# Beginner enclosure- 3rd instar Ghost Mantis



## suzypike (Jan 10, 2012)

Okay, I ordered a 3rd instar Ghost Mantis today thinking that with my many many spiderling enclosures I would have something acceptable to house it in. Now, after reading, I don't think I do.

Here is what I have to work with-

Acrylic cubes from Hobby Lobby- different sizes- tall, square, etc. They already have small holes drilled for ventilation. I kept .5" legspan spiderlings in them.

All sizes of critter keepers.

Some deli cups (but I don't like them because the lid is so hard to get off.

I brand new exo-terra Nano tall terrarium.

I can get anything that Wal-Mart sells, but I live out in the country with no pet stores nearby.

I have been reading threads this evening, but I am still unsure. My mantis will be a baby.

Help!!!


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## suzypike (Jan 10, 2012)

I don't know if this is relevant, but I will be keeping my mantis in my Spider Room. The temp is kept at a steady 80 degrees and I keep humidifiers going to keep humidity around 70%. That is just in the room. It is a little higher in the enclosures.


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## Precarious (Jan 11, 2012)

The spider room sounds perfect!

You'll want an enclosure small enough that food won't get lost in it. Ghosts are not active hunters. They generally wait for food to come to them. Really, for a single L3 Ghost a 32 oz deli cup with screen lid is ideal. It's not pretty but very functional. Put in some twigs and/or glue some screen or other grippable surface to the side and you're good to go.

Critter keepers won't hold the house flies you'll need to feed it. And the lids are not good to molt from unless you glue burlap or something to the inside.

Whatever enclosure you choose, be sure it's 2 to 3 times taller than your Ghost is long.

Once your baby is a little bigger the Nano would be a very nice home. Just be sure to plug any cord holes to keep the flies in.

Best of luck!

More suggestions here:

*Enclosures and Housing: The Basics*


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## suzypike (Jan 11, 2012)

Thanks so much! I have an idea now. I'll post a pic tonight of what I am thinking of putting together.


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## dlemmings (Jan 11, 2012)

My ghost were deli-cup nymphs til L-5 or so...once they were big enough to take house flys they went into small critter keeper with tigs glued to the lid and "brillo-pad" as a subtstrate and a few silk flowers. i did find it nessesary to remove the handle and hot glue their openings as house flys could escape from there...but the bigger wild-caught flys could not. my two adult mantids still reside in critter keepers.


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## suzypike (Jan 11, 2012)

I worked on an enclosure today. I have double of everything, so if it's bad, I'll start over. There will be paper towels in the bottom of course. The top is fastened with velcro, so I can get in from the top or the bottom.

Please critique and feel free to make suggestions. I've never made an enclosure like this before. I've never dealt with screen or mesh. I will say, that I HATE deli cups and will go to great lengths to avoid them. I don't hate how they look. I can never seem to get them open and traumatize whatever animal that's in there while I'm trying. :blush:


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## lunarstorm (Jan 11, 2012)

That's a nice looking enclosure! Here are a few modifications I'd recommend:

1) Add a feeding port (if there isn't already one) to make it super easy to add feeders without disturbing the mantis. I generally prefer ports on the top of my habitats, as gravity makes everything easier.

2) Your enclosure looks great for an adult mantis but might be a bit too big for a single small nymph. Keep an eye on how easily your ghost finds their food; it is often beneficial to use a small enclosure so the feeders don't have so many places to hide.

3) Consider affixing something to the side walls to allow the nymph to easily climb (e.g. a mesh net or webbing). You'll obviously lose some visibility in that area but if you don't, there's a good chance the mantis will waste a lot of energy clawing and trying to climb the sheer surfaces.


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## suzypike (Jan 11, 2012)

Thanks!

The screen at the top is fastened with velcro on one side. I think I can feed through that. I need to check now that the glue is dry.

There was one of these jars half the size of this one. (This one is a gallon I think, and the other one had the same width, but was half as tall. I may go back and get it to use the smaller one at first while I'm just learning to care for my mantis. I started to get it today, but My cool sticks and stuff wouldn't fit in it... LOL!

I bought window screening, and a mesh laundry bag to put on the side, but haven't done it yet. The reason why is I don't know what to attach it with. I use a hot glue gun for sticks and silk plants, but on mesh, the glue is going to ooze through. Won't that be sticky?

I had terrible visions of my baby mantis being stuck in a sticky glob of glue used to attach the screen to the side.

Anyway, I have both screen and cloth mesh. I just don't know the best way to stick it to the side.

Help!


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## suzypike (Jan 11, 2012)

Okay tomorrow I am going to get the jar that's half that size. Doesn't the mantis spend most of the time at the top? If so, I'm going to keep the lid at the bottom for easy maintainence, but I'm going to do Velcro all the way sound the top.

And I read that thread again and it did say to hot glue the screen inside, so I'll stop being paranoid and do that too.

Different pics tomorrow

Thanks!!!


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## Chivalry (Jan 12, 2012)

suzypike said:


> I bought window screening, and a mesh laundry bag to put on the side, but haven't done it yet. The reason why is I don't know what to attach it with. I use a hot glue gun for sticks and silk plants, but on mesh, the glue is going to ooze through. Won't that be sticky?


I highly recommend the "Bugatorium" thread for habitat creation. You can put a tiny bit of something greasy (Rebecca/hibiscusmile recommended ear wax in that thread lol) on the hot glue to keep it from being sticky... or I think there's a low-tack type of hot glue. Tons of good info in that thread tho.

I also recommend small if you're getting nymphs. I made these pretty habitats for my new S. viridis and then they got here and they were much tinier than I anticipated, so they are all still living in their individual sauce cups with lined lids and floors, and raffia to climb on. For now. Ghosts especially don't pursue food, from what I've read, so a small enclosure makes it easy for the prey to get to them.

Rereading this, it just sunk in that you have a spider room. Do people come and visit you?


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## suzypike (Jan 12, 2012)

LOL! 34 tarantulas, Dubia roach colony, Superworms, Confused Flour Beetles and fruit fly cultures... I don't see a problem! :stuart: 

Thanks so much for the tip. I really have been concerned about the stickiness of the glue- not just with the netting, but around my little 'windows' too. I ripped the top off that enclosure and am going to start over. I ordered a couple of medium 'mantis mansions' and some stoppers, and some other little things from a web site advertised on here. I'm pretty stoked about getting them too.

I was going to work on another enclosure tonight, but first it started snowing (a HUGE deal in Alabama.. haha), and then I had one of my favorite tarantulas molt, and I wanted to confirm that it was a male, so I was taking and posting pictures on a T forum.

It is a male by the way- good news for me because I have an unrelated female of that species! I got a pair of Nhandu tripepii. If you are a tarantula person, you will probably know why I'm pretty excited about that.

Anyway, I didn't work on it tonight. But I have all weekend, and Those acrylic jars are really really cheap and so I'll keep on experimenting. I'll pick up some half-gallons tomorrow. Whatever size they (I sort of added to my order... now I am getting Ghost and Indian Flower mantids :clap: ) are, I will be ready.

I will check out that thread before I start on another one.

Thanks!!!


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## Chivalry (Jan 13, 2012)

LOL... See, nobody can have just one.

And I am starting to buy snacks based on the fact that they come in nice big plastic jars.


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## suzypike (Jan 13, 2012)

Hey the Bugatorium thread- that's who I bought my enclosures from! Haha!

Great thread. Her enclosures are beautiful. Can I ask questions on that thread about them?


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## Mvalenz (Jan 14, 2012)

Rebecca has some very thorough instructions for builing enclosures. I followed them and my mantis did very well in it.


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## dlemmings (Jan 14, 2012)

Chivalry said:


> LOL... See, nobody can have just one.
> 
> And I am starting to buy snacks based on the fact that they come in nice big plastic jars.


haha...I was at target and they have this huge jug of cheezy-poofs and I thought "wow my ghost colony would luv this as an apartment"

and I saved an empty raspberry twizzler container cause it is @10 inch round &amp; 8 inch high.... :stuart:


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## Mvalenz (Jan 14, 2012)

Chivalry said:


> LOL... See, nobody can have just one.
> 
> And I am starting to buy snacks based on the fact that they come in nice big plastic jars.


That is a great idea. And here I was combing the earth looking for a half gallon plastic fish bowl. I'm going to target tomorrow.


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 14, 2012)

Sure you can ask questions in that post, would I love it! u betcha! I think your enclosure is fine, the baby ghost do not hunt as they say, but as babies, they are bad and run around if a few are in the same housing an will find the food, for one baby, I put in 6 to 8 mels each, and mist twice a day. The flower stems are fine for them to run around up and down on, they really should not need something else on the sides, some mantis may, but ghost are smart and will use the stems, also they dont mind hanging from anything and do not have to be "king of the hill"" :kiss:


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## suzypike (Jan 14, 2012)

I already took my enclosure apart because someone told me I had too many flowers and stuff in it that might cause molting problems.

I ordered 2 Mantis Mansions from you. I'm not sure what I'll do if my mantids arrive before the mansions. How hard will they be to move? I was just going to follow the instructions on your thread to decorate my mansions.

Thanks so much for the input! I NEED it! I feel like I'm running around in circles.

(what is 6-8 mels?)


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 14, 2012)

melnogastor fruit flyes, gee look at me spelling, dont know if it is me meds or I just can't spell...LOL

I will vent the containers for you and send them monday, wait, what size did u get?


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## suzypike (Jan 14, 2012)

One large hex and one medium hex. I'm getting 1 Ghost and 1Indian Flower. I may have ordered the wrong size, but I wanted them as big as possible since I'll display them at school. (I'm a teacher)

Thanks! I should have ordered express. My initial plan was to move them into these when they got a little bigger, but the containers I have now are probably larger than those are. They are 1 gallons.


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 14, 2012)

Humm, well I say if you are getting babies, you need to start with something smaller, and u did say they were babies, let me see, have u used the cloth lids? is that the ones you have trouble with?


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## suzypike (Jan 14, 2012)

I haven't ever used any of this stuff. You can't use it with tarantulas(my main hobby) , because the can bite through it.

Let me know what I need and I'll add it to my order if that's possible. I've gotten so much advice, I'm dizzy ,

Not that I'm complaining! I just dont know what to do. The housing for mantids is very different than for tarantulas!


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## suzypike (Jan 14, 2012)

Oh and they are babies- L3 and L4.


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 14, 2012)

Well I will include a couple cups for you and you try them out, as they grow you can change them, don't fret over it all, your containers as I said are fine, maybe a little big for now, but otherwise I like them. I have some jumping spiders I catch here in the Bugatorium and I just put them in any container for mantis and they are fine. Dont know if they are happy or not, but I don't know no better.


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 14, 2012)

oh, 3 and 4, they are getting up there in age, all good though.


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## suzypike (Jan 14, 2012)

I just figured out what you meant about lids... I'm kinda slow.. LOL

I HATE deli lids. I won't use them. Several times when I used to try to use them I almost killed my slings (spiderlings) trying to get the lid open. Everyone else seems to love them, but I can't get the hang of opening the lids. I'd rather pay $20.00 for something with a normal lid, as to have to deal with a deli cup!


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 14, 2012)

Well these are deli lids, they have been revamped, so maybe it wont work for you. I will send u something, don't worry. Maybe a couple of my used containers that I use every day.


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## suzypike (Jan 14, 2012)

Why can everyone open deli lids except for me?


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 14, 2012)

after all this time, I still have trouble with them, so u are not alone.


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## suzypike (Jan 14, 2012)

That's why I bought those big 'honkin' 1 gallon acrylic jugs. They have a normal screw-on lid.

I went back to get the half-gallon. I didn't get it the first time because it just looked too short, and they were all gone.

I was so MAD. I've still got these gallon ones all ventilated. I just tore the flowers and stuff out of them. They have the screen windows, Velcro screen tops, and screen on one full side on the inside.

Are they too big for sure. They are the same containers in the pictures, just with nothing on the inside. The entire top is attached with Velcro so I can just pull it back.

It's okay if I can't use them. I had fun making the little windows and stuff.


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## suzypike (Jan 14, 2012)

hibiscusmile said:


> Well these are deli lids, they have been revamped, so maybe it wont work for you. I will send u something, don't worry. Maybe a couple of my used containers that I use every day.


Thank you so much for your help! I'm sure I will be asking more questions as I work on my "Mantis Mansions.".


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 17, 2012)

post office open today so stuff is on the way, sent 2 deli cups fixed for the babies, clean so just go head and use, also send two regular lids for the containers u brought, but if you do not use the deli lids I sent with them, then u will have to provide ventalitation, otherwise those lids do it all. U know, kinda like magic lids, but not!


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## suzypike (Jan 17, 2012)

If I can do most things by removing those sponges then maybe I can tolerate the deli lids. It's just usually counterproductive for me to scare my inverts to death right before I feed them. LOL!

I wish we could use the hole/sponge stopper idea with tarantulas. It's an awesome idea!!! They would chew right through that sponge though.


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## suzypike (Jan 19, 2012)

I LOVE my enclosures!!! Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!! The nursery cups you made me are perfect. Both of my babies are hanging upside-down in my 'spider room' and eating a fruit fly.  

One more question. When my mantis's got here I got so excited that I put them in their cups with nothing in the bottom. The lids to their little shipping cups are in there, paper towel side up. I don't know whether to disturb them by trying to get paper towel in the bottom or not. What should I do?


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