Caring For Your Pet Leaf Or Stick Insect

  • Leaf & Stick insects mainly feed on eucalyptus leaves but can be fed other leaves like bramble (Rubus sp), apple, oak, rhododendron and rose leaves. They will only eat what plant they have been fed since they were babies other wise your pet will not eat it, so ask your pet shop what they are feeding it.
  • Young leaf insects like to eat the new shoots from eucalyptus trees.

While the adult leaf insects like to eat the older leaves.

  • Leaves/branches should be picked fresh daily in the afternoon as leaf insects eat mainly at night.
  • Place branches in a vase of water to keep them fresher.
  • Spray leaves with water to keep them fresh and to keep the humidity high. The insects need humidity to help them moult.
  • Only use rainwater to spray, as tap water may have chlorine in it, which may kill your pet
  • They need to be kept warm around 22 - 26 degrees Celsius because most Leaf and Stick Insects you buy from the pet shop come from semi tropical and tropical areas of Australia
  • The enclosure for your pet insect can be made from insect mesh or a glass fish tank. The enclosure needs to be tall enough for the insects when they moult (shedding their skin) they hang off the leaves and branches, so they need enough room to hang down and come out of there old skin.
  • Don’t use fly spray or insect sprays around your pet insect, as you will kill it.
  • Handle your pet with care as they are very fragile and you may break their legs off.

Characteristics Of The Spiny Leaf Insect

Other names for Spiny Leaf Insect: Macleay’s Spectre, Giant prickly stick insect

  • Males grow up to 90mm.They are long, slender and have wings down the length of their bodies. They can fly.

Females grow up to 120mm.They are larger than the male. Females have small wings and can’t fly.

  • Lay from 300 – 1300 eggs in there life time (Normally around 400)
  • Females will lay eggs with out a male present, these eggs will hatch but all babies (nymphs) will be females.
  • When threatened females will curl their tail up to look like a scorpion.
  • Leaf insects are harmless and are vegetarians (herbivorous).
  • Leaf insects shed their skin (moulting) to grow.
  • Incubation period for eggs is 3 months to 3 years depending on conditions.
  • From hatching to maturity is 3-4 months
  • Life spaned approx.9months for males and approx. 18 months for females

All the above information is a guide only. No responsibility is taken.

**All Australia Native Animals are protected by the Fauna Protection Act.

For more information call National Parks and Wildlife S.A ph: 81244972 or