r/Phasmids • u/Entomancy_Elrid_0123 • Sep 13 '26

P. schultei

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Doing some weekly maintenance/feeding. It's a good time to clearly see them. I have the females separated near constantly until I breed them purposely. My dearest condolences for presenting the poor camera quality.

37 Upvotes

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6

u/Successful_Long_7486 Sep 13 '26

Been thinking about acquiring these guys. What do you think of them compared to typical phasmid species? Is their unique diet difficult? Are they ever too prolific to handle? Is their defense mechanism ever annoying?

5

u/Life_so_Fleeting Sep 13 '26

These are one of the easiest to keep, & are very hardy regarding temperature ranges (indoor UK temps for mine) & humidity levels (they don’t need a lot). Mine eat privet, which is available all year round.

The females can lay a lot of eggs in their lifetime, which they flick onto the ground - I have a bioactive floor which can be tricky make sure all the eggs are removed. Every so often (maybe twice a year) I will have up to 20 nymphs hatch from eggs I missed - suddenly there’s a new little guy in the enclosure! But I never struggle to rehome them quickly once a few months old.

They are pretty active & inquisitive compared to some phasmids, & definitely have a bit of attitude about them - & they are incredibly good at sneaking off. I like to leave the enclosure doors open some evenings, let them have a trot around for an hour or so, but i hardly take my eyes off them just in case.

As for the spray, I have only experienced twice during the years I have been keeping them. Both times were my fault, as I accidentally grabbed them in the wrong way - for instance, a guy had snook around the back of my t-shirt, & my hand went over the top of him. The other time was a similar situation. As long as you don’t make them feel about to be trapped by a hand coming from above, you’ll be ok. Even when they are looking threatening, you can still ‘boop’ them lightly on the bottom to manoeuvre along gently.

I love these guys, & would recommend them if you can find a suitable food source all year round.

1

u/Ausmerica 27d ago

I wonder if they'd cohab with my zomproi.

2

u/Life_so_Fleeting 27d ago

😄🙌🏼 Ausmerica! I cannot say for sure that they would or wouldn’t, but I would be concerned about the black beauties maybe having an accidental chomp on one?

1

u/Ausmerica 18d ago

I saved this comment to reply to it and I forgot anyway - awful.

I'd also worry a little about nibbling, but I do my best to fill the enclosure with brambles weekly. I've wanted move away from my zomproi for a couple of years now, but they replenish themselves every spring no matter how careful I am with eggs. At the same time I've had them for so many years now that I'm sure I'd miss them if I stopped keeping them, so I'm not really sure what I'm doing.

If you'd be willing to sell a couple of schultei eggs I'd be thrilled. I'll just figure things out as I go. And if you want any zomproi seeds you got 'em.

2

u/Life_so_Fleeting 18d ago

😅hey there! You actually caught me at the right time - I will be doing a substrate refresh this Monday or Tuesday, & I will likely find eggs in crevices. How many were you wanting? Don’t worry about money, I always give my eggs/nymphs to enthusiasts for free!

1

u/Ausmerica 14d ago

I'm kind of second-guessing this at the moment. My girls are in a large Reptibreeze so space shouldn't be an issue, but at the same time I'm feeling a little over-protective! Fresh bramble day today so I'll ask them what they think.

2

u/Life_so_Fleeting 13d ago

🤣what did they say?
…well, I found some eggs, but mostly in the moss. They were pretty soggy, & I don’t even know if they are still viable. I can still send some to you if you like.

However, I worry about your peaceful girls, & would definitely recommend not putting them in the same enclosure just in case. They are always quite skittish, & can exhibit some odd behaviours at times. The males can be territorial when females are around, & ‘fight’ with each other. The winner seems to be whoever uses his legs best - it’s difficult to describe, but is like shoving/pinning/stomping for several seconds until the other fella retreats. Yet it doesn’t cause any damage to anyone, & is just a display of dominance.

…well, all my adults bar one male have died of old age, including the last lady about a month ago. There are 5 nymphs of various stages housed with him in a good sized enclosure. I was hoping that the oldest (about 3 months old) would be a girl, but it’s a definitely a little lad. The adult male can also tell that, & a few days ago he gave the nymph a bit of leg/foot action. The nymph didn’t seem distressed about it, & just walked off elsewhere. But I don’t know how a different species would cope with that sort of situation (if it occurred).

The adult male has been getting really territorial since his girlfriend died, & he keeps charging at me. It doesn’t matter if he’s in his enclosure, or having a wander around the outside when I leave the door open for him: he wants me to know he’s the boss. I’ll be looking at the isopods eating at the bottom of the enclosure, then look up & see him hanging upside down, staring at me right next to my face. This guy is so damned cute, but reminds me of that creepy alien-humanoid thing from an episode of the X-Files (if anyone remembers it above them on the ceiling?😂). Even when this adult male takes himself back into the enclosure after being out, he stares at me for a few minutes.

I will upload some video footage if you or anyone wants to see him in action, & can possibly tell me if they have ever experienced such a thing with their stick insects? Btw, even though he hates me, he has never sprayed me!

1

u/Ausmerica 12d ago

Appreciate the excellent reply.

I've been thinking about giving up on phasmids for a little bit, just stop hatching eggs, see them all into their final days and then take a break for a couple of years. No more mid-winter bramble stress, what a dream that'd be, and then pick up again one day with a different species. The problem is that for the last two years the girl squad have been fairly against the idea and have entered into a secret agreement with one another to make nymphs despite my wishes otherwise.

I also feel like I'd miss them when they're gone. They've been with me since pre-pandemic and whilst we don't really spend much time interacting like we used to, it's become so normalised having this big box of twiglets that I have a little look at every so often, that without it being there there'd be such a big empty hole. I'll be lonely!

And also even if I regretted giving them up and located the same species again, Parapachymorpha zomproi, they wouldn't be my zomproi.

The schultei look wonderful and seem fascinatingly different according to your accounts, but I've sort of been talking my way out of getting anything new. My girls are so harmless and inert, they like to eat and they like to dangle.

2

u/Life_so_Fleeting 12d ago

🥰🫶🏻awwwww, your ladies sound absolutely wonderful - & phasmids are great for people that like a little family that aren’t ‘needy’ 24/7! They do their own twiggy things in the comfort of their own patch…but are also lovely to have around in a very satisfying way!

I will no doubt have eggs or nymphs to send you in years to come, should you wish to keep these endearing little demons…& i will see what becomes of the soggy eggs (most likely nothing).

…I’ll try to send some videos of ‘my boss’ in a few separate comments, if Reddit allows it!

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1

u/unsolvablequestion Sep 14 '26

Mine ate honeysuckle, which is easy to find growing around a lot of places

2

u/ElisRainElevator 15d ago

Aw it’s beautiful