# Good idea?



## buddhistsoldier88 (Jun 2, 2007)

Do you guys think this is a good idea for a newbie? https://www2.carolina.com/webapp/wcs/stores...n=&amp;crumbs=n


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## Hypoponera (Jun 2, 2007)

It looks almost complete. You will need a large tank or fine wire mesh cage for the egg case to hatch in. Otherwise your nymphs will be gone before you know they hatched!

You will also need to set up another prey item culture. The wingless fruitflies will be good only for the first couple molts. After that, the nymphs will want something larger. Maybe a Hydei or house fly culture would be good to get. You will eventually need something for the adults to eat, like crickets. They will need another tank/cage.

The set-up you are looking at would be a good starting point though. You just need to provide a "hatch-out" tank.


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Jun 2, 2007)

OK...how long do they take to molt before they need larger prey? im really sorry, but i am so new at this!


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## OGIGA (Jun 2, 2007)

I think it's a little on the expensive side.


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Jun 2, 2007)

any suggestions then? im open to ideas!


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## Hypoponera (Jun 2, 2007)

I have 3 nymphs who hatched on 17 May. They molted for the first time on 31 May. If you feed them well and keep them warm, you can speed up their growth. I keep mine at about 68-70 degrees F. So if you keep yours warmer, they should grow faster. But too hot will kill them! These 3 still take wingless fruit flies. But my other Chinese nymphs refused them after the second molt. These 3rd instar nymphs take small house flies now. They will eat Hydei only if the mantids are really hungery. The wingless fruitflies are just too small to be worth the effort now.


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Jun 2, 2007)

ok, where should i start for my first time? could you give me a list of everything, like lighting and types of tanks and such?


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Jun 2, 2007)

> I think it's a little on the expensive side.


well isnt the whole shebang kind of expensive? and i gotta start somewhere!


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## Hypoponera (Jun 2, 2007)

Actually, for a first try, that set isn't too bad. You will learn what you need and want for the next try. It may seem expensive, but so is buying everything seperately. I buy fruitflies online for $8.75. But the shipping is another $10 for a total of $18.75. So from my point of view, that set isn't a bad idea. Plus you can add to it as needed.

I think you will need:

1 large tank, plastic or glass with a cheese cloth top for hatching

many smaller containers, 1 per nymph you intend to keep. I use wide mouth canning jars with cheese cloth covers

1 spray bottle for misting

lots of prey items in containers

I keep my mantids at room temp, so no heat source needed. I also do not worry about special lighting. I use either paper towels or moss on the bottom of each nymph's jar to hold moisture.

This is just my basic list. The list will grow as you add the needs of the feeder insects.


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Jun 2, 2007)

couldnt room temp vary at different regions? i live in the midwest (illinois to be specific) and room temp is like 70-75 here...what about for you....

the kit includes 30 jars...should i keep 30 and see where it goes from there? how many do you think i should start off with?


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## Rick (Jun 2, 2007)

Not really. While I get a lot of stuff from carolina.com you can make your own nursery kit.


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## Hypoponera (Jun 2, 2007)

Yes, room temp will very from one person to the next. I live in New Mexico. My house has a swamp cooler that keeps the house at around 68-70. AC is much more common in the Mid-West and not only makes the house colder, but drier as well. My swamp cooler pumps in cool, damp air.

The kit probably comes with 30 small plastic vials. The Chinese mantids can reach 4+ inches in length. So you will need to house them in a larger container. Since they need room to molt, I suggest the wide mouth canning jars. These have screw-cap lids which can hold the cheese cloth. I suggest starting with the pint or even quart sized jars. To save money, just buy the quart sized jars that the adults will need. Put some substrate at the bottom and a twig from top to bottom.

I only have a total of 7 Chinese nymphs. But I had to save space for other species. I just hatched out a _Stegmomantis_ ootheca and have a European ootheca incubating. So I don't have room for too many of one species. If you hatch the Chinese ootheca in a 10 gallon tank, you can keep them together until you decide how many you want. Just remember to provide lots of twigs and fruitflies in the tank to ward off canibalism. If this is the only species you intend to keep for a while, then keep as many as you have space for. If you have 30 jars, keep 30 nymphs. But you may want to keep less if you intend to add other species in the near future. Or you can just buy more jars!


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## OGIGA (Jun 2, 2007)

Well, you get 3 Chinese oothecae, 30 vials, 30 cotton swabs, a fruit fly culture, and instructions for making a mantis terrarium. 1 ootheca will give you more than enough nymphs already anyway and I've seen packs of 2 for sale at Ace Hardware for $10. Then, at PetCo, fruit fly cultures are $6 (where I live). Cotton swabs are hopefully somewhere around your house, but I recommend a spray bottle (Dollar Tree works). Finally, I don't know how much 30 vials cost, but hopefully not $1 each!


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Jun 2, 2007)

what do you mean by "vials".. a pic would help


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## Hypoponera (Jun 2, 2007)

Does your Petco really carry fruitfly cultures? Mine doesn't. And mine insists no other Petco does either! Maybe mine is run by lazy management. But if you can buy or capture them locally, that would certainly be more cost effective. I just don't have the time or desire to catch my own.


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## Hypoponera (Jun 2, 2007)

The "vials" are probably clear plastic tubes. Maybe 3 inches long by 1 inch wide. They are usable until the nymphs molt for the second time. After that, those vials would be way too small.

Also, I think the set only comes with 1 egg case. That still gives you a whole bunch more nymphs then you will know what to do with.


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Jun 2, 2007)

:lol: i found it! for some reason i cant paste...but petco.com and search fruit fly cultures...and there ya go!


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## Asa (Jun 2, 2007)

> Actually, for a first try, that set isn't too bad. You will learn what you need and want for the next try. It may seem expensive, but so is buying everything seperately. I buy fruitflies online for $8.75. But the shipping is another $10 for a total of $18.75. So from my point of view, that set isn't a bad idea. Plus you can add to it as needed.I think you will need:
> 
> 1 large tank, plastic or glass with a cheese cloth top for hatching
> 
> ...


You buy your fruit flies for 18.00 bucks!?! Check out Deshawn at Mantis Kingdom.


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## Hypoponera (Jun 2, 2007)

Yes and no. The fruit flies cost $8.75 for a 32oz culture. Shipping is $10 for priority. However, that shipping covers more then 1 culture as well as any other item I order except live mantids. But yes, if I order only 1 culture and nothing else, it would cost $18.75! Fortunately, I tend to order much more then 1 culture.


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## Hypoponera (Jun 2, 2007)

I did check at mantiskingdom for fruitflies. $3 for the flies is better then $8.75. But he does not sell pre-made cultures. I get pre-made cultures for $8.75. DeShawn's are a great buy if you want to make your own cultures. I'm lazy and just buy mine pre-made from Mantis Place.


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## Asa (Jun 2, 2007)

It's not much work to make your own cultures.


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## OGIGA (Jun 3, 2007)

Yeah, I thought you just add water to the substrate... and add yeast if it's not already in there.


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## Asa (Jun 3, 2007)

That's pretty much it. Of course, I think yen_saw had a post on how to cover them in honey flakes and stuff.


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