# New Guy, Help? :)



## thorhack (Aug 9, 2010)

So i was at a gas station the other night and I saw a mantis, Chinese I think. I caught it in a cup and started driving home. Then I thought, damn it'd be cool to keep him as a pet. I've never heard of anyone keeping a mantis before! Then I got home and did some research and found tons of info and this site! So I'm just starting out I've only had him a couple days, got him in a normal plastic cage with a mesh top, with some water and twigs and I've been misting daily. But he still won't eat. I've tried to feed him crickets and moths and even a tiny fish but nothing. Oh and he's freaking huge. like...5-6 inches, dunoo what L that is but yeah He just sits clung to the top in the same spot, barely moving exept to drink. However when I take the top off all he wants to do is fly, and I'm worried he's gonna break something lol. His flying skills looked bad enough when I caught him. indoors is worse.

So I'd like some tips or tricks, I live in Independence, MO, USA and my name is Thor, any help is appreciated, later.

Oh and I'd like to buy some different breeds, this is a fascinating hobby. Pics soon


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## ismart (Aug 9, 2010)

Welcome to the forum!  That is a very pretty adult male chinese mantis you got there!  The stick on the floor serves absolutely no purpus. If you want to keep a stick in there, it should at least reach from the floor of the critterkeeper to the top of the critterkeeper, for climbing purposes. Take the water bottle out. Chances are the mantis will probably never even drink out of it. Not to mention it has a good chance of drowing in it. You could give the mantis water by lightly misting the cage a few times a day. It will drink the droplets off the sides of the critterkeeper, if it's thirsty?


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## Rick (Aug 9, 2010)

Welcome.

Yep, male chinese. He is acting that way because he is a wild mantis that is used to being free, but now he is cooped up in a cage. The males are the worst. Females can settle in usually. This time of year the males are looking for females and are very active. They fly around at night a lot too. Eating is not the first thing on their minds either. I personally would release him and find yourself one that will settle down to the captive life. Surprised to see an adult that far north already.


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## LauraMG (Aug 9, 2010)

He is a handsome one! You can send him to me and I'll mate him!



Welcome from Oklahoma City! He sounds just as Rick said, a restless mating machine!


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## Ntsees (Aug 9, 2010)

Give it some branches to hang on to. If it keeps moving around a lot, then it's unconfortable (most likely because it's not used to being in a cage). It might settle down with time though. As far as feeding goes, try feeding it only when it is relaxed (on a branch etc.) and not moving around. As for food choices, there's a good chance it's not going to bother that goldfish especially when it's still in water (mantids can't catch food that are in water) so I recommend you remove it. Try feeding it something that's not too hard to catch and as large as it's head.


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## Rick (Aug 9, 2010)

I just noticed the bowl with the fish in it. Get that out of there haha. Mantids also don't drink from dishes.


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## ismart (Aug 9, 2010)

I did not even notice the fish in the water bowl! :blink: :lol: You should try and feed it insects. Fish really is not the best choice, especially for a male. Not to mention you don't want to open up a can of worms, regurading fish abuse! :lol:


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## thorhack (Aug 9, 2010)

Holy ###### tons of replys already. Thanks guys, there's some sticks in there from top to bottom, the one just happened to fall there lol. I let him out in the apartment today. he just kinda chilled on the candle for hours lol. I saw a couple vids on youtube where a guy feeds his mantis fish so i figured I'd try it lol.

 it's pretty cool haha.I'd love to get a baby...forgot what they're called, and I think I will let him go. But right now he's much to intriguing. Oh and I've been misting, he isin't drinking much water off the leaves either.

Anyone selling a Idolomantis Diabolica? They look sweet!!!


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## ismart (Aug 9, 2010)

Swifthavok said:


> Anyone selling a Idolomantis Diabolica? They look sweet!!!


You need to learn how to crawl before you can learn how to walk! :lol: 

Idolomantis diabolica is not for the novice!  You should focus all your energy on taming your wild chinese male! :lol:


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## myles (Aug 9, 2010)

that dude that uploaded that you tube vid is a knob head :angry:


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## thorhack (Aug 9, 2010)

Knob head, haha. how am I supposed to tame him? he flys all over the place and won't eat anything. I'm worried I'll kill him. SO I think I'm gonna let him go. Where can I go to buy a baby? so i can start fresh and get more experience in their growth cycles?


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## myles (Aug 9, 2010)

yeah let him go hes wild his whole life wont benefit him or you putting him in captivity the last stage of his life cycle , lots of breeders sell mantids here so pick a species you want ( a beginner species) and buy some nymps off them  oh and welcome to the forum by the way i forgot to say that lol!!


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## ismart (Aug 9, 2010)

Sorry bad choice of words! You really cant tame any species of mantis. If you leave him alome in the critter keeper for a few days, he will begin to settle down. He is just not used to being kept in a cage. He will be alright! Males don't eat very often. They need to stay trim, so they can fly, and find tale!  When he has calmed down, throw a cricket in, and see what happens?


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## LauraMG (Aug 9, 2010)

I think the goldfish is a silly thing to try and feed when they eat so many, much easier to obtain, forms or prey. At his size, you might try a hummingbird!


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## thorhack (Aug 9, 2010)

I bought a dozen crickets to feed to him, got home from the 6 minute drive and they were all dead. Damn this heat! Anyways I had a spectacular brainstorm while driving, I'm going to construct a mesh cage. A rectangular prism with a sort of pyramid on top and a hatch, so i can hang the whole thing from the ceiling. A mesh birdhouse if you will, it'll cost about $6 which is way cheaper than all the butterfly houses I looked at today around $35 and so tiny.

But i'll need some nymphs or an ooth to populate it  

If anyone knows where to find a Idolo for sale There'll be a cookie in it for you ^^


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## myles (Aug 9, 2010)

CLASSIFIED section :scooter:


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## LauraMG (Aug 9, 2010)

Swifthavok said:


> I bought a dozen crickets to feed to him, got home from the 6 minute drive and they were all dead. Damn this heat! Anyways I had a spectacular brainstorm while driving, I'm going to construct a mesh cage. A rectangular prism with a sort of pyramid on top and a hatch, so i can hang the whole thing from the ceiling. A mesh birdhouse if you will, it'll cost about $6 which is way cheaper than all the butterfly houses I looked at today around $35 and so tiny.
> 
> But i'll need some nymphs or an ooth to populate it
> 
> If anyone knows where to find a Idolo for sale There'll be a cookie in it for you ^^


Check out the classified section of the forum. You'll need much more of a complex enclosure for a diabolica though. They're a pretty challenging species. I would recommend getting a Chinese nymph or some ghost nymphs until you get a little more acquainted with keeping them. All mesh enclosures are only really good for a few species especially if you keep them inside. They're very difficult to control the humidity and temp because they're a little too well ventilated! I keep a Carolina in a mesh and he's the only one that's done remotely well in it. So, you gonna send me that male so I can breed him?


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## thorhack (Aug 9, 2010)

Maybe once I get another haha. I took everything out of the cage except the crickets. Lets hope he eats.

So what would you recommend for a cage?


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## LauraMG (Aug 9, 2010)

Swifthavok said:


> Maybe once I get another haha. I took everything out of the cage except the crickets. Lets hope he eats.
> 
> So what would you recommend for a cage?


Depends on the species. You can use the search tools on the forum to figure out what works best for whatever species. There is a LOT of information on every species here, plus you can find care sheets on some of the private websites like www.mantisplace.com or www.bugsincyberspace.com so you can decide what's best for you and for the species you choose. A good rule of thumb is to have an enclosure 3 times as tall as the length of the mantid so it has plenty of molt room, and past that it's pretty species dependent.


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## thorhack (Aug 9, 2010)

weird, alright then I can't wait to buy some new mantids, so should I get an ooth or some nymphs? Hopefully i can score some Idolo's from frey &gt;


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## thorhack (Aug 9, 2010)

###### YES!!!!! HE's EATING!!!! OMFG it's so awesome haha! i've waited three days to see him tear something up. went for the smaller one surprisingly


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## LauraMG (Aug 9, 2010)

I remember the first time I saw mine eat something! I still sit and watch them tear through things all the time! I think you're hooked! And to answer your other question, you should probably just get nymphs to start off. Ooths can be tricky, and you can wait 8 weeks for disappointment. You don't have that with nymphs!


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## thorhack (Aug 9, 2010)

Hmmmm, my male for nymphs?


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## Ntsees (Aug 9, 2010)

Swifthavok said:


> ###### YES!!!!! HE's EATING!!!! OMFG it's so awesome haha! i've waited three days to see him tear something up. went for the smaller one surprisingly


Congrats on getting it to eat. Although I've never had a male Chinese mantid, I once did kept European mantid males and that's what they did - ate the smaller prey (well not too small of course). It probably won't eat as often as a female, but at least it's eating, then it's good.


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## thorhack (Aug 10, 2010)

Huh, I figured he'd go for the big juicy prey first. My girlfriend is getting into the mantis fever too now lol. She's snapping pics of him like crazy. Got some really cool ones of him on top of the katanas


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## lancaster1313 (Aug 10, 2010)

Welcome, I am waiting for my chinese male to have his last molt. I hope he will be as big as yours, btw, nice avatar.


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## sway71 (Aug 20, 2010)

hey, he looks like my guy, except a lot bigger. I keep Christopher outside in one of my flower beds. He just shed? about a week ago. So much bigger and with wings. We had a lot of rain here a few days ago and I thought he split but found him again in the flower bed yesterday. I take him for walks around the yard, looking for food and, so far, he hasn't tried to fly away. (He flies onto my head sometimes.)  When he was a little guy I fed him cat food and he took it gladly. My question, how long should I expect to have him around and do they like sun or sun part shade?


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