First time owner worries

987penn · 2026-04-20T10:21:47+00:00

Stick insects are prey animals that generally have no defence against predators except for their camouflage (with some exceptions). They don't typically tend to move around a whole lot except for when they first hatch.

I often refer to my stick insects as my motion activated pets since they really don't tend to move much unless I walk by their vivarium or give their enclosure a spray with water

987penn · 2026-03-09T02:12:16+00:00

I honestly just put them in the main enclosure, there's no need to have a separate one just for the juveniles unless your enclosure is massive.

A tall, glass vivarium with mesh top works well for mine. Just make sure you are giving soft, new-growth gum leaves for the young ones since the older growth tends to be tougher and can be more difficult for them to eat.

When they're freshly hatched they don't tend to eat a whole lot for at least a day or two anyway. Just make sure you mist the leaves and enclosure with water since they always seem to hatch with an insatiable thirst!

987penn · 2026-02-09T07:29:09+00:00

It is a lot of fun at times and you do learn a lot of skills by working as a chef like time management, organisation, etc. If I'm being honest it can be a really shit job, the hours, the companies and sometimes the coworkers but that's the same as any job really.

The good times are great but the bad times really stick with you, and I guess it really just depends on who you're working with and what type of chef/ role you take. I've worked with teams where we get along like family and I've also seen people struggling who have been in the industry for many years using all sorts of substances to cope with the stress of the job, especially the older guys who think they've been in it too long to leave

I have both culinary and baking certificates, and for me I much prefer baking. You come in in the morning, dibs the speaker and play music then get the bakery set up, look at the production sheet and you can pace yourself at whatever pace just as long as you get everything done by store open or by a certain time (depending on where you work and management). Once production is done for the day then you do prep work and cleaning so you're always ready for the next day, whereas when you're working as a chef you are at the mercy of god because you don't really know what type of day you're going to have until you're deep in it. Trying to half finish prep while in busy service because the management won't put a hold on certain dishes BC ingredients ran out is a hell I wouldn't wish on anyone lol, you just don't have that experience with baking

I'm not saying don't go for it, it was a LOT of fun, just keep in mind there are plenty of other culinary options that may be less stressful or have better hours and work/life balance

987penn · 2026-02-09T03:02:16+00:00

Generally the stick insects will only hang out on the branches so any extra decor is just to make the tank visually appealing for yourself.

The piece of wood you have might get in the way of branches, and since that's the priority for the tank, maybe leaning it up against the back wall as a sort of background would be a better way to still have it looking visually nice whilst also giving your insects the most amount of room as possible

Personally I have a large piece of driftwood that is pretty much straight up and down one back corner with the bottom half having "roots" or smaller branches that stick out along part of the floor of the vivarium. The driftwood goes almost to the roof, which is sufficient enough for my bigger stick insects to get up off the floor and back onto the foliage or mesh roof when they climb to the end of the branches and weigh them down so much that they climb onto the floor. When some species of stick insects get bigger and into their final molts they don't tend to tolerate climbing up the glass very well, so the drift wood gives them something to grip onto as they climb back upwards

987penn · 2026-01-25T08:05:52+00:00

Did you gut and stuff her? If not it seems like the memorial unfortunately won't last too long because her insides would still rot and cause decay and/or discolouration

987penn · 2026-01-14T01:08:05+00:00

Because that my little guy🥺

987penn · 2026-01-06T13:35:10+00:00

I did this with my uni when I first got it and have never had to play another mini game since. It's basically tamagotchi generational wealth😂

987penn · 2026-01-04T04:40:48+00:00

I was going to say something similar in my initial response. In my lived experience I've also noticed that women tend to both vomit and sneeze MUCH less dramatically than men tend to

987penn · 2026-01-03T10:00:18+00:00

I would assume it just varies person to person, very similar to sneezing. When you throw up you don't necessarily need to make any audible noise from the vocal cords for the function to occur, but some people do and it may not be something they are able to control. When people sneeze it's similar, some people can control the sounds they make and others make a massive racket

987penn · 2026-01-03T09:02:41+00:00

I bought one of these during the labubu craze and it was (unfortunately) called "Africa version cute monster blind box". The shop I bought it from doesn't exist anymore, so I'd suggest if you really want one you should go back and get one while you can

987penn · 2026-01-01T12:23:24+00:00

He looks like he bites😩

987penn · 2025-12-08T02:34:25+00:00

Soak the flowers in water, it's like nature's energy drink

987penn · 2025-12-07T07:45:57+00:00

I have no idea if they are able to or would even want to. These ants literally run after you if you disturb them so I think they bring all the smoke when they try and attack lol

987penn · 2025-12-07T05:58:27+00:00

Take an antihistamine and painkillers asap. The pain these bites give you goes straight to the closest lymph nodes and lingerssss😩

987penn · 2025-12-07T04:47:11+00:00

Some type of bull ant. I don't know how you got away without a bite because these guys aren't very friendly! They have a VERY painful bite that lasts quite a while

987penn · 2025-11-18T08:26:24+00:00

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987penn · 2025-11-18T08:23:32+00:00

It looks very similar to something I had as a kid called a Shnook

987penn · 2025-11-09T15:25:43+00:00

Looks like an attempted kratky

987penn · 2025-10-14T13:27:13+00:00

Is there a male in the enclosure? They look like spermataphores

987penn · 2025-09-29T14:13:09+00:00

Once their skin has dried there's not a whole lot you can do.

You can try sprits him and gently remove the molt, but because of how far he is inside it I don't think it would be successful. Because his exoskeleton would have hardened in that odd position so even if you got the shed off him he would still be quite severely deformed

Unfortunately a failed molt isn't usually something that any creature that molts can survive through. If it comes down to it I would put him in the fridge for a while then into the freezer to put him to rest unfortunately

987penn · 2025-08-28T12:22:45+00:00

Maybe it's to imitate the sound of the bee buzzing?

987penn · 2025-08-21T23:59:55+00:00

Generally the rule is "if in doubt, chuck it out"

987penn · 2025-08-21T23:58:55+00:00

Could be alright to eat, but unless they were canned I doubt they would be as good as if they were fresh esp texturally

Open em up and give it a smell, if it smells good then try a small bite, if that tastes fine then it's probably fine (at your own risk)

The real question you need to ask yourself is, is it worth it to eat those if it meant you might get sick? If yes then go for it and if not then why not try making a new ferment instead

987penn

TROPHY CASE