stick insects as a feeder ??

[andyn11]

hey i got a colony of stick insects from my friend (about 38 in total) and he said they could be used as a feeder for the beardies .... just wanted to ask other peoples views and to double check its ok to feed stick insects

i wont be using only stick insects as a feeder and you probs know they're so thin and dont look very filling for anything to eat

plus asfar as ive searched on the net i think they are called childrens stick insects ... (thin green ones being the more technical term)

 

[campos340]

I don't think it would be a good idea but I don't know .

 

[zebraflavencs]

Mantis' ? I wouldn't recommend those at all. Beautiful Dragons has a list of daily, treats, and to be avoided foods on their website. Check that out, and feed accordingly.
Janie.

 

[andyn11]

a praying mantis ???? hell no lol if i was to try and be exact id say Carausius morosus (small little green stick things) it is really just a feeder to give a bit of variation in my bd diet and if it comes to be that i cant use them as feeders then they are pretty cool so they can stay as an additional pet lol ... just checked up on the net and yeh they are Carausius morosus or knowen as walking sticks or indian stick insects or sumthing like that ... google Carausius morosus and you'll see

 

[zebraflavencs]

They are still in the Mantis family, so nooo I don't think so.
Janie.
At least I would be Very uncomfortable with those as feeders, though you can use them to remove pests from your vegetable and ornamental plants .

 

[patrickb]

The only problem with feeding a true mantid is the fact that they are vicious and can strike back at your beardie. Stick insects are entirely herbivorous and do not have the defensive/offensive abilities of a mantid so they couldn't harm them physically like a mantid.

I have seen this question before in other forums, and the general consensus is that they just are not a very nutrional feeder. So little meat and so much chitin. They might make a nice little treat on occasion, but I would not rely on them as a staple feeder. Just look at em, they are like real sticks, nothing but skin and "bones" basically.

 

[diggerdrake]

but a colony of them may bee something that would be cool to have though.

 

[patrickb]

And I am not sure what I was thinking when I posted earlier, but Stick insects are not in the mantids family. Mantids are more closely related to roaches than stick insects. Stick Insects belong to the order Phasmatodea. Mantids belong in Dictyoptera which covers cockroaches too.

I do agree, they would be awesome to have a little colony of, but unfortunately phasmids are illegal to keep or deal in here in the US due to their destructive nature of crops (I am assuming that is the reason) I even remember a show on TLC or Discovery where they showed how a lab that raised Stick Insects and other illegal pest type species for research purposes had to control and contain things. They had to maintain biohazard standards to ensure total containment. All of their trash was put in a freezer for a certain amount of time before being disposed of. It was a neat show!

 

[zebraflavencs]

Patrickb, thanks for the update !
I really did think they were in the Mantis family, glad they aren't but, not a good idea to have them in #s if they can decimate a crop, eh ?
Janie.

 

[lacy_black]

Wow I didn't know sticks were illegal, I can remember playing with them when I was a kid :lol: My brother used to bring them in til he got more interested in cotton mouth snakes...nothing like a 6 year old who was nuts as a pecan factory :roll:

 

[andyn11]

And I am not sure what I was thinking when I posted earlier, but Stick insects are not in the mantids family. Mantids are more closely related to roaches than stick insects. Stick Insects belong to the order Phasmatodea. Mantids belong in Dictyoptera which covers cockroaches too.

I do agree, they would be awesome to have a little colony of, but unfortunately phasmids are illegal to keep or deal in here in the US due to their destructive nature of crops (I am assuming that is the reason) I even remember a show on TLC or Discovery where they showed how a lab that raised Stick Insects and other illegal pest type species for research purposes had to control and contain things. They had to maintain biohazard standards to ensure total containment. All of their trash was put in a freezer for a certain amount of time before being disposed of. It was a neat show!

[Inappropriate comment removed by moderator. This is a PG-13 forum so language such as this will not be tolerated.] am feedin em to my bearie and hes fine eatin em [rude comment removed by moderator]