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Dougal's Pet Corner
The place for your pet stories and pictures, let me have them |
| Stick insects are amongst the easiest of
exotic insects to keep and breed at home. They are mostly from tropical or sub tropical
regions of the world such as India, South America, Africa, Australia and similar warm
areas including Europe. Most of the species are capable of living between 1 and 2 years
and during this time they will breed quite readily producing hundreds of eggs which can
take up to 12 months to hatch. Stick insects like a little space to move around in and an
ideal home would be an inexpensive aquarium or vivarium, which as a mesh lid instead of
the usual plastic or glass one. This will allow plenty of fresh air in to the tank, which
is required if keeping stick insects. The base of the tank can be fitted with either plain
paper or a mixture of soil and peat; this must be cleaned out every couple of weeks to
prevent the build up of waste. Some resting-places for your stick insects will also be
required such as nicely shaped branches and even a few potted plants, these can be
artificial ones if you prefer so that they aren't eaten. You should be able to keep 6
adults in a tank of 18 inches long x 12 inches deep x 15 inches high, if you try to keep
too many in a tank then they will have too much contact and some may become damaged as a
result. Common Indian stick insects can usually be kept quite easy in a warm living room
without any heating during the summer months provided the temperature doesn't drop much
below 65°F. The humidity requirements for stick insects are fairly easy to achieve and
misting the plants and or substrate daily will give the desired result, don't over do it
though and get things too wet as fungus, bacteria and moulds may begin to grow and affect
your insects. Most stick insects are easily fed on common bramble (blackberry) but their
diet should include a mixture of plants to give additional minerals and salts, which would
be deficient in a single food, source diet. Suitable other foods include Oak leaves, Rose
leaves, Privet, Hawthorne and Ivy leaves. All of the plants that you feed your insects
should be free of pesticides as these may kill your pets. It is a good idea to grow some
of the food plants yourself in pots, which can be placed in to the tank and removed once
they have been eaten. If you decide to gather your plant material from the countryside
make sure you have permission if it's needed and don't gather plants from near roads, as
they will most likely be contaminated by lead from car exhausts. If you do gather plants
then you should take small leafy branches which should be placed in to a container of
water such as a milk bottle and the neck should be packed with cotton wool to prevent any
insects from getting in. Once the leaves have been eaten or died they should be replaced. |
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Most of the kittens mentioned in the last issue (including
Monkey) have now joined their new families. We were also delighted that older cats,
Chocolate and Tipsy, Caspar, Tabitha, Myrtle, plus three new arrivals, age 6, 8 and 10
years, have also left us. |
The two little tabbies, Rogue and Fido were
finally caught and although still nervous they are beginning to trust us. Fortunately, our
spare pen, temporarily in use at Stephanie’s, became vacant and she was able to move
this to new fosterers, Pauline and Ken at Stalham. Having swiftly erected the pen and made
it habitable they were delighted to find the first residents would be the four
five-month-old kittens (these too have now been re-homed and replaced by a further three
kittens). As Pauline and Ken have already adopted four cats from us we know they will
receive lots of tender loving care while waiting for new homes. We are very lucky with all
our fosterers who give so much time and attention to the cats in their care, all of which
is voluntary. Ronnie, the lovely tabby boy has now found a new home. Harvey and
Minnie are still with us but are becoming less timid with each day. We have several
older cats in care at present, all waiting for that special someone to give them a home.
Tucker, now a 19-year-old cat, is beginning to look his age and will be going to
the vets for his annual check this week. Twiggy, an elderly black cat found
collapsed near North Walsham, was recently handed over to us. This very frail little cat
is probably about 16 years old and arrived with a very smelly ear caused by a nasty
infection and polyps in her ear. Three 12-year-old cats have recently come into care
because their owner has died and although they were used to spending their days indoors,
they were now living and being fed outside their home. Pippy, a 13-year-old ginger
and white girl will also be coming back for re-homing as in spite of all her owner’s
efforts to make her happy, she has not settled. Because suitable owners for older
cats may be reluctant to give them a home, as they are worried about the possibility of
large vet bills, we always offer to pay for any veterinary treatment they may need, due to
their age. As volunteers all the work we do for Cats Protection is unpaid and in our
spare time. Stephanie always tries to respond to phone calls as soon as time permits.
Obviously if she is doing other things (i.e. working, feeding/cleaning the cats or her own
animals, on vet visits, home checks, etc) she may not be able to reply straight away.
Sometimes she is unable to get back to you because the answer- phone message is not clear.
If you do not hear from her within 24 hours and are enquiring about a cat/kitten,
requesting a neutering voucher or need to join our waiting list please call again.
If you are looking for a cat or kitten, call Stephanie on 01692 535858. Alternatively you
can visit www.northwalshamcats.co.uk for a
description of the cats before giving her a call. Finally, Ian would like to thank
everyone who supported us at the Bluebell Quiz Night where, £125 was raised to help care
for the cats.
Many Thanks, Christine and Olive |
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