The Carausius Morosus is the most popular pet walking stick and is widely available for insects lovers. They can be acquired easily at a rather low cost. It is a great stick bug to start with.
Diet
The Indian Stick Insect can eat many different plants such as Bramble, Raspberry, Ivy, Oak, Hazel, Privet, Hawthorn, and even Rose leaves, such as many others.
It is easy to feed them all year long because they are not picky when it comes to their diet.
Cage
Just like all walking stick species, the Carausius Morosus is nocturnal and needs enough space to molt while hanging upside down.
Therefore a minimum height of 10 inches for the cage is necessary.
For this species, it is best to have an enclosure that has at least two ventilated sides. These walls could be made of a material such as mesh, to provide enough air circulation.
Temperatures
The Carausius Morosus is fine with room temperature. Anything between 65° F (18° C) at night and 86° F (30° C) during the day is ok.
They don’t like rapid temperature changes, therefore it is best to keep the enclosure at a place without direct sunlight and not directly beside a window.
Humidity
This species prefers low to medium-high humidity. It is enough to sprinkle some water in the enclosure every other day. Just enough for your pets to have a sip and to help to keep the humidity at a constant level.
Depending on the humidity level in your home, it’s good to moist the enclosure twice or three times a weeks.
Appearance
The common appearance is green or brown and looks like a long and thin stick. This species is wingless.
The females can grow up to over 3 inches in length, while males usually reach approximately 2 inches.
Lifespan
The insects of this species usually live between 10 and 12 months. In general they reach adulthood after 4 – 5 months.
Reproduction
This species reproduces parthenogenetically. That means that the females can lay eggs that hatch and no male is needed in that process.
There are no reports of males in captivity but it is assumed that males exist in the wild and they mate sexually in nature.
Ova, Incubation Period
The Stick Insects of this species drop their ova (= eggs) on the floor. Therefore it makes sense to use a paper towel on the floor as substrate to be able to collect the ova for removal.
You can either incubate the eggs until they hatch, or destroy them by freezing or burning them for population control.
The incubation takes about 2 – 3 months and no special care is needed.
Overall Difficulty Rating
The Carausius Morosus is the perfect beginner stick insect species. It is super easy to keep and to care for, very fertile and prolific and is completely harmless.
It cannot bite nor scrach and has no poison to spray. It can’t even jump or fly. That’s why this species is often kept by schools for educational purposes.
Lisa is one of the two founders of Animal-Knowledge. She has been very interested in animals and insects from a very young age and has owned different kinds of pets such as snails, ants, fish, turtles, mice, rats, hamsters, rabbits, a dog, … you get the idea 🙂