variety as possible, I have "ordered" a male and female walking stick pair. I will pick them up when I get Marimo's new and improved terrarium set up sometime in late spring.

I have a bunch of questions in regards to the keeping on various indian walking sticks, assuming they are all kept in similar conditions.

1. What kind of housing? Should they be kept apart? (I know the female will kill the male, but I would like to breed them if possible)
2. Are all indian walking sticks ok for feeding?
3. What should I feed the indian walking sticks? (I read blackberry and oak leaves, but what can I provide in winter?)
4. Are they possible to breed in captivity? If so, how would I go about doing so? (15€ a walking stick is pricey, so I would like to avoid having to buy one every time I want to feed Yuki one. The adults are also too large for Marimo, and wanted to provide young ones for him...)

I'm sure more questions will arise and I will post them here when they come. These are just the generic ones I can think of right now while at work. If there was anything I missed, feel free to provide the information any ways. I'm always happy to get as much information as possible! (Especially when it comes from people who have experience... I could search for information online, but that doesn't mean that those methods will work).

Thanks in advance!

 

[SSimsswiSS]

I raise many mantis species in captivity. Some are better than others for the purpose of feeders. What species are you receiving? age? etc.. Once you have those answers, we can help answer your questions better.

 

[Ferrah88]

I raise many mantis species in captivity. Some are better than others for the purpose of feeders. What species are you receiving? age? etc.. Once you have those answers, we can help answer your questions better.

Turns out I mixed up "Indian Walking Sticks" with mantids They had both in the same "section" and each in small plastic boxes and so I was confused. (Sometimes hearing something in a 3rd language and trying to relay it in your first language is tricky!)

I'm going to update the first post in regards to the stick bugs that I will eventually be getting (Although I did find a nice post on the forums on my phone earlier, but I forgot to mark it down!! )

However, since I am still interested in keeping all sorts of feeders available for my chameleons, what kind of mantids would be ideal? I think the ones I saw MIGHT have been praying mantises, but I'm not sure. This is not the main question anymore, but more out of interest for some time in the future

 

[SSimsswiSS]

I would just buy one walking stick. Let that one lay her two hundred eggs, and sometime next year, you should have a good supply of walking sticks.

 

[Ferrah88]

I would just buy one walking stick. Let that one lay her two hundred eggs, and sometime next year, you should have a good supply of walking sticks.

I was told there's a difference between male and female ones.. does that mean the males can ALSO lay eggs? I know they can lay fertile eggs without mating, but.. I am just confused! (Could also be that the pet store has no idea what they're talking about)

My husband wants two anyways I think... he finds them adorable and we will keep them as pets... pets that we can feed the chameleons

 

[SSimsswiSS]

"Indian Walking Sticks" are all females, in lab cultures. And I think the same applies for wild stock as well. Only very rarely does it occur in the wild. There are many other stick species, where both males and females are present.

 

[Ferrah88]

"Indian Walking Sticks" are all females, in lab cultures. And I think the same applies for wild stock as well. Only very rarely does it occur in the wild. There are many other stick species, where both males and females are present.

That might be the reason why the guy at the store was saying "Oh, this one is female. This one is female. This one too...." Thanks for the info I've pulled up that post now in regards to the walking sticks and you've eased my thoughts on getting some My husband will be pleased that we only need one I think, since they're not the cheapest feeders around....

Is there a post anywhere on the nutritional value of the walking sticks? Can they be used frequently, or should they be a treat like mealworms?