# My Mantis Adventure! :D



## MantisMart (Aug 17, 2020)

Im starting this to create a place for me to make posts/pictures on my mantis keeping adventure. Im hoping to start breeding soon, but i'm still new and chicken out half the time. I have not had success yet at breeding or hatching just yet. On my 1st pair the male died early, and on my hatch I used a mesh cage and dried it out. I still got 1 baby that I named Ono.   

Im making this so I can post updates as I continue to learn more, and hopefully grow my success and produce my own babies. I currently have 2 ghost breeding pairs, so I'm gonna try my luck with those. They're L3 and still very small. But I'm trying to speed there growth by feeding a lot.

We will see what happens. But I will post pictures on here every time something significant happens. For example, my ghosts upgrade to L4, I managed to breed them, etc. I really love this hobby, but I still have sooooo much to learn. 

I hope to have many pictures on here in the future. But for now, here's a pic of Ono. (If anyone knows his or her gender let me know, Im not sure if its too young or not.)    

- Mantis Mart


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## MantisGirl13 (Aug 17, 2020)

Everyone should have one if these threads. I'm glad you're starting one! 

I can't say for sure, but Ono looks male.

- MantisGirl13


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## MantisMart (Aug 17, 2020)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Everyone should have one if these threads. I'm glad you're starting one!
> 
> I can't say for sure, but Ono looks male.
> 
> - MantisGirl13


I know, I should have started this earlier! And I was hoping Ono was a male, so lets hope ur right!


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## hibiscusmile (Aug 19, 2020)

looks male to me too.


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## MantisMart (Sep 18, 2020)

So far so good. Prayers please. Stagmomantis Carolina

(Yes they are connected)


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## MantisMart (Sep 19, 2020)

update: Well... Tbh there isn't one. Ive just been watching them for 5 hrs and im tiered  

Still connected and neither of them are really moving. Makes my job easier ig.

Does any 1 know how many hatch from an S. Carolina?

And once done, when will she lay?


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## MantisMart (Sep 19, 2020)

Woke up this morning to an alive male, and a fertile female. Sooo happy!!


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## Mantis Lady (Sep 20, 2020)

Hopefully your female give you a lot of ooths and gratz on the mating


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## MantisMart (Oct 2, 2020)

https://postimg.cc/fJ1G1SHZ

1st self produced fertile ooth!!!


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## MrGhostMantis (Oct 2, 2020)

Great job laying your first ooth...how did you make the foam?

Either way, congrats


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## MantisMart (Oct 2, 2020)

I made the foam with the mealworms I ate.


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## MrGhostMantis (Oct 2, 2020)




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## MantisMart (Oct 2, 2020)

WOW! He jumped on in 5 seconds and connected within 30 seconds. 

https://postimg.cc/njq3CTBc


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## MantisMart (Oct 12, 2020)

https://postimg.cc/CBWbg5Tx

Piggy back ride!
 

This is the 4th time this male has bred, and with 3 different females.

Wish him luck.


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## MrGhostMantis (Oct 12, 2020)

You found ANOTHER ONE!?


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## MantisMart (Oct 12, 2020)

@MrGhostMantis my friend happends to work at a rundown neighborhood and likes to go camping. So I get 1 or 2 each week.


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 13, 2020)

Wow, hope you sell some. Your doing great! These are so hard to find.


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## MantisMart (Oct 17, 2020)

https://postimg.cc/fSddpV2h

2nd ooth. The other 2 females died due to abdomen infections that they must have gotten outside.

But this female mated twice and is poppin off ooths.

She is taking forever to lay, so im hoping she is putting a lot of eggs in there!!

I am planning on selling these, they are Stagmomantis conspurcata which is similar to Carolina, but more rare and native to Texas.


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## MantisMart (Oct 29, 2020)

https://postimg.cc/FYKHGtb7

Welp. It's gonna be a busy couple months for me.

3 Stagmomantis conspurcata ooths

2 Chinese ooths

1 Ghost ooth

1 Stagmomantis California ooth

Thanks to @MrGhostMantis and @Immanus for the ooths!

I'll post again once one hatches, or if my female lays another ooth!


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 29, 2020)

MantisMart said:


> https://postimg.cc/FYKHGtb7
> 
> Welp. It's gonna be a busy couple months for me.
> 
> ...


Congrats on all the ooths! Make sure you're so stocked on fruit flies that you think you're overstocked-with that many nymphs you'll need every last fly.

- MantisGirl13


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## MantisMart (Oct 30, 2020)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Congrats on all the ooths! Make sure you're so stocked on fruit flies that you think you're overstocked-with that many nymphs you'll need every last fly.
> 
> - MantisGirl13


Ive made 8 cultures so far. Ill make up to 20 cultures.


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## hibiscusmile (Nov 1, 2020)

* is plenty, you will just be making more each week so take it easy on yourself.


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## MantisMart (Nov 5, 2020)

https://postimg.cc/4YgWqD0p

Welp, here we are again!

My friend found another female despite the 35 degree temps we had last week.

Im pretty proud of this one. The male wasn't that easy on me this time and the female would not stand still.

After much trial and error I managed to get them together. Hopefully she can give me an ooth or two!

(Yes still the same male. I found him 2.5 months ago as an adult and he's still doing just fine it seems. His 5th time breeding.)


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## MantisMart (Nov 8, 2020)

https://postimg.cc/1nh7wKpD

Another ooth from my female!

I now have 8 ooths.

Good thing I have a break from school soon. This might be a lot of work.


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## MantisMart (Nov 13, 2020)

https://postimg.cc/5Yzcshxn

Welp. Looks like I'm up to 9 ooths.

Still no hatches yet, but I see the conspurcata babies inside the ooth.

I think they're called "eye spots"??? I dunno

It's due to hatch any time now I'm very excited!!! (And scared)


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## MantisMart (Nov 27, 2020)

https://postimg.cc/0Kdfwd87

I bought 1 budwing ooth from @luckylady1744 and was generously given 3 and an additional ghost ooth!

Im putting some of my native ooths on diapause to make room for the budwings and ghosts.

I also just got a Chinese scout today that has died shedding out of the ooth, but that means I have some nymphs coming soon! Hopefully my conspurcata hatch soon as well!


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## Mantid-Tim (Nov 28, 2020)

I somehow didn't notice this awesome post and I love ghosts so I thought I'd give my $0.02:

So I have been raising ghosts for some months now. I also got them when they were L2/L3s. It took maybe 4 months for them to mature. Sadly one of the 5 died due to natural causes and the other 4 made it to adulthood. SO, one of my males just passed also to natural causes (Hunter; very unexpected, but maybe 6 months and after mating is just the end of their life cycle? I got an ooth out of it though). The other male recently died to what I'm pretty sure was sexual cannibalism (I just found Phantom's wings  ). In my experience sexual cannibalism is the only time they'll cannibalize other than underfeeding. I give them 3 BBFs each, every other day, but now I'm upping it to 2 (or 3) every day.

My mistake I think was keeping all my ghosts in too small a container. An 8x8x12 is sufficient going by the double the width/length, triple the height rule but I switched to an upright 10 gallon for them. I just got two new subadult ghosts from my breeder like the next day lol, so I have 4 hosts again.

Anyway Keep them well fed and they are very communal. If you want to breed them let them all live together as young as possible and keep it that way. Its a myth that one will go for another when its just an instar or 2 under or when molting. Very communal species...!


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## MantisGirl13 (Nov 29, 2020)

I don't suggest keeping ghosts communally. They can cannibalize even if they are well-fed. 

- MantisGirl13


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## MantisMart (Nov 29, 2020)

I agree I never keep any mantids communal, thanks for the post though, @Mantid-Tim


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## MantisMart (Dec 20, 2020)

I got a small hatch of 25 budwing nymphs! Looks like the ooth was inbred a lot so I didn't get a good hatch rate, but it's better than nothing.

https://postimg.cc/hz10P2sc

I'm also selling little beginner packs, it comes with 1 budwing nymph, 1 small 12-16 oz terrarium, small fruit fly culture, a spray bottle, and a care guide.


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## Mantis Lady (Dec 30, 2020)

hope your budwings find a good home. I live to far away to take one sadly enough.


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## MantisMart (Jan 8, 2021)

ghost hatch - https://postimg.cc/kBRFgGMV (8 nymphs)

Chinese hatch - https://postimg.cc/Q9P92gTf (40 nymphs)

Both ooths were very small so the numbers aren't too bad. Most ghosts are already L2 and shipping out to their new owners soon. I think i'm starting to get better at this.


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## Mantidfinatic13 (Jan 8, 2021)

Sweet! Wish i could by sum but im in australia so no non native imports 

The little ghosties look exactly like their parents


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## MantisMart (Jan 22, 2021)

69 more Chinese nymphs! 

https://postimg.cc/hfGdhhX7


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## MantisMart (Jan 24, 2021)

https://postimg.cc/jwFSs00k

first self produced baby. 3.5 months later this ooth gets a scout. Cammy is the mother. (Yes I am aware of her eye rub.)

Stagmomantis Conspurcata.


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## Mantidfinatic13 (Jan 24, 2021)

Lucky that scout survived!

Usually they die


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## MantisMart (Jan 25, 2021)

now my limbatas hatch?!

https://postimg.cc/2LR2Gx80

I still have so many ooths too, I hope I can find homes for all these


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## MantisMart (Jan 30, 2021)

um... A thing happened.... again.

https://postimg.cc/FfypPsYS

Giant Asian mantids. I now have 200+ nymphs to feed in all... Yay...


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## Mantidfinatic13 (Jan 30, 2021)

oof


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## MantisMart (Feb 1, 2021)

https://postimg.cc/cgCz1tHG

God have mercy on my soul


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## MrGhostMantis (Feb 1, 2021)

LOL


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## Mantidfinatic13 (Feb 2, 2021)

XD

Watcha gonna do with em? gonna sell em?


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## TheWrongCrowd (Feb 3, 2021)

so cool! Ono looks male I think


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## MrGhostMantis (Feb 3, 2021)

TheWrongCrowd said:


> so cool! Ono looks male I think


Ono is actually female  

I confirmed. Crest and segments point that way. @MantisMart update on Ono?


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## MantisMart (Feb 3, 2021)

https://postimg.cc/DW2XknkW

https://postimg.cc/XrgrgmGn

She did turn out be be a female.

She is beautiful! : &gt;


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## TheWrongCrowd (Feb 3, 2021)

Wow so cool! Ono is very lovely 



MrGhostMantis said:


> Ono is actually female
> 
> I confirmed. Crest and segments point that way. @MantisMart update on Ono?






MantisMart said:


> https://postimg.cc/DW2XknkW
> 
> https://postimg.cc/XrgrgmGn
> 
> ...


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## Mantis Lady (Feb 3, 2021)

Wondering how are you sepatating the nymphs when they hached. I think they wel go everywere except the cup you want to put them into.

Ono is beautiful, you are lucky to have a ghost with that color


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## Mantidfinatic13 (Feb 3, 2021)

yeah they would have ran all over the place haha


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## Mantis Lady (Feb 4, 2021)

But how did you separate them and put every mantis in a separate cup?


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## MantisMart (Feb 4, 2021)

Little Mantis said:


> But how did you separate them and put every mantis in a separate cup?


I put them all in a large mesh cube and scoop them up with the container


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## Mantidfinatic13 (Feb 5, 2021)

But isn’t that really difficult


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## Mantidfinatic13 (Feb 5, 2021)

They would either all hop on the cup or all hop of XD


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## MantisMart (Feb 5, 2021)

Mantidfinatic13 said:


> But isn’t that really difficult


Yes.


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## Mantidfinatic13 (Feb 5, 2021)

XD


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## MantisMart (Feb 8, 2021)

When will it stop?!  

https://postimg.cc/F1xPTS3M (Giant rainforest)

I haven't counted them all but im guessing about 100 nymphs

https://postimg.cc/RJqn12cV

Look just like little alien friends!!


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## MantisMart (Feb 8, 2021)

ended up with 120 nymphs. Some more might hatch though


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## Mantidfinatic13 (Feb 9, 2021)

H majascula is on of my fav species!

Sooooooo lucky!!!!!!!!!


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## MantisMart (Apr 11, 2021)

been a while, gonna go ahead and update this. Had another giant asian hatch. About 160 nymphs give or take. Have ghosts mating rn, have 2 other females fertile on top of that. One of them already laid a fertile ooth. And I made a website https://mantismart.com


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## Mantis Lady (Apr 12, 2021)

I hope you wil find nice homes  for your nymphs via your site


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