This huge Katydid species (Siliquofera Grandis) is one of the largest and most impressive insect species in the world yet are easy to keep. Unlike some katydids these do not make much noise at all which makes them great pets. They are fascinating to watch and handle and have some really interesting behaviours.
Watch the videos with sound turned up - you'll get useful info about their care etc. But really they're pretty easy to care for we just like to get it perfect.You don't need huge cages like ours; we're breeding them in large numbers. Now it's summer you might be fine without a heat mat too but keep an eye on the temperature.
Before we kept them we had heard they could bite and were a touch nervous handling the big ones, yet it has never happened and we handle all of them a fair bit. Apparently the stories are because if your fingers are covered in apple or other food they will bite thinking you're an apple! Don't grab them to move them, coax them onto your hand or a leaf etc and watch out for huge jumps if they get spooked.
We have recently started keeping young ones of these in the same cage as young heteropteryx dilatata and so far so good. We're not saying that's definitely fine as it's a recent thing.
One thing we really love about them is that they can learn to be tame, they start of as jumpy little things but gradually they learn you're no threat and can be hand fed! They also have the best antennae, many lose them on hatching but grow them back.
We suggest you choose Royal Mail tracked 24 on check out, and please make sure you are in to receive them on Wednesday. We post on Tuesday morning. They will each be in their own small pot, within a larger postal box.
With a box of 4 very young ones there is only 1/8 a chance they will ALL be the same sex. We can't sex them when they are really young, but both sexes are lovely anyway. If the number of hatchlings is low that week we might replace some with slightly older ones. We will assume you're fine with that unless you tell us in advance.
They grow up pretty quickly 3-4 months but then live a long time as adults - how great is that!
Keep them warm (22-26) and quite humid (70-85%) and don't over-crowd them
Bramble, Beech, oak and chunks of organic apple make up most of their diet for us, sometimes with added fish flakes on the apple
We aren't adding a free one to the box of 4 but we are doing all we can to help them arrive safely
you can find extra info at www.katydids.co.uk
