# Which enclosure is better?



## kookamonga (Jan 23, 2010)

Hello I have 7 ghost mantis and 4 are L5 and 3 are L4 ( at least I think :&gt. I was planning on having them all live together ( Yes I am willing to take the risk) and I have two enclosures that I'd like to use but I am not sure which one is better for all 7. I have a Tupperware(Looks like the ones Sufistic uses, slightly different) that is 9 inches tall/wide and 15 long and then I have a mesh cage that is 16 inches tall/wide and 20 long. There's only seven of them and I'm aware that I'll have to provide plenty of food for either enclosure so was just wondering which one is better for them? Any advice is appreciated :&gt;.

:Side Note: I like using brown colored pipe cleaners for my mantis' to perch on. Found some in my arts &amp; craft box and thought it'd be cool lol.


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## Rick (Jan 24, 2010)

Pics?


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## massaman (Jan 24, 2010)

My guess would go with the mesh cage being they may not be able to grip on a slick plastic surface though!


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## kookamonga (Jan 24, 2010)

My Tupperware. I haven't used anything yet to make it into a cage. I used my head in both pics to give a reference to size lol.






Mesh cage. I used a hot glue gun and then taped it over with black duct tape and taped the inside so no sticky part of the tape is inside either.






Here's a pic just to attach a face to the name! Hi.


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## agent A (Jan 24, 2010)

mesh definitely!


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 24, 2010)

Kookamonga said:


> My Tupperware. I haven't used anything yet to make it into a cage. I used my head in both pics to give a reference to size lol.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


How cool! Definitely go for the mesh cage; you will do just fine. At L3 onwards, yr ghosts will take houseflies. A number of people, including Rick and me, heave warned about the problem of providing sufficient food for such a large space, but we are quite wrong. If you dump a pot full of HFs in there, the concentration is likely to be much higher than in nature, anyway, and you can localise the frequency of the flies by training a ciuppla mini spots on opposite areas of the enclosure not strong enough to greatly increase the temp.), and applying a dab of honey to the roof of the enclosure, or a high branch, which will attract the flies. The ghosts will quickly learn where to go when they need a snack.

I think that you will do very well with this setup and look forward to hearing how it works out.


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## kamakiri (Jan 25, 2010)

I vote plastic container. Your humidity shouldn't be as bad as mine in SoCal, but I think it is easier to control in a more closed container. Lack of humidity with ghosts can easily cause mismolts.

I also have trouble recommending anything built with tape for use with mantises...



agent A said:


> mesh definitely!


*Sigh* But since we have a problem in this forum, let me throw this out too.

Would you trust:

A. The opinion of a kid with 8 L2 ghosts who may not have successfully raised any to adult ever.

or

B. The opinion of someone who has bred and sold over 100 ghosts this season and is currently raising over 100 more...

That's not to say that the mesh option won't work for you if your ambient humidity is high enough, or you mist or supplement to make it work.


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 25, 2010)

kamakiri said:


> I vote plastic container. Your humidity shouldn't be as bad as mine in SoCal, but I think it is easier to control in a more closed container. Lack of humidity with ghosts can easily cause mismolts.I also have trouble recommending anything built with tape for use with mantises...
> 
> *Sigh* But since we have a problem in this forum, let me throw this out too.
> 
> ...


Or 3. The opinion of a bearded man who raised and bred ghosts before either A. or B., and who owns both volumes (lavishly illustrated) of Paul Sanders, _Uniforms and Accouterments of the Imperial German Hussars 1860=1910_, 2004, Sciffer Publishing

Sorry, Grant; I couldn't resist.  :lol: 

Well that should thoroughly confuse you Kookamunga. Some of us, myself included, tend to advance our own preferences as "the only way to go," but in this case at least, both B. and C. (can't speak for A!) agree that either set up will work if you take care. In either case, you will need a port of some kind through which to introduce live food. I misread the part about your use of tape. Grant and I and just about everyone would agree that that introduces an unneceessary danger to your mantids. There is also no doubt that it is much harder to keep the humidity above ambient in a net cage than in an impervious container. I live in the low desert, though, where the humidity in my bug room is often below 20% in the summer and have no trouble raising mantids in net cages. I use pots containing water-soaked peat moss and spray regularly through the mesh. And so it goes! Keep us up to date and keep asking questions so that we can confuse you some more!


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## batsofchaos (Jan 25, 2010)

Either choice has its pros and cons. I'd shy away from the mesh, simply because of the tape issue. Yes, the tape is covered from the inside, but duct tape has a way of breaking down over time and leaking sticky residue out the sides. It's quite simply asking for trouble so I'd stick with the tupperware. Ghosts are good climbers, so don't worry too much about them being able to get around. Pipe-cleaners should be a fine pretend-branch for them to use, too. Make sure you have several perches for them, because ghosts tend to remain very still for very long periods of time and if they have several perches to choose from they're less likely to hassle eachother.


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## ismart (Jan 25, 2010)

agent A said:


> mesh definitely!


You should definitely use netting over mesh. A lot of mantids get there tarsi stuck in mesh, and end up breaking them off trying to free themselves.


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## kookamonga (Jan 25, 2010)

hmmm....Humidity will probably be a problem during this time since it's pretty chilly and not very warm :&lt;. I'll probably use the Tupperware for now until it get's warm where using the mesh cage would be more fun! On the plus side as well they'll get bigger by the time that comes by. Thanks for zeh tips! I'll update some pics of my modified tupperware once I get back from track today.


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## agent A (Jan 25, 2010)

kamakiri said:


> I vote plastic container. Your humidity shouldn't be as bad as mine in SoCal, but I think it is easier to control in a more closed container. Lack of humidity with ghosts can easily cause mismolts.I also have trouble recommending anything built with tape for use with mantises...
> 
> *Sigh* But since we have a problem in this forum, let me throw this out too.
> 
> ...


okay, since it seems I am being accused of conspiracy, let me explain my side of the story. This is a post of containing what I was told to do, if you notice it says they tolerate wide range of himidity and allow plenty of ventilation.

here is the post from my own topic about keeping ghosts:

Here We Are!


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 25, 2010)

Kookamonga said:


> hmmm....Humidity will probably be a problem during this time since it's pretty chilly and not very warm :&lt;. I'll probably use the Tupperware for now until it get's warm where using the mesh cage would be more fun! On the plus side as well they'll get bigger by the time that comes by. Thanks for zeh tips! I'll update some pics of my modified tupperware once I get back from track today.


I told you that we'd get you confused. Contrary to what I think that you are saying above, if the water content in the air remains unchanged, an _increase_ in temperature will cause a commensurate _drop_ in relative humidity.

There have been debates on this forum in the past about the desirability of checking relative humidity, but I use an inexpensive hygrometer that has been well reviewed and is fun to play with: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url...amp;x=0&amp;y=0

So if you spray an enclosure so that you increase the water in the air and the relative humidity, the temperature should drop, right? Guess what, it does! I love gadgets!


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## kamakiri (Jan 25, 2010)

agent A said:


> okay, since it seems I am being accused of conspiracy, let me explain my side of the story. This is a post of containing what I was told to do, if you notice it says they tolerate wide range of himidity and allow plenty of ventilation.here is the post from my own topic about keeping ghosts:
> 
> Here We Are!


No, I am *not* accusing you of conspiracy. Lookup that definition.

I am, however, pointing out how you dish out advice that you have no business in giving. Using info from a thread where other people are responding to YOUR question does not make good reference for you to give advice.

My suggestion to you is to do more reading than posting here, or it will likely end in your privileges getting revoked again. I would prefer that you learn to fit in instead, but that may be hard to do at your age, in a group that is mostly made of adults. Please try harder.


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 25, 2010)

kamakiri said:


> No, I am *not* accusing you of conspiracy. Lookup that definition.I am, however, pointing out how you dish out advice that you have no business in giving. Using info from a thread where other people are responding to YOUR question does not make good reference for you to give advice.
> 
> My suggestion to you is to do more reading than posting here, or it will likely end in your privileges getting revoked again. I would prefer that you learn to fit in instead, but that may be hard to do at your age, in a group that is mostly made of adults. Please try harder.


Sounds a lot like what I said (at much more tedious length!  ) on the other thread, doesn't it, Alex?


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## agent A (Jan 25, 2010)

kamakiri said:


> No, I am *not* accusing you of conspiracy. Lookup that definition.I am, however, pointing out how you dish out advice that you have no business in giving. Using info from a thread where other people are responding to YOUR question does not make good reference for you to give advice.
> 
> My suggestion to you is to do more reading than posting here, or it will likely end in your privileges getting revoked again. I would prefer that you learn to fit in instead, but that may be hard to do at your age, in a group that is mostly made of adults. Please try harder.


okay. I see the clear difference between giving info I just got and giving info from my experience.  thanks for the advice


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## Davis.Nguyen22 (Jan 25, 2010)

kamakiri said:


> No, I am *not* accusing you of conspiracy. Lookup that definition.I am, however, pointing out how you dish out advice that you have no business in giving. Using info from a thread where other people are responding to YOUR question does not make good reference for you to give advice.
> 
> My suggestion to you is to do more reading than posting here, or it will likely end in your privileges getting revoked again. I would prefer that you learn to fit in instead, but that may be hard to do at your age, in a group that is mostly made of adults. Please try harder.


Chillax o_o


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## yeatzee (Jan 25, 2010)

PrayingMantis said:


> Chillax o_o


he is quite relaxed.... you just dont know the context due to you just joining


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## kamakiri (Jan 25, 2010)

yeatzee said:


> he is quite relaxed.... you just dont know the context due to you just joining


 :lol: yeah, you should see when I'm actually upset by something!


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 25, 2010)

kamakiri said:


> :lol: yeah, you should see when I'm actually upset by something!


7.3, wasn't it?


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## kamakiri (Jan 25, 2010)

PhilinYuma said:


> 7.3, wasn't it?


 :lol: Too much, Phil!  :lol: :lol:


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## Davis.Nguyen22 (Jan 26, 2010)

kamakiri said:


> :lol: yeah, you should see when I'm actually upset by something!


Haha okay. I'll know to stay out of your way xD


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## Ashj (Jan 26, 2010)

Hi All,

Good info I obtain here u know ... as i will be getting my 1st Ghost this week..

Love all the facts...thanx


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