General tips for keeping and breeding

Forage plants
Phasmids are plant eaters. You will find a list of the most important plants here. With a supply of just a few of these plants, you can keep many different species.

Terrarium size
If you want to keep phasmids you will need a terrarium. The size depends ot the length of the insect, as the terrarium must be at least three times as high as the fully grown insect which is kept in it. This height is crucial so that the insect has enough room when it sheds its skin.
The insects grow very dramatically during the last time they shed their skin, so make sure you allow plenty of room when planning the height of your terrarium.

Incubating the eggs
All phasmids lay eggs. Some keepers gather together about 30 eggs and then sell the rest. So that the eggs can hatch, they place them in a container filled with a peat and soil mixture. In my experience this is however not a good idea, because if it starts to go mouldy in this small containly, all the eggs are usually lost. The conditions in a small container are too variable. For the best hatching results, just leave the eggs where they lie in the terrarium (some eggs you can't remove because they are burried or stuck to the walls) and make sure that the ground is always slightly damp.

What can I do to prevent mould in the terrarium?
Mould can start to build up on the ground surface of a terrarium very quickly. You can use a stick to turn the earth over, and in time organisums will form which break up the mould.