Pet Mantis Care Sheet Video
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ย. 2020
- This video works to support the written pet mantis care sheet on my website at the link below. I've been keeping pet praying mantises for many, many years and written pet mantid care sheets don't always convey some of the ideas as well as I'd like them to and so this video is one that I've wanted to make for a long time to show new pet mantis keepers how to set up their young pet mantises. Whether you call them mantises, mantids or praying mantises, this video aims to give you some confidence in providing care for one of the bug hobby's most interesting pets! As always, please feel free to leave questions or comments down below.
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Excellent video Peter! Lots of good info here! Can’t wait for the livestream tomorrow 😁
Anybody reading the comments, don't miss the Live Stream event on Instagram Live (in the story area) on Saturday 9/5/2020 at 2 PM Pacific Time/5 PM Eastern time. Lohit @mantodeology will be talking mantises with Jesse @shapesinnature and me for an hour or so. Trivia contest and a few prizes in addition to lots of great information! Thanks Lohit!
@@bugsincyberspace Does MANTISES hatches from flowers too?
@@maonghere2643 I'm sorry but I don't think I understand your question.
He says can mantises hatch from flowers i think
for me mantises are one of the more cool and interesting insects for me.
Yeah me to
And for me!
you said for me at the start and end of the sentence
I raised two Chinese mantises this year: Monty and Neo, who later became Nea when I realized she was actually female.
Monty The Mantis was a ridiculously picky eater; I don't think he ever ate anything besides flies and moths. Nea meanwhile will strike at anything that moves (including honey sticks and water droplets), so I'm regularly able to feed her mealworms and adult darkling beetles, though she also has some impressive grasshopper takedowns under her belt.
I mated them a couple weeks ago, and things started off very smoothly. I'd made sure to feed Nea 1-2 mealworms/day the week leading up to it, and I gave them a whole closet worth of space. Unfortunately I started this process rather late, so I had to nap after getting things started, and when I returned Nea had Monty in her grasp and apparently had eaten 3 of his "feet". I spritzed her with water and pulled the two apart, but it took me too long to notice that she had left several gashes in Monty's thorax, which were slowly bleeding out. Once I saw this, I applied some 5 minute epoxy to try to the wounds. I actually think this helped, because his condition stopped acutely deteriorating after that point, but by then it was too little too late, and after waiting 5 more hours to see if I could nurse him back to health, I decided it was best to euthanize.
I have no questions really. I just wanted to share the tale of Monty the Mantis.
Nea deposited an ootheca 2 days later
Thanks so much for sharing your story about Monty and Nea/o, Alex and I'm sorry to hear how things turned out. I often seem to put them together late and night and then have to make that judgment call too about whether to leave them alone or not. I make the wrong choice sometimes, but we just never know until we know, eh?
No other insect group seems to make an impression on their keepers in the same way mantises have, among all the people I've talked to over the years. It's always very wholesome to read the life stories of mantises and their keepers like this.
And it's very helpful to read accounts like yours about how to treat a mantis that has suffered an open wound like that. I've read a lot of accounts about people using glue to close up wounds on various pet arthropods and often it works. I've even read about people making prosthetic legs for their disabled pets.
Dang female mantis are savage
Updates on Monty Jrs?
It would have thrived better living outside where it belongs.
@@mjrotondi5086 The male would have been devoured either way
I have learned so much from your channel and website. I have gotten 2 species of mantises so far, and I think my whole family is hooked on pet insects now! When my kids find a native mantis outside, they run to the kitchen for a dropper and a dab of honey to give it. We probably have the most spoiled wild mantises in the area lol
All that made me smile more and more as I read it. Thank you for the comments, Tara!
I literally am housing my new mantis today! Perfect timing
Wonderful, thank you and please let me know if you have any questions!
LOL THE DANCING LOL
Im getting into owning an pet mantis for the first time and upon first clicking into your video the 40 minute length was a bit daunting but after watching it was super helpful and you clearly know what you are talking about and can do so In an interesting way. Glad I found this channel, +1 new sub
Thanks so much, M! Brevity has never exactly been my strong suit. ;)
Smashing video bud love all the mantis side of videos best I see in my eyes smashing work an info
Thank you so much for making this video. You answered many questions I had as I am just getting into mantis care! 🥰
I appreciate your comments, Rosie-Mia!
I am a mantis keeper myself and I love them. Have a couple of them at the moment
Amazing species!!
My orchid mantis Peaches just moulted for the first time - super surprised me that she pretty much doubled!
And so has her appetite, eh?
@@bugsincyberspace she’s a ravenous little thing 😆
I live in the desert and I have a garden I started my pet mantis and its feeding allllllll natural.... every single thing in the tank is from outdoors. Sometimes I take the old one out to die in peace in nature and get another one. so rad little pets, i get to catch pests and feed them to my ninja
They are a pleasure to watch. Thanks Moises!
Just got my first mantis pets! Love having this resource, thank you!
Thanks for writing in, Sara and I hope all goes smoothly with your new pet!
Subscribed 25 seconds in. Great job, beautiful creatures. Just ordered my first 3 species!
Thanks a bunch, Mads!
OMG you dropped the little man😂
Best video about mantis care, very down to earth. People online go a bit crazy sometimes, I am ordering thru your site some hopefully soon, thank you 🙏
Appreciate all of that. Thank you!
Awesome video. Thank you for your thoroughness.
Thank you for the support!
This is so cool!!!
My favorite insect praying mantis❤❤
You really know your Mantis!! 😁 I don't raise any but I love learning about all types of insects and others. I have to say I find Mantises to be my favorite, they are so unique and absolutely stunning to watch!! 💗
Thank you for your comments, Sherry! Let me know when you're ready for your first mantis!
I just go my Mantis from you Thank you so much he/she is perfect!
Wonderful. Thanks a bunch for the order, Steve and please let me know if you have any questions along the way!
Intro- John Wick from insect realm....
Excellent video for the beginner and great refresher course for veterans. I enjoyed it and thank you for posting it.
Thanks a bunch, Lois. If you are on Instagram, be sure to tune in on the @shapesinnature channel in the Live/story area today for our interview with Lohit @mantodeology about his experiences with the group!
Wow!!!!! I've never come across such an informative video about mantis keeping. Thanks so much 🙏💕 new sub here xxx
Thanks again Sarah for your supportive comments!
This is a great video! I learned a lot! Thanks!👍
Thank you, Marsha!
Just bought my first mantis, a dead leaf. Learnt so much from you not expressed from where I bought it. thanks. Ps, It, Woody, just took its
first meal, from me, of a maggot, by hand.
What a fantastic, informative video. I'm on my 2nd mantis now after a pretty bad mis molt on my first Chinese mantis. Now I'm trying my hand at a spiny flower mantis. Looks like a little ant lol. I'm excited to see it grow and thrive. I love this new found hobby and it's really helping me overcome my fear of most insects. Just trying to understand them better. They live in our world, and our world wouldn't be what it is without insects.
Great quality video very clear and precise information. Thanks ☺️
I appreciate the comments, Craig! I generally do better with precise, than concise. ;)
Yay thank you! I just got a mantis but I couldn’t find a video that explains it well
This is a video that I hope will help a lot of people in that position in the future. Thanks for commenting and please let me know if you have any questions about caring for your mantis!
Awesome video. Very informative with great content that helped me with some questions I had about my pet mantis.
Thanks Javier and please let me know if you have any remaining questions!
@@bugsincyberspace actually I do. I want to find out how many moltings mantis go to become adults.
I have found from 7 to 10 different websites post differently for same species.
Do you know where I can find this info for different species?
That's in advance
u r the best
I have many baby mantis this video helped me a lot
Thank you for commenting, Daniel. It helps motivate me to continue to make videos! Please let me know if you have any other mantis care questions and best of luck with your newborns!
Great video! I have had 4 egg sacs hatch! I kept two in separate containers. I feed them small flys and midges. Here in N.E. Ohio we have thousands of midges aka Canadian Soldiers. They are a month old now. I plan to release them next week in my garden to join the others.
Many thanks for this as I'm a Newby to the subject. I'm awaiting delivery on Saturday of a giant Asian mantis along with fruit flies.
I can't believe how small the L3's are - Wow.
So cool also thanks
Outstanding video Peter. WOW. As great as the video is, that beginning is amazing. Very professional. Nice job.
I have a longer clip of that mantis segment in the beginning that I'll probably post someday. Have you had a spiny flower mantis before? It's so fun to watch the nymphs dancing!
@@bugsincyberspace I have never kept a mantis before. Don't judge. ;)
@@SupremeGecko You need a mantis, Wally. Shoot me an email and I'll send you one.
@@bugsincyberspace Toooo generous! But I did send an Email
thank you for the video
Thanks for the informative video
Thank you for your comment and support, Dan!
Thank you so much this helps a lot i'm so excited to raise baby praying mantises 😁
I appreciate the time you took to comment, Louise, and good luck with your venture!
ANOTHER TIP FOR FRUIT FLYS I SAW ONLINE IS TO TAKE A PANTYHOSE LEG AND ATTACH IT TO THE TOP THEN THE OTHER END (TOE ARE CUT OFF) IS PLACED OVER A FUNNEL THAT CAN FIT OVER THE CUP. TO FEED THE MANTID PULL UP ON THE FUNNEL MAKING A TUBE OF PANTYHOSE THAT THE FRUIT FLIES CAN COME UP, AND PLACE THE SMALL FUNNEL OPENING INTO THE MANTID HABITAT. THE FRUIT FLIES THEN GO INTO ITS FEEDING CHAMBER AND AFTERWARDS JUST KEEP IT ATTACHED AND PLACE THE FUNNEL ON TO TO PREVENT THE FRUIT FLYS FROM ESCAPING. HAVENT TRIED IT YET BUT WANTED TO SHARE WHAT I LEARNED!
I did a video on this for green bottles and blue bottles too
There my favourite animal
Fabulous video as always...a wealth of information! Looking forward to future live-streams in IG and YT!
You cleaned up yesterday in the trivia contest on the livestream on Instagram. It was great to see you pop in! If you can be there today, good luck and thanks for all your consistent support. Jesse and I would love to do an event with you on the topic of many things, but the various aquatics you've worked with over the years is a group I'd love to know more about. I still know next to nothing about this wonderful little shrimp colony I got from you so many years ago! Thanks Rus!
Bugs In Cyberspace It would be marvelous to attend today, we’ll see if I manage! I would be delighted to livestream on aquatic inverts, among others! Let’s message each other and figure out a good time 🙌
Bugs In Cyberspace I would be delighted to join a stream with you guys and talk about those shrimp, as well as myriad other topics. Let’s set it up!
@@Aquarimax We'll contact you soon and get you on the calendar. First it was covid preventing us from doing shows inside and now it's wildfires/smoke preventing us from doing them outside.
@@Aquarimax Awesome, thanks Rus!
Just want to say thank you for this, watched the whole thing and no doubt will again.. I just got my first 3 L-1s in Poland.. Came in a kit exactly like your things included. Your info is all exactly what I needed. Cheers. Love the intro guy and music too by the way hah! What type of mantis is it?
I have a super great relationship with my grizzled mantis, her name is leaf, and she is on my face right know watching the screen right now.
HI Leaf!
Just got myself a Carolina mantis egg case, can't wait for them to hatch! My first time raising them, I was also raising some jumping spiders, first time with them as well. Is this channel still active? Great video either way!
Im getting my first mantis tomorrow! It’s a congo green mantis in its second instar and im so excited so thankyou for this video! if im liking it im looking at expanding from just one in a few months and getting a ghost mantis or a thistle mantis!
Welcome to the mantis hobby, Isabel!
Love the music
One of my favorite insects wish i had one
It's a pretty good time of year to see/find one in the wild!
I’m thinking to get a preying mantis this video was very interesting and helpful
Thanks for commenting!
I've been taking good care of my Mallee Grass mantis nymph Harley but this video might help with taking care of her even better.
I appreciate your comments and interest in mantises!
Thanks so much for this. I just got my first mantis which is a panther mantis. I wanted one a long time and saw that Mantis dojo had it so I got it. I hope it doesn't die cuz I think its NOT a beginner species. If you ever get around to making a videon panthers that would be amazing!
Most informative video I've come across. What is that textured surface you glued to the inside of the lid on your Mantis deli cup?
The little square glued to the inside of the poly fiber lid to be precise
I was just asking about this on your TikTok and find it immediately on accident when I hop on TH-cam here?! Its a sign. I need to keep me some bugs. Specifically - mantises. Mantiss'? Manti?
Welcome, and it's mantises although I've heard people say all the things you listed there!
😍😍😍
also i am using a fish tank for Leaf, my grizzled mantid, and she is very happy and she is easily able to climb and hang on glass and plastic
I've only seen a couple grizzleds in my life. Definitely a contender for most interesting US mantis species!
I've always assumed they molted regularly and didn't know that the older they are, the less frequently they molt. I had one go months without molting. I wrote to Guinness Book of World Records to tell them about it and they weren't interested. Maybe they don't love insects enough.
Im sorry I giggled a bit at this
This year I raised 6 Chinese mantis, and brought in a pre sub-adult female European mantis, the most mantises I've had at one time! I still have 5 of the Chinese (I released one male) and the European. She just finished laying her first ootheca maybe two hours ago. Also, mantises love watermelon! I gave some to one of my Chinese mantises and he ate it like it was a bug! I've also been lucky enough to see two wild Litaneutria minor mantises. Contrary to Wikipedia, the males can fly, and pretty well, too!
That's a nice diversity of local species for you to be experiencing wherever you are! I haven't seen a wild mantis this year though Jessica who works here just told me today that a male European mantis showed up on her front porch yesterday. Did you actually find all three species in your neighborhood? Not too many places like that in the country where all three converge like that!
@@bugsincyberspace We live in Washington state, and we only have the European and Litaneutria mantids here. The Chinese were from a garden center ootheca. I am planning on getting a ton of them next year to possibly introduce them. The European mantis is actually quite common here; I counted around 15 in one night at building lights a few weeks ago, and recently I counted 11-12 males (only males) at lights again. It's also looper moth season here and I collected eggs from a few Synchlora aerata, and the eggs sparkle like glitter, it's adorable. I think that tiny green moth could be one of the cutest I've had. Besides the mantises (and a few moths) this place is pretty dead of life, but small remnants of its previous diversity still remain, and I'm grateful to see it. By the way, do you have any experience with butterflies? I caught a red admiral and a mourning cloak yesterday and I wanted to get eggs from them, but I'm not sure if they will lay any more eggs this year.
@@lapisore9190 Fascinating about the glittering eggs of the looper! I don't have much experience with butterflies, sorry. You might keep those Chinese mantises indoors. I personally think those remnants of nature still hanging on in your area will appreciate not competing with giant non-natives, and it's great that you're pulling in the wayward and non-native European mantises too. I'm sure the Litaneutria appreciate that too. I saw my first wild scorpion of my life out in the Tri-Cities area when I was a teenager. I went up there with some friends and it was my secret goal to find one. I was so happy when I did!
Thanks a lot for the video!
I also would like to hear your opinion about how to handle a mantis inside a glas terrarium because i heard that mantis use to run against the glas trying to catch something for example ( if the glas is very clean they dont recognize there is an obstacle) causing damages on their eyes.
It is very rare that a mantis damages its eyes through bumping into a glass wall. Most of the time they will strike with amazing precision at their prey, not with their heads but with their raptorial forearms. Sometimes damage does occur to the eyes of mantises, both in nature and in tanks of various kinds but it is fairly rare. Most mantises have feet that render them capable of climbing glass and you won't usually see a mantis "running" in a cage. They tend to move very slowly, and deliberately.
Ive got two tarantulas, and im not stopping there
We all gotta start somewhere! Which species do you have?
@@bugsincyberspace well one is a pink toe juvinile, and the other is a rescue that almost got ran over. Idk his age but he seems younger and male.
@@chance6696 Oh, a local species! I wish I lived in a place where I could see tarantulas out and about. My dad used to live in Lompoc, CA where the tarantulas would come out in such numbers that hundreds or more could be seen crossing the roads. Not sure if it is still like that down there but it's something I'd like to see someday!
@@bugsincyberspace we have alot of desert types, as well as scorpions and vineagaroons
I just bought an enclosure from you, any luck on getting more of those pads or enclosures in stock? Thanks!
Can you do another update on this with orchid mantis? I'm from Norway and I'm completely new. She is an L-4 I understood from the one I bought from.
There are some things I'm wondering that haven't been answered. Also regarding flies and feeding in general. I have a zilla micro habitat size L. I wish I could show a picture here.
My mantis is living in a bio tank with a corn snake, so far so good lol
Very interesting!
Very informative video here! I have a question: If I ever manage to breed them, have you ever heard of breeders who let their mantises go to live out in the "wild" like some butterfly breeders do?.....Thanks!
Just ordered two mantises from you and am wondering when you’ll get Hercules beetle larva back in stock. Love the channel and the website, thanks for the great information!
Thanks F4L! Perhaps later this month but I'm not 100% sure at the moment when the D. tityus will return.
Thanks for the quick reply, I will definitely be getting some when they are in stock
We have a ghost mantis its about 3/4 of and he is amazing i was thinking of getting a orchid mantis where can i buy one
This is a great informational video! We just had our Carolina mantises hatch yesterday, and unfortunately we didn't find you until after we purchased the egg sack. The instructions said to put them outdoors (zone 6A), unfortunately after we released some into our garden it poured here. Hoping they are okay. We still have quite a few though and we are going to release but were thinking we'd wait until they are a little more stable. How soon do we need to feed them, and should we start with pasteurized honey or go directly to the flightless flies? Thank you! Do you sell the egg cases as well? Thank you!
Mantises know how to find shelter from the rain and so I suspect they are all okay.
I don't sell egg cases, sorry.
Honey is a supplement at best, and possibly medicinal in some cases, but it should not be offered as a primary food. Flightless fruit flies are best.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to release the mantises sooner than later if you start to notice losses in your indoor group of them. Nature is full of bugs of all sizes and they are probably better off outside.
I should note that Carolina mantises are not native to all US states and so hopefully you live in a place where it is ethical to release them.
Thank you, and welcome!
I'm amazed that you keep more than 1 so close together. Are some kinds not cannibalistic?
A Chinese mantis molted right after I sprayed some water on it. It made me wonder if molting requires humidity or could it just be hydration?
Do you ship to Norway? Would you like to post a new updated video?❤💕
Just found this video and I really enjoyed the information given. I have 2, 4th instar Phyllocrania paradoxa (ghost mantis) and they haven't molted in nearly 2 months, is this normal and do you have any tips?
It is normal in the sense that lots of people report this, however it is not quite ideal and usually means that you need to provide them with a little more heat. In winter months our homes are cooler and so the metabolism of our cold-blooded pets tends to drop too. They will feed more and grow more quickly when kept closer to 80 degrees than 60. That is really optimal although quicker growth also means a shorter life and so a lot of keepers just sort of find something that works for them personally. But your results are reflecting what I'm guessing are cooler indoor temps and so a little heat may be advisable. Don't forget to give the mantises a drink in warmer conditions though!
Exercising new wings he says whilst keeping her in a bloody jar
Thank you so much for answering my questions😃. I will feed my praying mantis more and have the enclosure with humidity. I don't really know what to do because i was not expecting eggs. I don't have enclosures for the babies. What should i do? Were do i get the enclosures for the right price? Thank you for the help
Very interested in them just recently found out you can keep them as pets. Are they expensive to buy?
Cool shirt! Where'd ya get it?
From my friend and Shapes in Nature Podcast cohost Jesse Greene at shapesinnature.com !
Maybe you can answer some questions I have about mantids, primarily about mating. Do siblings mate? If so, are their eggs as fertile as others?
Hi new subscriber to your channel. Great work!! I have 3 new baby Ghost Mantis I am so excited to raise. I will be looking forward to watching for help. Also what type is that first Mantis that was dancing? Lol I would love to purchase from you in the future. Thanks!!
Thanks for writing in, C, and welcome! It's called a spiny flower mantis. Available on the site right now!
@@bugsincyberspace thank you!
me, desperately researching how to take care of baby mantises after i made the foolish mistake of taking in a mantis right before a hard frost, thinking she was a male, and even if she was a female, had laid her eggs already because, well, it was basically winter, she'd have died in the frost.
anyways, despite the warning sign of brad (the mantis) being quite chunky, i had the surprise of having to figure out how to overwinter an egg sac, and now, a month before the spring where i live, how to set up baby mantis enclosures (pretty far in advance, but i wanna be ready)
Order a couple hundred 2 oz deli cups and have some fruit fly cultures at the ready. Good to plan ahead. So many don't! 👍
HELP! Thank you for this video. I got a boy that came for help and I got him a good enclosure based on your advice but I can't figure out what wont hurt his feet! At first I got very wide metal mesh (1/2 centimeter wide) then I read wire mesh rips their feet. Then I put very grippy shelf liner with holes.... will this rip his feet hooks out? HEEELP, I want to be able to rerelease him and I'm not sure what I'm doing. THANK YOU
The Eye of Sauron, Mantis
For sure! That cracked me up!
13:00 I think this is what happened to a Tanzanian ground mantis nymph I had, I came home from a saw that there was a molt but no mantis and literally all that was left was the back of the prothorax and it didn’t help that there were springtails in the enclosure, and the enclosure was designed in a way that made it hard to take out feeders without completely taking it apart.
Also, I’ve actually had springtails kill mantis before, in particular a panther mantis and another Tanzanian ground mantis nymph that I around the same time as the other one
Always good to hear about unusual circumstances! How do you figure springtails killed a mantis though? It doesn't seem possible in my experience, however I've not experienced everything. ;)
Bugs In Cyberspace, yeah it’s possibly because of the unusually high population in the enclosure, and in my experience these mantis species behave similar to bark mantis, as in they stay in one place for prolonged periods of time and I would notice that the springtails always attacked the end of the abdomen
My mantis babies shed right after hatching. Does that make them 2nd instars? They all literally shed within 24 hours
So do you have to hold them if you keep them
Can one find The Greater Arid Land Katydid in Southern Arizona?
I've heard they range into the extreme SE corner of the state.
Hello I'm new to owning a mantis as a pet, does mantis need a heat lamp or would it be okay to just have her in her inclosure without.
Love your videos, I've learnt a bit already 😀 so thank you
It depends on the room temp of where you live. I'm in england and am using a heat mat for mine
I've kept Mediterranean mantids mostly. The boys seem to die quickly, but girls can live for a year. Do I need to do something extra for the boys?
I understand they need a small enough enclosure so they can find food but it drives me absolutely nuts whenever people keep their mantises in these tiny plastic containers
I'm not sure if you mean tiny with respect to the 32 ounce cup or the small 2 ounce cups the youngest are typically kept in, but certainly any container is smaller than the planet most mantises are free to roam. And sanity of course is a journey, not a destination.
How late in the year will eggs hatch? I just bought some Chinese mantis egg cases, but I'm not ready to feed them, so I'd like to wait. Will they still hatch if I put them out on, say, September 1?
I assume Mediterranean mantids tolerate heat as much as any kind, since they live in Bullhead City, where it exceeds 120 degrees, but I had some in glass jars and they got so hot that they died.
Hey 👋 I ordered a mantis kit from your bugsincyberspace for my L4/L5 Australian Giant, will it be suitable for it?
That's a large species and the kit is a bit small for it. I do, however, have a new container type that is large enough. Soon I'll be making a larger mantis kit product using that one. Thanks KPG!
@@bugsincyberspace are fruit flies suitable for it? Or should I start feeding it something larger in size?
I ALSO READ ABOUT PUTTING A SMALL THIN LINING OF PETROLIUM JELLY AROUND THE TOP OF THE CONTAINER TO PREVENT THE FRUIT FLIES FROM CLIMBING OUT. DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS?
I would not advise that. The mantises will get their feet in it and the only way they typically clean themselves off is through cleaning their feet with their mouths. Also, slippery feet and molting are a very bad combo!
What size terrarium would you recommend for a fully grown flower mantis?
A 32 ounce cup is the minimum size that "looks" okay for a single mantis of that species but it's sort of a subjective decision. Once they are done molting (mature/have their wings) the size of the cup is not longer important from a "room to grow" aspect. At that point it is really up to what looks reasonable in your eyes. Other keepers will likely judge you if you keep it in an 8 oz cup and post about it online. ;)
If you want to breed them, a larger tank is recommended so they male can have some room to approach the female w/o becoming lunch.
@@bugsincyberspace ah ok thank you!
Hi I do not know if anyone will see this, but is it completely safe to feed my mantis wild grasshoppers? I recently found a little female in the wild, I live in a very very dry area and I thought that it would struggle to find humidity for molting etc, so I decided to take care of her, I fed her a small grasshopper that I found outside and she snatched it after a few hours of getting comfortable in her new environment, however after that scary thoughts came to me like "what if she gets sick?" Any answer will be great, thank you!
hello, mantis can they eat fruit as a treat? i saw on youtube a man give a bit of honey, very occasionally because he sees over the years that by giving him honey they were healthier, he also gave him a little bit of banana as a reward because it gives them potassium. so they can eat fruit like a treat?
Help me please 😭 an hour ago, I got a regular green mantis from my garden , I got it when it was crawling on my hand in the rain so I immediately took it inside, but after going into the container, it's trying to escape from me... I'm scared to open the container now , how do I feed it when he's trying to escape
I'VE HEARD ALOT ABOUT CROSS VENTILATION. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE CUPS?
It is a good idea if you only have small holes in the cups. It's not necessary but it is helpful depending on the size of the containers and the type of lid you have. The overall point is to not allow the air to stagnate. The size and shape of the container and type of lid will affect the flow of air. Cross ventilation is a good goal if you are setting a container up for the first time and don't have much experience with mantises.
For dirt is Coconut Coir okay? Can it be the dirt that you add water to and it spreads and makes more?
Yep, coconut coir is the same as what we call coconut fiber and they sell it in a dried, compressed form. As you said, just add water and it expands.
Question! My Mantis
Annika is eating her first cricket (fresh caught) and is almost done and I notice she is doing this little up and down/back and forth movement with her behind. Do you know why she would be doing that?
TY!!
That might help her digest her food.
ALSO ARE THERE ANY BOOKS YOU RECOMMEND TO SEE THE DIFFERENT MANTIS SPECIES? IM A BIT CONFUSED BC THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS AND MANY THINGS LIST THE SCIENTIFIC NAMES BUT NOT THE COMMON NAMES ALSO
You don't want to fall into the trap of buying something on the basis of just common names because many species in a genus have the exact same common names. For example, Giant Shield Mantis refers to quite a few different species of Rhombodera genus mantises. I sell two books on the website but of course Google is your friend and there is no substitute for doing your own research on the topic through reading as many resources as you can online.
first comment