Black beauty stick insect

Peruphasma schultei is a dark Peruvian phasmid with small red wings. It can release an irritating defensive spray.

Maintain a year-round safe privet supply and plan observation rather than frequent handling.

Arrange dependable holiday care and keep money available for food, replacement equipment and appropriate veterinary help. Test the habitat before the animal arrives.

Wildform proposes 30 × 30 × 45 cm for a small assessed group, with bark shelters and at least three adult body lengths of usable hanging room. This is a conservative clearance interpretation of general cage-height guidance.

Measure usable internal space after substrate, guards and furnishings. Check ventilation, cable holes and access against the smallest occupant. Fix heavy furnishings independently of loose substrate.

The PSG sheet specifies room temperature without a numeric band. Record the actual day/night room range and confirm it with the breeder.

Record the warm and cool locations, overnight minimum and daytime maximum. Air, surface and substrate readings are different measurements. Any added heater needs compatible thermostatic control and safe separation from the animal; assess summer cooling as well as winter heating.

Replace an assumed room temperature with a measured plan for the exact line.

Use a gentle daytime cycle and dark nights; no mandatory UVB target was established.

Keep the night dark and provide retreat from daytime light. Lamp percentage, electrical wattage and a product name cannot establish the exposure reaching an animal. Check the finished installation after changes to mesh, branches or lamp position.

Offer light drinking droplets and retain airflow. Condensation and exposed stem-water reservoirs can trap small nymphs.

Inspect the occupied refuge and substrate as well as the air reading. Adjust water provision and ventilation together, and clean contaminated drinking surfaces. A single humidity number cannot describe every microclimate.

Provide correctly identified pesticide-free privet, refreshed before it wilts. Check young nymphs are actually eating.

Record what is actually eaten and follow changes in growth and body condition. Food size, life stage and the full diet matter. Supplement products require an individual plan; do not combine calcium, vitamin D and multivitamins by guesswork.

Avoid startling or squeezing adults and keep defensive spray away from eyes and mouth.

Make necessary maintenance predictable and allow voluntary retreat. Prepare a secure transfer container before essential moves. Observation should not repeatedly interrupt feeding, rest or moulting.

Account for defensive spray during essential handling and maintenance.

Leave moulting animals undisturbed; review grip, foliage quality and moisture when moults fail.

Keep dated observations of appetite, activity and condition. A sudden decline, injury, abnormal breathing or repeated failed moults needs appropriate professional assessment. This guide does not provide a diagnosis or medicine dose.

Contain dropped eggs and offspring, and check old foliage before disposal. Never release animals or eggs outdoors.

Ask for a dated source record, scientific identity, life stage and established care history. Keep new arrivals and their equipment separate while an appropriate quarantine plan is agreed. Check current official rules for the exact animal, route and transaction before importing or buying; this page does not establish legal clearance. Never release animals or viable eggs outdoors.

Contain eggs securely in discarded substrate and plant material.

Check fresh privet, drinking droplets and nymph containment. Review hanging clearance and collect/record eggs responsibly. Keep a dated record of measurements and observations, and revisit the full advice when conditions or life stage change.