# Trachyaretaon brueckneri whats the best........



## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

Hi Everyone, 

I have just bought some fantastic *Trachyaretaon brueckneri* stick insects of ebay, i love them. these are only nymphs at the minute & i have 9 so i no these will get big & need a fair bit of space but i was wondering whats the *best cage*???

i am making mesh style cages for stick insects at the moment, for pink wings, indian etc but i dont no if these require a bit more humidity & would plastic or glass be better?

does anyone have these & if so what do you keep them in. if you have nay info on how oftern to spray or any good tips then please do share!


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## MustLoveSnails (Aug 2, 2009)

I always kept mine in a large glass tank with a lid made of that green plastic mesh sold as greenhouse shade, secured down properly of course, some fake plants and a large sterilised branch I'd sanded smooth, heat mat on one side and kitchen roll in the bottom, then the food plant as well. I gave mine a light misting once a day and they thrived for their lifespan  . They do need sturdy things to climb on (especially the chunky females), and plenty of space. Mine loved ivy and my big female was one of my all time favourite pets, she was so docile and even my mum held her happily.


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

MustLoveSnails said:


> I always kept mine in a large glass tank with a lid made of that green plastic mesh sold as greenhouse shade, secured down properly of course, some fake plants and a large sterilised branch I'd sanded smooth, heat mat on one side and kitchen roll in the bottom, then the food plant as well. I gave mine a light misting once a day and they thrived for their lifespan  . They do need sturdy things to climb on (especially the chunky females), and plenty of space. Mine loved ivy and my big female was one of my all time favourite pets, she was so docile and even my mum held her happily.


thanks for this info, i didnt even think about extra heat! i thought these were ok to keep at room temp? my house is warm especially in summer.
I will certianly give them a large branch of some type.
i have not made their cage yet so i am thinking it needs more covered sides than mesh to keep it humid. 

what size tank was yours? i have 9 of these so am guessing a large tank is required.


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

Room temps usually fine. They do like it from about 18c -26c.
I use an old glass viv.


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

animalstorey said:


> Room temps usually fine. They do like it from about 18c -26c.
> I use an old glass viv.


glass/plastic it will be then by the sounds of it
I will check the room to see what the temps are if its low i do have an extra heat matt so could use this,
cheers


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

I just got some of these! I have had several differnet stick insects before but these are the best! I brought a mesh type laundry basket, for £2, I turned it upside down so the open top was inside a small rectangle box.. Then i but the heatmat on the side with tissue paper on the bottom. A glass jar with some water and foil to stop them drowing with the food i side,,
Here some pics..
























And here are the sticks!


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

Trootle said:


> I just got some of these! I have had several differnet stick insects before but these are the best! I brought a mesh type laundry basket, for £2, I turned it upside down so the open top was inside a small rectangle box.. Then i but the heatmat on the side with tissue paper on the bottom. A glass jar with some water and foil to stop them drowing with the food i side,,
> Here some pics..
> image
> image
> ...


Hi, your *Trachyaretaon brueckneri *look fantastic! especially the green colour. 

mine look smaller than yours at the minute & i am keeping them in a plastic tank. your basket type cage is basically mesh all the way round & from the looks you dont have anything to control ventilation. i would prefer not to use glass if possible. 
I would be making something similar to your cage but am not sure now if panels are needed to control humidity or if mesh all the way round would be ok. 

are all yours doing well? how long have you had them?
any & all info would be great! cheers


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

mrblue2008 said:


> Hi, your *Trachyaretaon brueckneri *look fantastic! especially the green colour.
> 
> mine look smaller than yours at the minute & i am keeping them in a plastic tank. your basket type cage is basically mesh all the way round & from the looks you dont have anything to control ventilation. i would prefer not to use glass if possible.
> I would be making something similar to your cage but am not sure now if panels are needed to control humidity or if mesh all the way round would be ok.
> ...


I brought them at the weekend and all are doing..
As for the bit in red the ventilation is very good, and i dont worry about humidity... I spray them lightly a few times a day and they stay mosit for the best part so I dont find any problems.. All my other stick insects where kept in flexariums (but unfortunaley i sold that a few months back).
Any other questions?!
Heres the green nypmh again this shows his true green colour!


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

Trootle said:


> I brought them at the weekend and all are doing..
> As for the bit in red the ventilation is very good, and i dont worry about humidity... I spray them lightly a few times a day and they stay mosit for the best part so I dont find any problems.. All my other stick insects where kept in flexariums (but unfortunaley i sold that a few months back).
> Any other questions?!
> Heres the green nypmh again this shows his true green colour!
> ...


wow that green one is amazing are you sure it Trachyaretaon brueckneri? it looks totally different from any i have seen on the the net! how big is it? & how old?

I am going to keep them in this plastic tank for a while till they get a bit bigger then transfer them in to a cage like yours. i will keep them sprayed thats not a problem.


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

Well i have giant thorny and giant spiny... I think that pic may actually be the giant thorny.. 
I think this one may be the giant spiny.. ooops sorry"!!! And mine were kept in the plastic tub next to the mesh cage in the pcis for a few days before going int the larger cage..
And im not sure on age... The green one and the brown one are still young but the other one is by far the biggest..
Heres the giant spiny..
















And the one on the far right..


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

Trootle said:


> Well i have giant thorny and giant spiny... I think that pic may actually be the giant thorny..
> I think this one may be the giant spiny.. ooops sorry"!!! And mine were kept in the plastic tub next to the mesh cage in the pcis for a few days before going int the larger cage..
> And im not sure on age... The green one and the brown one are still young but the other one is by far the biggest..
> Heres the giant spiny..
> ...


yes the first pic looks more like mine just bigger! 
these are great insects arnt they, cant wait for mine to get bigger! shame they dont live that long tho. 

i have some leaf insect comming next week aswell! getting very addicted to bugs! :lol2:


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

mrblue2008 said:


> yes the first pic looks more like mine just bigger!
> these are great insects arnt they, cant wait for mine to get bigger! shame they dont live that long tho.
> 
> i have some leaf insect comming next week aswell! getting very addicted to bugs! :lol2:


They are so cool! I sneaked these in the house without my mum knowing though... I dont think anymore insects or at all animals for me...:lol2: Even thogh i might be getting a mantis tommorow but thats another matter!
How big are yours?? And you should get some giant thornys to..... :whistling2:
You got any pics of yours??


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

Trootle said:


> They are so cool! I sneaked these in the house without my mum knowing though... I dont think anymore insects or at all animals for me...:lol2: Even thogh i might be getting a mantis tommorow but thats another matter!
> How big are yours?? And you should get some giant thornys to..... :whistling2:
> You got any pics of yours??


lol she might notice them! not the smallest bug to keep :lol2: 
I am sure mine are Thornys (Trachyaretaon brueckneri) thats what i bought them as, I think the others are spiny (Eurycantha calcarata) the greeN ones you have. but yeah i must have some! 

I have way to many animals myself but its like a drug, i find these so interesting!


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

mrblue2008 said:


> lol she might notice them! not the smallest bug to keep :lol2:
> I am sure mine are Thornys (Trachyaretaon brueckneri) thats what i bought them as, I think the others are spiny (Eurycantha calcarata) the greeN ones you have. but yeah i must have some!
> 
> I have way to many animals myself but its like a drug, i find these so interesting!


I keep getting so mixed up!! I was sold the green one and the large greenish one were giant thornys and the brown one was a giant spiny... So that means my giant spiny is like your giant thorny!!!!
LOl so i said you should get giant thornys because i thought you had spinys!! So confusing!
So I think my grren ones are Eurycantha calcarata, or the spiny ones, and my brown one must be Trachyaretaon brueckneri!!!


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

Trootle said:


> I keep getting so mixed up!! I was sold the green one and the large greenish one were giant thornys and the brown one was a giant spiny... So that means my giant spiny is like your giant thorny!!!!
> LOl so i said you should get giant thornys because i thought you had spinys!! So confusing!
> So I think my grren ones are Eurycantha calcarata, or the spiny ones, and my brown one must be Trachyaretaon brueckneri!!!


Now am confused! :lol2:

but yeah i think thats right, your brown one is the double of mine just bigger & i bought these as Trachyaretaon brueckneri (thorny), so it must be! 
the other (green) are very different from mine much more chunky & green, lol...... but i am sure these are the Eurycantha calcarata (giant spiny)

anyway both are fantastic! i must now get Eurycantha calcarata!


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

You have two eury's and one trachy.


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

Just dont get a male!!!!
YouTube - Giant Spiny Stick Insect
Look at those spines on the back legs!!!!!!!!!
And thank you animalstorey!


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

At one time I had over a hundred adult eury's! I like the way the males fart when you pick them up! Lol.


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

animalstorey said:


> At one time I had over a hundred adult eury's! I like the way the males fart when you pick them up! Lol.


LOL! You must have had your hands full!


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

animalstorey said:


> At one time I had over a hundred adult eury's! I like the way the males fart when you pick them up! Lol.


Fart, :lol2::lol2::lol2: now i have to get some!


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

I will try & take a few pics of mine at some point & post them on here!


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

mrblue2008 said:


> I will try & take a few pics of mine at some point & post them on here!


That will be good!


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## MustLoveSnails (Aug 2, 2009)

mrblue2008 said:


> thanks for this info, i didnt even think about extra heat! i thought these were ok to keep at room temp? my house is warm especially in summer.
> I will certainly give them a large branch of some type.
> i have not made their cage yet so i am thinking it needs more covered sides than mesh to keep it humid.
> 
> what size tank was yours? i have 9 of these so am guessing a large tank is required.


If your house is warm I'd think they would be ok, but in cold weather they might need a little extra, they become quite lethargic when cold. 

My tank was a large hexagonal which had two trachys and two of a neo species in it, can't remember the exact dimensions but its pretty big as they need plenty of space.

I had mine for ages and they thrived in my glass tank, twice they had to go into a mesh hanging net cage temporarily and were not happy, they temp was the same so I'd assume it was the moisture levels not being as high as they were used to. They love to drink lots of water droplets after the tank is sprayed. 

Perhaps you could cover a couple of the sides with plastic sheeting to raise the humidity levels a little? If its to dry they may not be able to shed properly or might become less active.

They might decide to pinch you with their legs if they feel threatened, so try to avoid sudden movements and give them time to get used to you. As I said before mine were very good with being handled and the female especially was always happy to wander around on people for ages.

At the end of the day you will find your own conditions and style of keeping that suit you and your individual sticks, just give things a go until you hit that perfect style


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

MustLoveSnails said:


> If your house is warm I'd think they would be ok, but in cold weather they might need a little extra, they become quite lethargic when cold.
> 
> My tank was a large hexagonal which had two trachys and two of a neo species in it, can't remember the exact dimensions but its pretty big as they need plenty of space.
> 
> ...


thanks for all the good info, that really makes me feel much better. i was thinking about covering 2 sides with a sheet of plastic just to keep it slightly more humid. i have lots of building work to do, i have to make 4 insect tanks this week! 

i have 9 trachys in total so these will need a big space.
cheers thanks so much for info! :2thumb:


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## MustLoveSnails (Aug 2, 2009)

No problem, glad some of it was helpful


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

Eury's like it moist and damp they spend the day hidden under cork bark hides and feed on ivy and bramble at night. Like it warm and humid. Glass viv is best. Exo 90x45x45 are good. Coco fibre in the bottom if your happy for them to lay and not remove eggs. Or newspaper they will just drop them. You could use bark chip. Introduce normal woodlice will keep moulds down. Like a good spray and drink.


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

P.S they are greedy as Hell's horse himself so you need loads of food. Make sure you get it humid for shedding and not drying out sticks. Trachy's can be kept the same and together but eury's are bullies and males do fight. (and do a strange prolaps fart, when disturbed!)


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## lil lizzie (Apr 27, 2009)

i have these i keep em in an arb exo terra  holds enough humidity and provides ventilation  i have hundreds of nymphs at the min loooooaaaaads lol : victory:


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## JustJack (Apr 19, 2010)

Im gunna moce mine into a plastic/glass tank!!! LOL


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