Keeping a stick insect as a pet has become popular, with many owners being curious if their stick insect needs company. This led me to research on not just whether stick insects need company but also how social they are.
So, do stick insects need company? Stick insects do not need company to survive and can easily live alone. Stick insects do not need to live in social groups to flourish. Even for reproduction, some species of female stick insect do not need the company of a male stick insect for mating, as they can still reproduce asexually, leading to female offspring.
Many stick insect lovers mistakenly think that all stick insects love company with some pet owners putting two or more stick insects together in the same housing. This is not necessary, as the stick insect can lead a good life alone without the need for any company.
Are Stick Insects Social?
Some species of stick insects are social and can live together in colonies. Whilst other species may only socialize during mating, when a male stick insect seeks out a female stick insect to reproduce. Male stick insects spend a large proportion of their time in the wild seeking out females for mating.
When kept as pets, stick insects do not need to be kept with other stick insects to survive and can quite happily live healthily alone. As stated earlier, female stick insects can reproduce without requiring a male stick insect to fertilize her eggs. Leading to female offspring who can carry on reproducing without the need for a male.
The consensus with male stick insects kept alone, is that not being able to breed could affect the longevity of their life, however further research is needed to ascertain this.
Can Stick Insects Live Together?
The same species of stick insects can live together but putting different species of stick insects together can cause problems. This can result in fighting as different species of stick insects will be wary of each other when compared to their own species and fight for territory.
Stick insects can easily be described as lone rangers. Chances are, you may have come across one wandering on its own, depending on where you live, out in the wild or in a pet shop. This doesn’t mean though, that they can’t live together. Some species are actually known to live in colonies of as much as a hundred or even more.
A colony of one hundred and forty stick insects was found in the UK, as reported by the BBC. Where the normal colony size of around two to three stick insects was expected but finding a colony of a hundred and forty insects was unexpected in the UK at least.
The report states the cold weather may have brought the stick insects together into an area where there was plenty of shelter against the elements. Leading to smaller colonies consolidating into one large stick insect colony.
Will Stick Insects Eat Other?
One of the strangest questions stick insect lovers often as is this – do stick insects have cannibal tendencies? The question perhaps stems from the fact that there are stick insect species that look so barbaric they leave one wondering about their potential for cannibalism.
The truth is, stick insects are herbivores. That is to say, they are not in any way cannibalistic. They solely live on plant life (green leaves to be specific). A stick insect cannot eat another stick insect or even another insect even if it wanted to. Its mandible anatomy won’t allow it. They simply don’t have the biological tools to be carnivores.
The fact that stick insects aren’t carnivores doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t kill each other if given a chance. Although violence isn’t their nature, they can still turn against each other if put in a small enclosure.
Putting different species of stick insects into the same enclosure might lead to the stick insects resorting to violence so as to protect their territory. It’s not recommended to do this, instead if you are keeping more than one stick insect in the same enclosure, it’s best to make sure they are the same species.
Can You Keep Stick Insects and Leaf Insects Together?
It is not recommended to house different species of stick insects together. As leaf insects are a type of stick insect, they will have different temperature requirements from other types of stick insects. Other species of stick insect could most likely mistake leaf insects for food when hungry.
Leaf insects are very fragile, and it would be easily possible for another species of stick insect to climb and walk all over a leaf insect, causing it injury. Therefore, it makes sense to house leaf insects on their own in a structure designed and set up solely for leaf insects. Likewise, stick insects should
Stick Insect Fighting
Stick insects aren’t violent. They may look barbaric or even scary, but they are actually very gentle. Once in a while though, they fight as it is the case with nearly all insects and animals. They do this for several reasons such as to defend or protect their territories or wad off an undesirable mating partner. Fighting therefore is a natural part or rather characteristic of any stick insect colony, and one that you have no choice but to get used to.
You may have to be a little bit careful if for one reason or another you choose to mix different stick insect species in one colony. That’s because different species have different defense mechanisms, some of which can cause fatalities in the unlikely event of a serious fight. For example, the giant New Guinea Stick Insect has sharp spikes on its back legs which it usually uses to fight predators. The spikes can easily harm and kill other stick insect species that don’t have spikes.
Keeping Different Species of Stick Insect together
Keeping different species of stick insect together is difficult and not really recommended, as the different species may end fighting each other. This will inevitably lead to injuries and possibly death, so careful consideration is needed before any stick insects of different species are put together.
That being said, there may be species of stick insects that can live together and if this is possible, it makes sense to consider the type of enclosure you choose for your stick insects. Going for a large tank could make it easier for your stick insects to thrive, as with the greater space, any territorial disputes could be short-lived and minimized.
Be particularly keen on factors like space and ventilation. Space is crucial aspect here because stick insects fight any time they get onto each other’s way. If they constantly bother each other, then you can be sure the end result won’t be good.
You may also have to consider fungal disease, as this disease is common where a stick insect loses it’s leg or gets a wound. It may become worse where different species live together. In many cases, the disease easily destroys a whole colony if left untreated.
It may be worse where the space is small. With that in mind, make sure your stick insect tank features lots of space, including some vertical space. Be sure to also provide ample dark spaces to make it easy for the insects to hide.
Temperature
Stick insects require certain levels of humidity and temperature so as to thrive. As a matter of fact, stick insects can grow faster or slower depending on the kind of environment they are kept in. failure to keep a stick insect in the ideal environment with the right temperature means the insect will most likely fail to molt. Lack of humidity on the other hand, can easily stop the insect’s skin from being supple enough.
Different species of stick insects can require different temperatures, so keeping different species together at a temperature suitable for one species and not the other, can lead to one species suffering at the hands of the other. Especially when it comes to molting where a stick insect literally pulls itself out of its skin during molting.
If its old skin isn’t supple enough, it’ll end up losing limps and getting deformed. This will then have a negative impact on its lifespan. The exact reverse can happen where a stick insect is kept in an environment that’s too warm. In that regard, many stick insect species only call for a room temperature of anything between 68F to 75F (20C to 24C).
Stick insects can molt for as much as 9 times throughout their lives. One it reaches adulthood; it can very well live an additional six months or even a whole year. This is exactly why you should only stick to species that thrive under similar conditions. Combining different species will most likely cause problems. Note too that the molting stage is usually a very sensitive stage for all stick insects especially where temperature is concerned.
Most Ideal Pairings
There as much as 3000 stick insect species. This makes it hard to know for sure which species pair up with ease. As a general rule of the thumb though, the common Indian stick insect pairs up well with many other stick insect species. They happen to be the least particular stick insects, so you really shouldn’t have any problem paring them with other species.
Wrap Up
Stick insects make good pets. They are gentle, easy to feed and are generally harmless. The only thing you need to do to ensure they thrive is to provide them with a perfect environment complete with the right temperature and levels of humidity. You may also want to refrain pairing them up with different insects or keeping them in the open exposed to predators like lizards and chameleons.
