Stick Insects and Mantids as Pets

Short Lives

Most pet stick insects and mantids live around a year, sometimes less. Many keepers enjoy watching them grow through several molts to adulthood, and some go on to breed stick insects.

Handling: One Real Difference

Stick insects are gentle and can walk onto your hand. Pick them up by letting them climb on, never by a leg, which can come off. Mantids can also be hand-walked, but they're predators: they may grab at a finger, and they must live alone, because they eat each other.

Food Plants: The Real Commitment

Stick insects need fresh leaves every few days, all year. Common pet species such as the Indian stick insect eat bramble (blackberry), privet, rose and similar leaves. Make sure you can find unsprayed leaves through winter before you buy, and stand stems in a narrow pot of water with the top blocked so the insects can't fall in and drown.

Mantids need small live insects such as fruit flies, small crickets or flies, sized to the mantid.

Small, Ventilated and Tall Enough to Molt

Both need a mesh or well-ventilated enclosure tall enough to hang and molt, at least three times the insect's body length in height. Mist lightly so they can drink and to help molting, and let it dry between mistings. Don't disturb an insect while it is molting.

The Law: US Permits

In the US, most non-native stick insects are treated as potential plant pests, and keeping or moving them needs a permit from USDA APHIS; some mantid species are regulated too. Some states add their own rules. In the UK and many other countries, common species can be kept freely. Rules differ by country, so check with your national authority before you buy, and never release stick insects or mantids outdoors.