Spiny Leaf Stick Insects - Classroom or Home Pets

We have Spiny Leaf Stick Insects (Extatosoma tiaratum) available for sale - various sizes and ages, male and female. Price: $10-$20 each insect, depending on gender and size. Sold as juveniles.
Cash on pickup (Glass House Mountains, Qld 4518) or Bank transfer prior. Contact us first to arrange. Must be local pickup from Glass House Mountains, unless you have an incursion booking visit on the same day in Brisbane or Sunshine Coast. Unable to post or travel to drop off otherwise.

These gentle, harmless creatures are unique and interesting to observe and hold, making them a great classroom pet or home pet for children. They are also relatively easy to look after compared to other pets!

You need to supply your own insect enclosure (and we recommend a spare one also for when you are cleaning out the main enclosure every week or two). Email for recommendations of size and type if required or search online and in pet stores. See images for good examples.

You will also need: water spray bottle and plentiful access to plant sources below.

Food source: They primarily munch on eucalyptus (gum) leaves or guava leaves, but they'll also happily eat other fresh leaves like rose, wattle (Acacia), lilly pilly and native mulberry, with preferences varying slightly between individuals and species. Ours tend to like guava and gum leaves the best, but you could try the others also. They get all their water from the leaves, so fresh, moist foliage is essential, often kept in a container of water with a lid to stay hydrated. The lid needs holes in it to poke the small branches of leaves through and needs to be stable (see images for example)

Maintenance involves: swapping over old leaves for new ones every few days, spraying water mist daily 1-2 times per day, cleaning out leaves and tiny poop droplets from enclosure. During breeding times, females (even without a male), lay eggs (sometimes up to a hundred or more). These need to be collected (sorted from all the poop droppings) on a regular basis at each clean and stored in a smaller insect container (see photo).

*Females can create their own eggs unmated, which are duplicates of themselves!

*Males mate with females to create fertilised eggs - hatching males and females

*Eggs may take months, up to a year to hatch

*Adult females grow larger and have more spikes on their belly but are harmless. They have smaller wings and don't often fly. 

*Adult males are longer and more slender with less spikes and are harmless. They have longer, bigger wings and can fly short distances more easily, but generally crawl unless scared.

Spiny Leaf Stick Insects (Extatosoma tiaratum) in Australia generally live for about 12-18 months for females and 6-8 months for males. These fascinating, harmless insects are popular pets and native to Australia from the 'Phasmid' family.

Photo examples only. Available sizes and gender will vary depending on season.