# Hi...noob from CT



## zGhost (Oct 1, 2013)

Hi all,

My name is Ed and I just got started got into caring for these cool bugs.

I currently have a L4? Ghost. I am not positive what instar my mantis, named Z,

was when I received him/her. I know my buddy molted twice since I have been the owner.

I have been reading up on these forum when I have the time. The web/google wasn't overly helpful with mantis knowledge so I am looking forward to hearing from people with real experience.

As a little background, my main hobby is growing carnivorous plants. Last year my wife and I found a "stick" on the front door in November, and as I was about to clear it from the welcome mat with my shoe, I saw that it was not at stick at all, but a mantis...and not in good shape with the 20 degree weather we were having. I took her in asap and kept her in a warm room. She perked up for a few days, but then passed very quickly. I noticed black junk on the cage she was in and read up on black death. I think we had her for a week tops, but my wife was very upset at her passing...big surprise to me as my wife is a girly girl, not into "creepy bugs." Fast forward to a Month ago, I found my girly girl wife out back with my little plastic cup I use to catch flies...well, she did it, caught my lil ghost a meal! What a wife!!!

Trying not to be too long winded here...

Anyway, HELLO all my fellow bug keepers


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## agent A (Oct 1, 2013)

hello fellow CT member

that ghost is a male and is likely L5 or older

welcome to the forum


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## zGhost (Oct 1, 2013)

Thanks agent A. I have a hard time counting those segments.


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 1, 2013)

haha, nice story! everyone falls for the mantis bug!


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## Rick (Oct 1, 2013)

Welcome


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## AxolotlsAreCoolToo (Oct 1, 2013)

Yeah CT!!! nice to meet you


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## Pizzaparlor45 (Oct 1, 2013)

Welcome


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## sally (Oct 1, 2013)

Welcome


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## agent A (Oct 1, 2013)

zGhost said:


> Thanks agent A. I have a hard time counting those segments.


thats not how i can tell


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## Sticky (Oct 2, 2013)

Welcome! I used to live in Westport.


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## MandellaMandy123 (Oct 2, 2013)

Welcome! You can tell whether it's male or female by the crown.  That one's male and appears to be around L6. I like your story! Lol. :lol: Even my mom likes my mantids now!


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## HungryGhost (Oct 2, 2013)

Welcome from another tri-state noob! I'm hoping to get some ghost nymphs for myself soon.


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## zGhost (Oct 2, 2013)

Thanks agent A and WolfPuppy The crown is the giveaway. Umkay...so of course I googled female ghost mantis, and the crown looks a bit broader?!?! Is that how you distinguish?

I checked from the site I bough Z from,(unfortunately the info is not up anymore) and IIRC, I bought an L2...add 2 molts I should be L4?!?! This is my first ghost so no experience in judging the nymph stage.

agent A and AxolotisAreCoolToo - You are both in CT as well?

Sticky - I grew up in Fairfield, just a stones throw away

Thanks for the warm welcome. Not used to so much interest in an Introduction thread. Insect people are the best!!


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## AxolotlsAreCoolToo (Oct 2, 2013)

agent A and AxolotisAreCoolToo - You are both in CT as well?

Thanks for the warm welcome. Not used to so much interest in an Introduction thread. Insect people are the best!!

Yes we are

Yay for insect people!


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## zGhost (Oct 2, 2013)

I had to look up Axolotls...didn't know what it was. So it's essentially a giant salamander?


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## AxolotlsAreCoolToo (Oct 2, 2013)

um more like Tiger salamander larvae, they have external gills vs the giant salamander's internal and much smaller



zGhost said:


> I had to look up Axolotls...didn't know what it was. So it's essentially a giant salamander?


heck benders are impressive as well


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## MandellaMandy123 (Oct 2, 2013)

Here are two images I recently took of my ghosties. They are both L5. The first one (Melanie) is a female, and the second one (Maoilseachlainn) is a male. The male's crown is thinner than that of the female, it bends to one side, and it almost looks kind of 'forked' at the end when the mantis gets a little older.











I hope that helps you!  

~Wolfie


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## zGhost (Oct 2, 2013)

Great shots Wolfie. Thanks, yes, that helps. I have another question if you don't mind. Is there a "preferred" when it comes to a mantids weight? I ask because my ghost has a fat posterior in comparison to the ones you pictured. I don't imagine insect obesity is any healthier then it is for us humans.


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## zGhost (Oct 4, 2013)

My new buddy. L2 South American green mantis.


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## zGhost (Oct 4, 2013)

This is a better pic of Tito.


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## MandellaMandy123 (Oct 8, 2013)

zGhost said:


> Is there a "preferred" when it comes to a mantids weight? I ask because my ghost has a fat posterior in comparison to the ones you pictured. I don't imagine insect obesity is any healthier then it is for us humans.


Well, if your mantis looks like it's about to pop, then probably it's best not to feed for a couple of days. Mine had just recently molted - they tend to look fatter when they are ready to molt. Mantids don't 'gain weight' like humans do. You can see in this photo a really fat mantis that I had.


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## zGhost (Oct 8, 2013)

Wolfie, I believe you called it...my ghost just molted yesterday and afterward, looks pretty lean and mean. Had a nice size gain with this molt.

That mantis isn't fat...he's a beef cake  

On another note, Tito molted on Sunday and looks...well, exactly the same size. The person I got him from said at L2 he can handle house flies. I hope that is true as I tossed in a house fly before work. She told me O. Gracilis is pretty strong for its size. I assume he was L2 when I got him last week but I don't truly know.


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## MandellaMandy123 (Oct 8, 2013)

Glad to hear about your ghost molting safely!  

I'm not familiar with Tito's species, but he appears to be L2 or L3. I think he could definitely handle a house fly. You could ask the breeder how old he was.


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## zGhost (Oct 8, 2013)

Thanks Wolfie. Time to see how Z handles a blue bottle. He probably could have handled a BB an instar ago, but I would rather feed a bunch of smaller house flies then stress out my lil buddy with something too big. I'm an over protective parent I guess, lol.

I did email the breeder about what flies came with the mantis and what I should be feeding. Her reply was..."It would have been either D. hydei or houseflies. The O. gracilis is pretty strong for their size, so will take either at L2." I know Tito molted once since I had him, so house flies it is. (I only have house and BB)


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## aNisip (Oct 8, 2013)

Hello and welcome to the forum from Florida!


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## zGhost (Oct 8, 2013)

I'm a touch disappointed. Z is afraid of the big scary fly, lol. He tried to strike, let go, cleaned his raptor then went to the other side of the enclosure. &lt;smh&gt;


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## MandellaMandy123 (Oct 9, 2013)

Don't stress him out - he might not be ready for a big fly like a bluebottle yet. If he can eat houseflies, that's probably the best thing right now. _O. gracilis _is a pretty sturdy mantis, but a BB is pretty big for any L2 or L3.


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## zGhost (Oct 9, 2013)

"Don't stress him out" - exactly my thinking. I removed the bb once I saw Z's reluctance. BTW - I gave the L5 ghost the BB not the L2/3 O. gracilis.

My 2 mantids are Z the ghost, and Tito the O. gracilis


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## MandellaMandy123 (Oct 9, 2013)

Oh, OK - I was wondering why you were calling Tito Z all of a sudden. :lol: Yeah, I have 4 L5 ghosts right now, and while they seem like they could handle a BB, they _are_ a little small. I'm feeding houseflies right now. I'd wait another molt for the BB.


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## zGhost (Oct 9, 2013)

I was talking to him, trying to inflate his confidence and reassure Z that he is bigger and stronger now...then it dawned on me. I am speaking to him in English!!! Unfortunately I don't speak Malagasy, so Z will have to learn on his own, lol.


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## MandellaMandy123 (Oct 9, 2013)

Lol. :lol: He might actually be ready after a week or so. Sometimes they are a bit more timid after a molt.


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## zGhost (Oct 10, 2013)

Wolfie...how much and how often are your ghosts eating?


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## MandellaMandy123 (Oct 10, 2013)

Well, my L5's eat about two flies every two or three days. They could probably eat a little more, but I've been really busy. :lol: The younger ones eat a little less, and my L6 eats two flies a day.


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## zGhost (Nov 1, 2013)

Wolfie, I have been meaning to update you that Z is now taking down BB's with ease. Now also means about two weeks ago  

Tito is no longer afraid of houseflies which makes keeping him fed a more manageable process as I only raise BB and house flies.

That's all for now...have a nice weekend.


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## MandellaMandy123 (Nov 14, 2013)

Hi, didn't see this until just now. Glad to hear that your two mantids are easily catching their flies now. It's a lot easier when they start eating flies. Fruit flies are a nuisance...  

~Wolfie


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## zGhost (Apr 28, 2014)

Haven't been on in a while, and sadly I have lost my ghost buddy. He died yesterday...very unexpected and seemed a bit too young, but he was a great first mantis pet.

My O. gracilis and Indian flower mantis are both adults and doing well. Apu got an enclosure upgrade now that Z is gone.

It was a particularly tough day yesterday. My wife and I lost our dog just 4 weeks back and Saturday would have been his 8th Birthday. We celebrated on Saturday with our close friends...some drinks...then Sunday I lost Z.  So I am feeling quite sad...it may seem strange to some people to be sad for the loss of an insect, but he was the first mantis I took care of and was part of my daily routine...I will miss seeing and playing him.

RIP buddy.


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## MandellaMandy123 (Apr 28, 2014)

Oh, I'm sorry to hear about Z! I definitely know how hard it is to lose a mantis - I have been keeping them for years and I still feel sad when one passes away. I will say, however, that it was most likely old age for Z. How long had he been adult? Males are really erratic in how long they live - I just lost an adult male ghost after he had only been an adult for a couple of weeks, and I know he had been well cared for. And I'm sorry about your doggy too - I love my little furball and she's only 3 - I don't even want to think about losing her yet.  

I'm glad that your other little friends are still doing well.  Are they males or females? (I don't remember, but the females live a lot longer.  )

Nice to hear from you again! Have you been taking any more pictures?

~Wolfie


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## zGhost (Apr 28, 2014)

Thanks Wolfie, it's nice to hear from you. Z got his wings in January, so he lasted about 3 Months as a adult.

Losing our dog has been just terrible. He was 7, in great health, and only showed normal signs of being a big less energetic. (Normal for him as we always travel in Feb. and he takes a few weeks to get "normal" after being in the kennel.) We brought him in to his vet on a Friday, fully expecting a $250 bill just to hear the vet tell us we are crazy or that he was lazy because of the long cold winter...unfortunately he passed very early the next Monday.

We now have 2 kittens we rescued just last week. They are in no way a replacement for our dog, but they are helping distract my wife and me.

Thanks. My other 2 guys will be getting some extra treats tonight...as they did last night  

I do have some more...I will post them up when I get a chance.


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## PookaDotted (Apr 30, 2014)

Welcome!


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## zGhost (Apr 30, 2014)

Thanks and Hello PookaDotted. I have been here about 7-8 Months, I'm just more of a reader than a poster.


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## reptilia5 (May 8, 2014)

Welcome!


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## Ralphys_Mantids (May 28, 2014)

Im from ct too!


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