# Leaf Insect Questions......



## Jay84 (Apr 24, 2009)

Hey there guys/ girls,

I have 3 Leaf Insects and have had them a few months now. Last week one of them shed and its front leg snapped off halfway out of its old skin! The poor thing has found it a struggle eating as they use their two front legs to guide the leaves to their mouths. She fell off the sticks a few times but seems to be coping a little more. She is eating as i type so fingers crossed.

QUESTION 1: i have read that they can re-grow lost limbs up until a certain age...... does anyone know what age this is?

QUESTION 2: Does anyone know why her leg snapped off halfway thru shedding?

Also, they have all been mating like mad! The females have both been mated and shed once since then too. The male continues to mate with them.

QUESTION 3: How long after them mating should i expect eggs? What to look out for?

QUESTION 4: What to do with eggs once they are laid? collect them in a tupperware container. keep them moist and be prepared to wait a long long long time??

Thanks in advance. Jay


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## Bearded_Lady (Apr 24, 2009)

Pretty sure that they can regrow limbs up until their final instar, ie before they reach their adult phase. You will notice (if it is a baby), that it will regrow the limb little by little with each shed. The leg could have snapped during shedding due to the "skin" being too tight around the appendage, and as a result it was lost with the shed. She should be fine, they adapt very well to lost limbs. One of the reasons this could happen is due to lack of moisture. I tend to mist my insects everyday. 

Not sure exactly how long after mating you should expect eggs, but they come very very quickly! A lot of the eggs I have left in the enclosure, as i find that the leaf litter at the bottom is a suitable substrate. I have also taken a few out in tupperware containers and papertowel. Some people suggest also spray the lid of the tupperware container every now and again.


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## xycom (Apr 24, 2009)

I can't remember how long it takes before they start laying eggs, They (females) only live for a couple of years, males only live for about 9 months (i think). You should start finding eggs soon if they are mating. When you finally get a few eggs, don't over spray them with water or they will go mouldy. Don't stress if they do get a bit mouldy. I used to clean out their enclosure and put everything from the bottom of the enclosure in a big plastic tub and in a year or two you should start getting lots of little phasmids running around.

http://www.snakerescue.com.au/index.php?link=spiny

Per


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## Jay84 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks for your reply Bearded Lady. looks like mine is too old to regrow her leg then  poor thing. they are misted minimum of twice a day too so i ruled out humidity? i hope she adapts well to it.

so how many eggs should i expect? and they take up to a year to hatch?


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## Jay84 (Apr 24, 2009)

thanks xycom! doesnt look like i have long to wait for eggs............ but quite a while before i get some little phasmids


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## Koula (Apr 24, 2009)

ANSWER 1: Usually their final instar/moult when they reach adulthood.

ANSWER 2: Could be any reason, sudden jerking motion to dislocate the leg, or maybe the tank wasn't humid enough. Are there any males in the tank present when she was moulting? They could have been involved.

ANSWER 3: Not long. The female will pop out around 10-14 eggs a day. The eggs look different to the frass (droppings) - google image search pics of em depending on your stick's species. If you're keeping spiny leaf insects the eggs are sort of a beige round shape with a dusty-brown/orangeish tip.

ANSWER 4: Collect them in a tupperware container with very fine air-holes drilled into the top (or cut out a section and hotglue some very fine mesh/flyscreen on it - the babies are crazy climbers when the hatching day happens and are exceptional escapists. Keep the eggs DRY and play the Waiting Game. I'm using a substrate of clean river sand to sit the eggs on and keeping them covered with small crunched up leaves. You can mist the leaves with spraybottle but only a little.


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## Jay84 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks Koula! great advice and answers there. ill be looking around the floor of the enclosure!

another question. when the females are about to lay do they 'strip' the leaves around them??? the biggest female seems to be chopping all the leaves off, not bothered in eating the majority. and reason for this?


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## Koula (Apr 25, 2009)

Hmmm... maybe she's preparing the ground as a soft landing/cover-up for when she starts dropping the eggs. Kinda like a mother bird lining its nest with small twigs.


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## KaaTom (Apr 25, 2009)

This thread is very interesting... I was thinking of getting some leaf insects for the kids, are they hard to keep? What do you need to house them?

Sorry to hijack the thread


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## Bearded_Lady (Apr 25, 2009)

KaaTom they are very very easy to keep and make an ideal low maintenance pet. I keep mine is a mesh terrarium thing but you could easily keep them in a pet container as juveniles and then a tank with a mesh top when they are older. All you have to do is to provide them with fresh eucalyptus leaves (I change mine every few days or when I notice them beginning to dry out). As long as you have a container/vase full of water to keep the eucalypt in, it should stay fresh for a few days. Mistly daily and a clean every now and again to get rid of frass (poo) and thats it.


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## pyrodarknessanny (Apr 25, 2009)

apparently they also like rose leaves too


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## Jay84 (Apr 25, 2009)

They have got to be one of the easiest pets to keep! leaves in water every few days! and they breed on their own too!


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## Koula (Apr 26, 2009)

I tried mine on rose bush leaves... didn't touch em at all. They do however voraciously LOVE my zig-zag wattle. I just use the rose leaves (along with dried out twigs) to stuff the water vase mouth with so my spinys don't accidently fall in and drown.


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## Sdaji (Apr 26, 2009)

They lay eggs every few hours once they start, and continue until they die. They don't do anything unusual when they're about to lay eggs (if they did, they'd never stop doing it). They don't start laying eggs sooner if they're with a male. If they're on their own the eggs hatch into females, if they're with a male they'll hatch into males and females. Eggs start to be layed about 1-2 weeks after the final mould, depending mainly on the temperature and the individual. I've had eggs hatch in under three months and I've had them take over two years. I've kept thousands until they've died of old age, I don't think I've ever had one live to two years of age. We have one at the moment which hatched about four months ago and is still in first instar, with siblings of similar age almost full grown. Weird stuff!


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## hornet (May 2, 2009)

KaaTom said:


> This thread is very interesting... I was thinking of getting some leaf insects for the kids, are they hard to keep? What do you need to house them?
> 
> Sorry to hijack the thread



one of the more difficult species of phasmid to keep and not available in aust. I assume they mean Extatosoma tiaratum, the spiny stick insect, very easy species to keep and breed, feeds on just about anything


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## jgrean (Jun 21, 2009)

*Where to Buy?*

Hi,
Sorry to hijack (seems someone already did anyway) but I was wondering if someone could help direct me to a store in Sydney that sells spiny leaf insects? I have been to a few pet stores with no luck. They have told me that there is a store in kellyville that stocks them and one in the city, but no one can tell me the names. I would prefer a city store as I am closer to the city than to kellyville!
Thanks so much,
James.


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## rolez2000 (Jun 27, 2009)

Search for kellyville pet shop! That's the name of the shop I think. Google it


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## spinyleafinsect (May 15, 2011)

A good way to help your eggs hatch is... instead of using a container with paper towel at the bottom.... get a container and put soft rock moss at the bottom with a stocking over it. lightly spray it every couple of days. i heard that you can try soaking the eggs in warm water for 3 or 4 minutes.

hope this helps


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