Advice: Megaphasma dentricrus setup?

[zouzam]

We're having a bit of an M. dentricrus boom in my city this year. I've caught a few but have been struggling to keep them going in captivity for longer than two weeks. I'm trying to troubleshoot what's going wrong and would appreciate some advice or a link to a care guide that's worked for you.
I've based my setup going off this care guide from BugGuide. I started off with 2 pairs of adults in a tall 20 gallon tank. Based on the weather the day the stickbugs were caught, I've set up a light on a timer which keeps things around 75 degrees F and I mist to keep humidity between 50-60%. There's a layer of topsoil at the bottom of the tank to hold moisture. The pairs I caught were found on Western Soapberry and Red Mulberry with several other phasmids, so I've continued providing clippings of those for food. In the past I have also tried oak.
They roam around a bit but mostly seem to like hanging out on the screened lid.
One of my pairs has gone very lethargic and limp and I suspect they are preparing to die. Consistent with other stickbugs I've lost this season, it's always been around the two week mark and rather suddenly. Once they slow down, it takes about two days for them to grow weak and eventually die. Adults, juveniles, doesn't seem to matter.
I'm at a loss and would really appreciate some advice. I don't plan on collecting more of these if I can't care for them properly.

 

[TheraMygale]

There is only one place in my locality where such a species is found. It is supposed to be kept a secret, but it is not so secret. It is possibly not the same kind as yours, but it is similar.

they are considered endangered here ans harvesting is of course illegal. I would never dare to get one for myself. They seem to be such magical beings that need to be in their element to thrive.

i know alot of people keep them as pets and they probably have a pretty symbiotic relationship with their environment.

i have not even went looking for them even if i know where. I couldnt help myself from getting pissed off if i saw anyone harvesting.

this is just my reality. I am sure if they were abondany here, I might try myself.

 

[Brewser]

Marvelous Mimics.
Perhaps just not conducive to captivity?

 

[TheraMygale]

Marvelous Mimics.
Perhaps just not conducive to captivity?

Is anything truely conducive to captivity?

 

[zouzam]

There is only one place in my locality where such a species is found. It is supposed to be kept a secret, but it is not so secret. It is possibly not the same kind as yours, but it is similar.

they are considered endangered here ans harvesting is of course illegal. I would never dare to get one for myself. They seem to be such magical beings that need to be in their element to thrive.

i know alot of people keep them as pets and they probably have a pretty symbiotic relationship with their environment.

i have not even went looking for them even if i know where. I couldnt help myself from getting pissed off if i saw anyone harvesting.

this is just my reality. I am sure if they were abondany here, I might try myself.

Thank you for sharing that. I'm in Texas. I've read up a bit and to my knowledge M. dentricrus is considered common in the southern United States, just tricky to spot. I would certainly never want to remove a threatened species from the wild so if you have some data on this particular species that I might not be aware of, please cite it so I can take a look! I really appreciate you taking the time.
They are such incredible little insects. I work at an outdoor learning center and was hoping to breed some to use as education animals for our school district. But again, if I just can't get them to thrive, I'll give up trying so they can be happy out in our ecosystem.

 

[zouzam]

Marvelous Mimics.
Perhaps just not conducive to captivity?

Maybe not! It's possible that just moving them from outside to inside is enough to make them wilt.
Both of the guides I've found are frustratingly simple! But in the end this species may just not be realistic for me.

 

[TheraMygale]

I will put it on my list of things i need to research. I have a contact at the insectarium near where I live. If i can get over the anxiety of writing to them, i might get insight.
(Edit, I wrote to them. Now we wait and see)

my natural instinct would be to think they need alot of height, space, tons of cross ventilation. With moisture and humidity levels comparable to where they are found. Reminds me of avics and their needs.

chamaleon enclosures might be excellent homes for these. Since you are involved in this on a much bigger level then just personnal, i will do my best to find the most i can and get back to you with this.

use inaturalist to see where people are seeing them in your local. Go there and look at the habitat. Experience the habitat. You might need to get some
Of those plants in the enclosure. Perhaps you have an insectarium nearby. I would contact them with your idea. You would be suprised what they could offer. Even local entomological groups.

because you are orienting this project for an educationnal purpose, people will be more open to help you out and give you information. Science people dont like poaching so limit what information they share. But to the right minded people, they will be more welcoming.

it all depends how passionate you are about this project.

 

[zouzam]

I will put it on my list of things i need to research. I have a contact at the insectarium near where I live. If i can get over the anxiety of writing to them, i might get insight.
(Edit, I wrote to them. Now we wait and see)

my natural instinct would be to think they need alot of height, space, tons of cross ventilation. With moisture and humidity levels comparable to where they are found. Reminds me of avics and their needs.

chamaleon enclosures might be excellent homes for these. Since you are involved in this on a much bigger level then just personnal, i will do my best to find the most i can and get back to you with this.

use inaturalist to see where people are seeing them in your local. Go there and look at the habitat. Experience the habitat. You might need to get some
Of those plants in the enclosure. Perhaps you have an insectarium nearby. I would contact them with your idea. You would be suprised what they could offer. Even local entomological groups.

because you are orienting this project for an educationnal purpose, people will be more open to help you out and give you information. Science people dont like poaching so limit what information they share. But to the right minded people, they will be more welcoming.

it all depends how passionate you are about this project.

I'm so grateful you reached out. I'd really appreciate hearing anything you might learn. I think these insects could contribute so much to our programs.
I've tried out a vertical chameleon cage with screen on all sides as well as a tall 40 gallon glass tank with a screen top. In the 40 gallon I actually measured temp and humidity on the day I collected my bugs and tried to stick to that. I collected leaves from the same trees I found them on. They live in the forest right next to where I work so fortunately it's not hard to gauge conditions. I can just walk outside.
I've actually considered just keeping them in a screened cage outside to simplify things. The main advantage to having them indoors is that they'd be available year round, and we'd really need them during the school year when the weather is cold.
The ones I've written in about didn't make it in the end, but they did drop some eggs before I lost them, about 13. I've been keeping those eggs at 75ish degrees and misting them daily to stay around 50% humidity. I'd read that sometimes adults struggle to adjust to little changes in "microclimate". I'm wondering if a phasmid born into captive conditions might fare better. Hopefully I can get them to hatch.
I enjoy keeping bugs of all kinds so this is my special little project. I'm gonna keep reading anything I can get my hands on. I may see if there are any Texas Master Naturalists who can connect me to someone who knows more about the species.
Thanks for being so kind and helpful. If those eggs hatch, I'll update.