Help on I.D please

[kenza]

I recently took on an adult female stick insect, originally there was also a male and some younger nymphs,
but those sadly didn't make it. Could someone please help with the I.D of the female:

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/6086/95258938.jpg (http://img704.imageshack.us/i/95258938.jpg/)

sorry for the poor quality picture, my camera has died and webcam is crud

Keelan :)

[Rob.c]

The picture isn't massively helping but it looks like it could well be trachyaretaon brueckneri possiby perhaps.... ???
http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&ei=bXhTS9XnMZ2I4gai79DxCA&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=trachyaretaon+brueckneri&spell=1&start=0

looks similar to my females... also looks like she's filled with eggs... put a tub with a layer of moist sand in it about 2" deep and you'll soon know if she is .. my buggers never stop laying eggs....

[kenza]

Cheers for that :)
I've had a search and she does look like Trachyaretaon brueckneri and she's ready to pop, there was an egg in the tub she was in, atm i've got her in with a mix of coca fibre and vermiculite, although with this it's going to take a while to find eggs, the only other sand i have on hand is calci sand, and when that's wet it really clumps together, would she still be able to lay in that?

Keelan :)

[Rob.c]

The sand I'm using currently is not generally recommended because it clumos up it's the yellowy type bird sand but I find if I wet it then fluff it up with a fork they have no trouble laying and the females seem to wait for the tub .. I swap it every second day taking it out sifting through a sieve to get the eggs out keep it out for a day or two dampen it again and half an hour after it goes in 3 females abdomen down laying... very very prolific little buggers... gotta admit though they are some of my favourites I've had and surprisingly fast when disturbed.Each of the three females and 5 males have different colours as well..... eat bloody anything as well...

[Taz Devil]

I didn't have to dampen the sand with my trachy's. I just left it dry, when they'd laid in it would take the tub out and pour it through a seive to remove ova and frass from the asand. I would then put the sand back in the tub and put the tub back in with the sticks.

The ova I kept I had on some Spagnum moss whch was kept damp.