Giant leaf insect

Pulchriphyllium giganteum is also documented as Phyllium giganteum. Preserve the taxon and culture record rather than identifying from leaf-like appearance.

Confirm the current name and culture identity.

Maintain safe accepted browse year round and plan careful nymph management.

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 45 × 45 × 60 cm or larger, with grippable branches and at least three adult body lengths of usable hanging room. Keep apart from phasmids that may chew its leaf-like body.

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 retrieved keeper guide describes 25–30°C, but the upper range needs assessment against the actual culture and ventilation. Do not use uncontrolled heating to chase rapid growth.

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.

Agree the exact upper temperature bound.

Provide gentle daytime illumination 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.

Balance humidity for moulting with airflow. Avoid condensation or large droplets that can trap 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.

Use accepted pesticide-free bramble, oak or other breeder-confirmed browse. Nymph feeding success must be checked rather than inferred from a full branch.

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.

Confirm acceptable, correctly identified food plants for the culture.

Avoid forceful handling and leave hanging animals alone through moulting.

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.

Record moults and successful feeding; repeated falls or failed moults need a review of grip, moisture and climate.

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.

Keep the scientific-name history and source record; contain eggs and offspring.

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.

Check leaf freshness, visible feeding damage and fine drinking droplets. Review nymph growth, usable hanging space and eggs on removed material. Keep a dated record of measurements and observations, and revisit the full advice when conditions or life stage change.