# I have babies! I have babies!



## pamnock (Jan 24, 2007)

The bad news is that we were very upset when our Vietnamese Stick insect died a few days ago.

The good news: You can imagine how thrilled I was when Matthew went tomist the stick's habitat and yelled, "Mom! A baby walkingstick!" 

These are our first babies - so far, over a dozen of them. They are very tiny (about as long as my pinkie nail).

I had both a female Vietnamese and still have a female Indian Stick, soI'm not sure which species the babies are. (Females lay hundreds offertile eggs that hatch into more females - males are very rare).



I love my bugs :inlove:

Pam


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## Snuggys Mom (Jan 24, 2007)

Cool! What do the babies eat?


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## Krissa (Jan 24, 2007)

Awesome! I have been looking into getting somestick insect pets for this summer, and some mandids. Where did you buyyours from, I have seen some internet sites but if you have one you canreccomend it would be great!

I love the bugs! I finally talked my father into letting me use hiswoodshop to make some cages, thats why I have to wait until summer -gotta build! 

Oh and during the winter, what do you feed them, I read they eatrasberry/blackberry leaves, or do you use something else. It would begreat if I could grow the plant indoors in the winter.


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## pamnock (Jan 24, 2007)

*Snuggys Mom wrote: *


> Cool! What do the babies eat?




Most sticks eat brambles, but they should do fine on romaine untilspring (I hope).I believe theIndians arefed romaine in the labs. My son did find a few rose brambles,but the winter weather has pretty much killed everything off.

Pam


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## pamnock (Jan 24, 2007)

*Krissa wrote:*


> Awesome! I have been looking into getting some stick insectpets for this summer, and some mandids. Where did you buy yours from, Ihave seen some internet sites but if you have one you can reccomend itwould be great!
> 
> I love the bugs! I finally talked my father into letting me use hiswoodshop to make some cages, thats why I have to wait until summer -gotta build!
> 
> Oh and during the winter, what do you feed them, I read they eatrasberry/blackberry leaves, or do you use something else. It would begreat if I could grow the plant indoors in the winter.




It's illegal to sell non-native sticks in the US. You canhook up with an entomologist (that's where I got mine from).If these babies live, I'll give you some.

I love the mandids. We were crushed when our large onedied. I couldn't believe that it ate everything in sight(including our little frogs)!

My little boy, Matthew, raised over a dozen Monarch butterflies overthe summer. We also have a tarantula and a hissing cockroach.

Pam


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## Krissa (Jan 24, 2007)

*pamnock wrote: *


> It's illegal to sell non-native sticks in the US.


Thanks for that info! I'll get to building cages, and I'll also go tothe entomology professor at University of Cincinnati, maybe he hassomething - I graduated from Biology there so maybe I can get some coolbugs.

I've always wanted a tarrantula, but the hubby is very much againstlarge spiders When I was in middle school I always hadmonarch caterpillers, because they kept eating my mother's butterflyweed! I loved wating them change, they are so beautiful - not just thebutterfly, but the caterpiller too with the cute stripes.


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## JAK Rabbitry (Jan 25, 2007)

bugs? BUGS!! EEEEEE

Bugs for pets? Not unheard of....aren&#39;t stick bugs kinda rare? I didn&#39;t know people kept them as....dare I say...pets. 

When I worked at pet store, Dave made me transfer all teh hissing roaches to a new aquarium. They were so neat and I kept squealing and making odd sounds back at them because I&#39;d never seen sucha thing and I didn&#39;t know what to do. I would pick them up and they&#39;d be all like "HSHSHSHSHSSSHSHSHSHSSHSHH!!!!"


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## Starlight Rabbitry (Jan 25, 2007)

Pam, do you have any pictures of your sticks and the babies? Would love to see them.

Sharon


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## TinysMom (Jan 25, 2007)

This is so awesome. Where we used to live when we moved here...I&#39;d often see a walking stick on our sliding glass door. I always thought they were fascinating...

....btw - so did Tiny as he&#39;d watch it.

Peg


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## cheryl (Jan 25, 2007)

*Starlight Rabbitry wrote: *


> Pam, do you have any pictures of your sticks and the babies? Would love to see them.


 Yes Pam,i would love to see those little babies also 

cheryl


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## pamnock (Jan 25, 2007)

*Starlight Rabbitry wrote: *


> Pam, do you have any pictures of your sticks and the babies? Would love to see them.
> 
> Sharon


 

I&#39;ll get some photos if Stephanie remembers to bring her camera back from her boyfriends house. My cheap digitalcan&#39;t get enough detail. I&#39;ll take some with my 35mm, but it&#39;ll be a while before I get them developed.

They are so tiny!!!! They march around with their little tails curled up like scorpions. They also exhibit the same "swaying" behavior like the adults, who mimic sticks in a breeze.

So far, a few are hatching a day. They can get through the fine mesh, so we try to catch them right away to put them in a little "nursery" that they can&#39;t escape from.

Pam


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## naturestee (Jan 25, 2007)

That&#39;s so cool! I want to see your babies! Insects are so neat. I considered getting some as pets but they seem like a lot of work. You can get some really cool praying mantises imported from Africa though.

Pam, do you watch Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel? One of the last episodes I saw was where he goes to a breeding facility for what will be an insect version of a public aquarium. They had so many cool insects!


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## Michaela (Jan 25, 2007)

Oh how cool!!:colors:

We have a breeding population of Vietnamese stick insects in our school, I think they&#39;re amazing.

Normally I&#39;m sooo afraid of any insects, but there&#39;s just something about stick insects that I like!

And yes Pam, we definitely need some pictures!!!:nod:camera


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## pamnock (Jan 25, 2007)

*JAK Rabbitry wrote: *


> bugs? BUGS!! EEEEEE
> 
> Bugs for pets? Not unheard of....aren&#39;t stick bugs kinda rare? I didn&#39;t know people kept them as....dare I say...pets.


 

I&#39;ve never seen a large stick insect in the wild (they have excellent camouflage, live high in the trees or bushes, and are nocturnal). 

Here&#39;s a site with a photo of a native stick in PA . . .

http://www.wpconline.org<WBR>/dailyphotos/wpc-d-3-13.asp<WBR>]http://www.wpconline.org<WBR>/dailyphotos/wpc-d-3-13.asp[<WBR>/url]



Pam


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## JAK Rabbitry (Jan 25, 2007)

We&#39;ve seen one stick bug here our entire lives. I was very young and mum , I have no idea how...found a walkin&#39; shtick. And she had it sitting on her arm and she&#39;s like &#39;&#39; look look!" We all gthered round and were...less than impressed with &#39;&#39;a stick&#39;&#39;. Then it started crawling over my mother and I about flipped out. IT was so neat.

Also in 5th grade our science teacher said the one tiem someone brought in a praying mantis for all to see. Iguess it escaped and left......an egg sack. And they were like &#39;&#39; what&#39;s this thingy....no idea&#39;&#39;. Then they had some kind of assembly inthe gym...and when they came back....the room was all dark and they were like wtf the room is dark....OH SNAP THE WINDOWS ARE BLACK WITH BABY MANTISES!! 

I think that would have creeped me out...just a little bit.


And one time we all went up to the mall and my friend is like &#39;&#39;you ever go BEHIND the mall? In the woods and shtuff?&#39;&#39; we said no. And ended up going for a walk up this monstrous hill...and you could see like...the entire county up there.... and on our way back I looked down and BAM there was a praying mantis there. a brown one. I made everyone come look. They&#39;re so rare, that was only like the second time in my life I&#39;d seen one. 

Erron&#39;s obsessedw ith bugs. And blobs.


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## pamnock (Jan 25, 2007)

The weather&#39;s bad - Steph didn&#39;t stop to pick up her camera. I&#39;ll keep reminding her.

Pam


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## pamnock (Jan 26, 2007)

I took a bunch of photos of my bugs this morning (including baby sticks)- hope to have time later to upload them all . . .

Pam


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## naturestee (Jan 26, 2007)

I can&#39;t wait! :jumpforjoy:


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## pamnock (Jan 26, 2007)

I have to get busy with school stuff this morning, but here&#39;s a preview . . .


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## binkies (Jan 26, 2007)

Oh how cute!


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## pamnock (Jan 26, 2007)

Here&#39;s the link toour new creatures page 

http://www.geocities.com<WBR>/pamnock/creatures.html]http:/<WBR>/www.geocities.com/pamnock<WBR>/creatures.html[/url]



Pam


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## pinksalamander (Jan 26, 2007)

Bugs scare me a little.. but that little one on your finger is actually kinda cute!


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## Starlight Rabbitry (Jan 26, 2007)

The praying mantis is wierd. I never knew they had wings. Cool pics, Pam.

Sharon


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## JAK Rabbitry (Jan 26, 2007)

OH em Gee, that was awesome.

Though the mantic and vietnamese stick guy....are they....did they get dead? They look like they&#39;re more on display than alive because of the white background....

I totally found the frogs. Where&#39;s my gold star?


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## pamnock (Jan 26, 2007)

*JAK Rabbitry wrote: *


> OH em Gee, that was awesome.
> 
> Though the mantic and vietnamese stick guy....are they....did they get dead? They look like they&#39;re more on display than alive because of the white background....
> 
> I totally found the frogs. Where&#39;s my gold star?


 

They did totally get dead  My hubby was very sad because he had caught the mantid. There was a horrible altercation between the wood frog and themantid - themantid lost.

The praying mantiscan really look intimidating.It willflare outits wings and rub them vigorously againstit&#39;s abdoment, making a very loud hissing sound. It also rocks back and forth, imitating a leaf blowing in the wind (then it stikes its pray). We had a number of them this past year - very cool insect.

The Vietnamese stick probably died of old age - they don&#39;t live very long.

You get two gold stars for finding the frogs!



Revenge of the walking sticks - check out this site

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu<WBR>/ENTOMOLOGY/extension/InsectID<WBR>/Walkingsticks/higg1jul.html<WBR>]http://www.oznet.ksu.edu<WBR>/ENTOMOLOGY/extension/InsectID<WBR>/Walkingsticks/higg1jul.html[<WBR>/url]

Pam


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## NZminilops (Jan 26, 2007)

Great thread!

I keep praying mantids in the summer time, they usually don&#39;t make it through the winter. Our back yard is crawling with babies right now, every tree and plant is coated in &#39;em.

I don&#39;t see stick insects very often but you can get some massive ones in NZ.


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## JAK Rabbitry (Jan 26, 2007)

I hate soy.

w00t 2 gold stars. 

If I were a rich 5 year old...I&#39;d buy a whole box of gold stars.


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## cheryl (Jan 26, 2007)

*minilops wrote: *


> I keep praying mantids in the summer time, Our back yard is crawling with babies right now
> 
> I don&#39;t see stick insects very often but you can get some massive ones in NZ.


 Gee,i have not seen a praying mantis for years,i remember when i was a kid and you would find praying mantise&#39;s everywhere........but not anymore.

Pam your little insects are so cool! 

cheryl


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## NZminilops (Jan 26, 2007)

Wow, really cheryl? Actually come to think of it, I never saw any on my trip to Australia.

I have some lavender and the mantids just love it, they sit and wait for bees to come along and snatch them up and eat them. I have some pictures of my past pet mantids, I&#39;ll have to fish them out. Our last one was a man eater, we put 5 males in her tank and she ate them all one by one. Only took a day!

Once I found a very rare one, 99% of the mantids here are a type bought over from Africa but I had a native NZ one for a short time.


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## JAK Rabbitry (Jan 26, 2007)

From my knowledge....female mantises eat the males after mating....the male provides yum yums to the female to sustain her through a pregnancy. 

If I ever become a father....I want to be thought of as &#39;&#39;yum yums&#39;&#39;.


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## JAK Rabbitry (Jan 26, 2007)

Erron says you need a camel spider.

http://img21.exs.cx/img21/4166<WBR>/camelspiders1gm.jpg


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## Spring (Jan 26, 2007)

*JAK Rabbitry wrote: *


> Erron says you need a camel spider.
> 
> http://img21.exs.cx/img21/4166<WBR>/camelspiders1gm.jpg]http:/<WBR>/img21.exs.cx/img21/4166<WBR>/camelspiders1gm.jpg[/url]


 

Wow! :shock:

Such cute little things.. I love bugs. I used to catch and release all kinds of butterflies, ants, snails, etc. when I was little. .


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## pamnock (Jan 26, 2007)

*JAK Rabbitry wrote: *


> Erron says you need a camel spider.
> 
> http://img21.exs.cx/img21/4166<WBR>/camelspiders1gm.jpg]http:/<WBR>/img21.exs.cx/img21/4166<WBR>/camelspiders1gm.jpg[/url]


 

That&#39;s what the guy at the pet store told me a couple weeks ago LOL

I did come home with another male cockroach tonight.

Pam


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## JAK Rabbitry (Jan 26, 2007)

Rosie told me she eats cockroaches. 


haha it was a childhood incident. I used to make money by eating ladybugs during gym class... 

They taste like dish soap. yuck.


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## Bramble Briar86 (Jan 26, 2007)

Those baby sticks are so cute that it almost makes me want to keep some ! 



Ellie


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## Krissa (Jan 27, 2007)

A local pet store has a Chilian Rose Tarantula that I have been looking at for months. How difficult have you found the species to be as a first spider? How aggressive is she, and is she fast. I noticed the one in the store makes a lot of web in its cage, do you get to see your spider much, or does she hide?

Oh and they want $49 for her, how much was yours?


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## pamnock (Jan 27, 2007)

*Krissa wrote: *


> A local pet store has a Chilian Rose Tarantula that I have been looking at for months. How difficult have you found the species to be as a first spider? How aggressive is she, and is she fast. I noticed the one in the store makes a lot of web in its cage, do you get to see your spider much, or does she hide?
> 
> Oh and they want $49 for her, how much was yours?


 

The are very easy to care for. Ours was a free rescue -they can be fast and can jump high, but she&#39;s rather easy to get along with.She had bitten her previous owner a couple times.

The tarantulas are nocturnal, so you don&#39;t see them much. It&#39;s common for them to web themselves in during the day - they enjoy a log to hide in.

Pam


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## Krissa (Jan 27, 2007)

Shes a cutie:hearts


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## JAK Rabbitry (Jan 28, 2007)

Haha...spider.....cute.....same sentence....double yew tee eff?


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## Bo B Bunny (Jan 28, 2007)

Absolutely cool! I would love to have stick insects! I like the hissing cockroaches also! I&#39;ve held them and they feel so delicate on your skin that any thought of the ewwwwwww bug sort of thing goes away - at least for me!

For the longest time we didn&#39;t see the praying mantis here in Indiana. Now, we&#39;ve started getting the population up again and I see at least 4 or 5 babies in my yard each summer! :colors:

I only draw the line at bees....... I&#39;m allergic.


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## naturestee (Jan 28, 2007)

Pam, that little baby is so cute! I don&#39;t know about the tarantula though, I have this thing about spiders.:?

I had to keep a hissing cockroach for a while for my Entomology class back in college. I had a little girl. She was neat, but she wouldn&#39;t hiss no matter what I did. She was picky about food too. We were supposed to find out what they liked to eat best and she wouldn&#39;t eat anything that everyone else&#39;s did. Finally I tried fish flakes and she chowed them down! Silly girl.

I have to say, your pinned/displayed insects look great! I only did it for the class and I&#39;m not very good, although at least I wasn&#39;t bad enough to get points knocked off for it. A big chunk of the grade was based on a 50 species specimen collection.


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