Other suggestions for you Walking Stick Vivariums are faux rock backgrounds either purchased or hand-made using any non-toxic foam product. This is particularly good if you have hard water or high calcium water. This way you can mist the background to avoid residue building up on the glass of your vivarium. You might also want to think about a drip water system, an automatic misting system, or a fogger. This all depends on how much you want to spend and how cool you want your Walking Stick Vivarium to look.
Like most Phasmids Northern Walking Sticks can be kept in mixed species Vivariums with other herbivorous species.
Food and Care of Northern Walking Sticks
Water is just as important for Walking Sticks as it is for most life on Earth. To water your Walking Sticks a simple misting bottle is all that is needed. However, as stated earlier you can set up more elaborate misting systems, Drip systems, or a fogger system to meet the watering needs of your Walking Sticks and the plants in the environment that you create for them.
If you have provided soil in the bottom of your cage (or vivarium) the soil should be kept moist, or you can provide a sponge which you will keep wet to provide water, or you can purchase a gel for watering crickets and insects. What ever you provide, remember to keep it wet daily.
Feeding walking sticks is relatively simple in the summer time provided you have fruit trees or bushes in your yard. We feed our Walking Sticks apple leaves, raspberry leaves, cherry leaves, plum leaves, and current leaves. Sassafras is another food they like. During the winter months we feed them Romaine Lettuce. It really needs to be Romaine Lettuce, other types of lettuce just don't seem to meet all of their needs. Also Romaine Lettuce is easier to keep and it keeps longer than other types. A tip for keeping Romaine Lettuce longer is to keep it in a bag with a damp towel wrapped around it in the refrigerator.
Important: You must wash any greens or plants you give your Walking Sticks completely before giving it to them if you suspect or know they have been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides, especially anything from the supermarket. Even if it's marked “Organic”.
Temperature wise if it's warm enough for you inside you're Northern Walking Sticks will be comfortable as well. This may not be true for tropical Phasmids. If you have an extended power outage or something of that nature it might be advised to move their vivarium to the warmest area of our house or apartment.
Breeding
Independent of what kind of housing you have provided it is important to note that your numbers will increase if you have moist soil in the bottom of your tank. If you do not want masses of stick insects do not provide any soil in the bottom of your enclosure. This may be of importance if you have children and these are to be their pets. One or two pets is fine, and their short lifespan means a short commitment. But if they reproduce its a major commitment.
Legalities
At the time of this writing Northern Walking Stick Insects are the only species of Walking Stick Insects that are legal in The United States by private individuals.
Canada allows more species of Phasmids to be kept by private individuals. However, Canada does not allow private individuals to keep Giant Indian Walking Stick Insects.
The United Kingdom and Other European Union countries allow private individuals to keep a greater variety of Phasmids than either The United States or Canada.
However, when deciding to keep any type of exotic pet you should check with your local authorities, such your local Bylaws, the Department of Natural Resources in The United States or Fish and Wildlife in Canada, or their equivalent in your area. Some communities have laws concerning certain exotics as there is a concern that they may escape into the wild. If for some reason you cannot care for your pets you must either re-home them with someone else who wants them or find some way to dispose of them, (they can be fed to lizards) but you cannot simply turn them loose. In many cities there are herpetological or entomological clubs with members who would be trilled to take them off from your hands.
Other Information
After your stick insect dies, you may use the body for resin jewelry or objects such as paper weights. Their bodies are hard when dry.
Some people have reported that they may reproduce without the presence of a mate.
Lizards who are refusing to eat regular food, may show interest in eating stick insects.
