# New Guinea Spiny Stick Insect (Eurycantha calcarata) are hatching :D



## GavinOwen1 (May 24, 2009)

Finally after 5 months they've decided to show their faces  just another 100+ to go and my giant thorny stick insects are due any time now as well, and judging by the size of the parents of the hatchlings these guys are gunna be pretty big! Gunna upload a pic soon  now im off to hunt the rest of the little buggers, why did I have to give them such a big home? :blush:


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## GavinOwen1 (May 24, 2009)

Reptile Forums UK - GavinOwen1's Album: Random things - Picture

There we go, excuse the terrible pic


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## atum (Jun 1, 2009)

Pretty cool : victory:

I've got Indian Stick Insect eggs that are just starting to hatch. Love it.


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## Slinkies mum (Jul 15, 2008)

Congrats :2thumb:.
ECs are one of the species I don't keep cos of the barbs...I know I'm a wuss but I don't like anything that can draw blood, especially mine :lol2:.
What do you mean by Giant thorny??? I keep A. Asperrimus, 'Sabah thorny' or 'thornbacks' as some peeps call them.

I've been keeping sticks for well over a year now and I still get excited when the hatch and then have a mini downer if they die. Yep sad for a grown woman I know :blush:.


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## GavinOwen1 (May 24, 2009)

Slinkies mum said:


> Congrats :2thumb:.
> ECs are one of the species I don't keep cos of the barbs...I know I'm a wuss but I don't like anything that can draw blood, especially mine :lol2:.
> What do you mean by Giant thorny??? I keep A. Asperrimus, 'Sabah thorny' or 'thornbacks' as some peeps call them.
> 
> I've been keeping sticks for well over a year now and I still get excited when the hatch and then have a mini downer if they die. Yep sad for a grown woman I know :blush:.


The barbs are alright once you get used to them impaled into your thumb  but they tame down after a while so thats alright. 

Noo its Trachyaretaon bruekneri that I keep, their like mini versions of EC's and don't have the temperament. Ive been keeping sticks since I was 5 and i'm still going >.< I love how tiny EC's are when they first hatch, too bad they don't stay that way !


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## kizzcee007 (Sep 5, 2008)

I've got 2 EC girlies so no real barbs on them....mind you they do like showing me their front legs a lot!


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## GavinOwen1 (May 24, 2009)

Trust me the girls can turn too if you catch them in a bad mood


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## Slinkies mum (Jul 15, 2008)

Ah right T. bruekneri, I don't keep those either...due to the pain factor :lol2:. I've got some H dilatata eggs tho that I've had for nearly a year. I keep losing the odd one but I still have 16. I didn't realise when I bought them that they are barbed.

One of my favourite species at the moment is D Gigantea, I have 2 adult males to 4 females and they have just stated laying over the past month so I hope I can keep the culture going. Beautiful lill guys and so gentle.

Can I ask if the males in the ECs fight each other I've been told that they can be very aggressive when adults which also put me off keeping them or the Bruekneri.


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## GavinOwen1 (May 24, 2009)

Slinkies mum said:


> Ah right T. bruekneri, I don't keep those either...due to the pain factor :lol2:. I've got some H dilatata eggs tho that I've had for nearly a year. I keep losing the odd one but I still have 16. I didn't realise when I bought them that they are barbed.
> 
> One of my favourite species at the moment is D Gigantea, I have 2 adult males to 4 females and they have just stated laying over the past month so I hope I can keep the culture going. Beautiful lill guys and so gentle.
> 
> Can I ask if the males in the ECs fight each other I've been told that they can be very aggressive when adults which also put me off keeping them or the Bruekneri.



They can be aggressive but ive never heard or seen them fighting from my collection, i've kept non breedig stock males together and never had any of them fight. Bruekeri aggressive?!?!!? Never heard that one before haha, they really are gentle, just like chunky indian stick insects with spines:flrt:

If you want some EC's eggs I've got plety spare, abit short on Bruekeri though, had a bad season with 2 only breeding females


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## Slinkies mum (Jul 15, 2008)

Thanks for the offer but I think I'll pass I'm too much of a wimp :blush:. I might think again about the TBs tho if you say they are one of the nice guys.
Have you ever had a stick bite you?? I have but it didn't hurt I think she was just having a taste incase I was edible:lol2:.


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## GavinOwen1 (May 24, 2009)

Slinkies mum said:


> Thanks for the offer but I think I'll pass I'm too much of a wimp :blush:. I might think again about the TBs tho if you say they are one of the nice guys.
> Have you ever had a stick bite you?? I have but it didn't hurt I think she was just having a taste incase I was edible:lol2:.



Yep and it was a female EC :lol2: was just an accident though. It would be a good idea to go for TB's, very friendly and probably one of the best kind of inverts I've owned, I did have a few spare males available but they've gone now , only got 2.2 left and a few eggs and gunna get some more breeders soon.

If you change your mind about the EC's let me know....:lol2:


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## Slinkies mum (Jul 15, 2008)

I've got a bid on some T.B eggs on eBay. I always thought they were aggressive for some reason but I must have confused them with something else.
What's the hatch rate like??? and how long is the incubation on average??? That said I tend to hang on to eggs until all chance of hatching is long past infact they've usually started to fall apart B4 I give up on them:lol2:.


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## GavinOwen1 (May 24, 2009)

Slinkies mum said:


> I've got a bid on some T.B eggs on eBay. I always thought they were aggressive for some reason but I must have confused them with something else.
> What's the hatch rate like??? and how long is the incubation on average??? That said I tend to hang on to eggs until all chance of hatching is long past infact they've usually started to fall apart B4 I give up on them:lol2:.


Hatch rate depends really about 60% of mine hatched, I'd give them between 6-8 months to hatch. I was the same with my Maclays Spectres when I first got them, eventually they hatched


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

I cant hold stick insects,after i held ones when i was younger had loads and bred them,when i was slightly older i held one and thier feet felt like good bloodly grips and the feel of pulling them off me have creeped me out since,i havnt held any no more:whip:


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## furrychimp (Sep 8, 2009)

That pic is wicked! Looks soooo tiny but they never stay that way! Hahahah!


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## Slinkies mum (Jul 15, 2008)

.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> I cant hold stick insects,after i held ones when i was younger had loads and bred them,when i was slightly older i held one and thier feet felt like good bloodly grips and the feel of pulling them off me have creeped me out since,i havnt held any no more:whip:


:lol2: I know what you mean, some have a very strong grip. Also I've found that altho they are very gentle D Gigantea can trap an odd finger in a bended leg sometimes. Very powerful grip so I'm glad they're not barbed.

Hi Gavin, I've never understood why stick ova take so long to hatch, if you think about it human babies develop quicker than some sticks. It can take ages to build up a sucessful culture, especially if you are starting from eggs, and it's not as if you can just stick them in a tub and leave them too it there's the constant checking for mold etc and spraying. Then after all that there's no guarantee that you will get any hatch!!!


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## GavinOwen1 (May 24, 2009)

Slinkies mum said:


> :lol2: I know what you mean, some have a very strong grip. Also I've found that altho they are very gentle D Gigantea can trap an odd finger in a bended leg sometimes. Very powerful grip so I'm glad they're not barbed.
> 
> Hi Gavin, I've never understood why stick ova take so long to hatch, if you think about it human babies develop quicker than some sticks. It can take ages to build up a sucessful culture, especially if you are starting from eggs, and it's not as if you can just stick them in a tub and leave them too it there's the constant checking for mold etc and spraying. Then after all that there's no guarantee that you will get any hatch!!!


Yeah some eggs do take a really long time to hatch, If I want to start a new culture of insects I try to get diffrent sexes from diffrent sources so I can guarantee that if the nymphs do hatch that they are going to be healthy, the thing is with most sellers is that they interbreed their insects so over time hatch rates just get worse and worse and they just breed brothers and sisters and that just complicates things thats why I rarely venture on ebay to purchase sticks because some irresponsible people sell on eggs that are obviously not going to hatch just to make a quick buck, but you can get some great sellers online. If you want better hatch rates with eggs all i do is fill a take away tub with some soil or kitchen towel and moisten it every week and I don't keep it in a warm place, just put it on a shelf and wait, lessens the chances of mold growing, hope that helps


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## Slinkies mum (Jul 15, 2008)

I usually stick to sellers I know and trust on eBay, tis too easy to get ripped off on there. You have no way of telling if eggs are viable and 6 months down the line when nothing's hatched what can you do???? I always post out eggs in damped tissue to prevent them drying out in the post but hardly anyone else seems to do that.
I know there has been a problem with British ETs and inbreeding resulting in either a total hatch failure or weak sickly nymphs. So I bought eggs from Sweden and Denmark and have had a really good hatch rate and only a couple of nymph losses.
I do introduce adults from unrelated stock into my cultures when I can afford it but some species, especially some of the giants, can be really expensive.


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