A good pet is sometimes hard to find...

TWO youngsters in Elburton sometimes have trouble finding their pets as they are so good at camouflage.

Ella and Josh Sara, aged eight and five, have five stick insects as pets. They were given to the Sara family, which includes mum Clare and dad Richard, when a friend of Ella's moved to Spain with her family a few months ago.

"They're very easy to look after and seem more active at night-time," says mum Clare. "They escaped once and we found them all around the house, on the ceiling.

"You have to spray them with water once a day. They eat ivy and brambles."

Many stick insects are easy to care for and make good pets – when you can find them, as their natural camouflage can make them extremely difficult to spot. They are slow-moving, and so their twig-like camouflage helps protect them from predators. They originate from tropical countries such as Thailand, Australia, New Guinea, Madagascar and Borneo and live for one to two years depending on their species.

Stick insects live on the plants they eat. They have claws and suckers on their feet to help them cling on. "They seem to be all female, as they lay eggs," added Clare. "You can keep the eggs and rear them."

As herbivores, they only eat plants. Their mouthparts project out from the head, and include typical chewing mandibles, helpful when eating vegetation such as bramble and rose leaves. They also need fresh water.

Their eggs are typically camouflaged, resembling plant seeds, and may remain dormant for a full season or more before hatching. The nymphs are born already closely resembling the adults.

Two types of stick insect originally from New Zealand are surviving outside in the mild climate of Cornwall, especially around Truro. They arrived in the 1800s aboard cargo ships.

Do you have a peculiar pet? Contact Nicola Tapp on the newsdesk on 01752 765529 or email ntapp@ theplymouthherald.co.uk.