# Fancy mantis tank



## HoldThePickle (Jun 13, 2008)

This is a tank I made that's housing my P. wahlbergii. It's a 12x12x12 Exo Terra tank and has a drip wall that I made. It's a bit excessive but my mantids sure seem to like it!


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## mantidsandgeckos (Jun 13, 2008)

Nice tank! :lol: But i think you overdid it


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## Andrew (Jun 13, 2008)

I say shove those mantids away in some plastic cups and put some geckos in there!


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 13, 2008)

That is so nice, I could stay in there, my own Island! Do they get a misting from the drip wall at all? Make me one!


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## mantidsandgeckos (Jun 14, 2008)

Yup, try putting some tree geckos there! I don't think my leopard gecko will like it as it is too wet.


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## Al&Nathan (Jun 14, 2008)

I have seen all these fancy habitat. My question is how do you feed the mantis? and how do you make sure they catch the feeders in such big area?

I put mine in 8 to 24 oz cups.


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## Giosan (Jun 14, 2008)

That's an awesome enclosure you've made! I have some 'overdone' enclosures for some of my mantids as well. Mostly the big adults. I like making them, and if i can: why not!

I make sure they eat by watching them hunt and eat they're prey. If i see that the prey is hiding i just give it to my mantis, or put it somewhere near him. He will always grab it  

The other mantids i have, smaller ones or nymphs, all stay in cups that i provide with a branch and some flowers or leafs! No one is left in an empty house  I don't like the sight of that.


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## macro junkie (Jun 14, 2008)

i dont think you over done it..to many people including me just chuck there mantids in a deli cup with tissue..i love the water dripping..what did u use..a water pump?is it on 24hours a day?whats that in the background?looks like you have alot of tanks?


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## OGIGA (Jun 14, 2008)

You should have posted this up last month for the mantis habitat contest. Hehe. Oh well. I like the running water part because it probably makes the inside all humid. Well, I guess I'd watch out for smaller mantises because I always find my small mantises stuck in water.


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## HoldThePickle (Jun 14, 2008)

Thanks for the compliments! I don't really think I've over done it.... perhaps most people just have under done it. It's great that mantids can thrive on only the bare minimum, but that doesn't really mean they HAVE to have so little. Anyway, as most have mentioned about geckos.... that's kind of the plan. When the mantids pass away, the tank is going to be used for either crested geckos or poison dart frogs. The water feature sure does keep the humidity up in the tank. To make sure my bugs are eating, I tweezer feed them. No complaints from them yet!  

To answer macro's questions... I use a repti-flo pump made by exo-terra and it does run 24/7. I hand carved the background myself (pain in the A** it is). And I do have alot of tanks, but that's because I have a pet shop. You can see a bit of it in the background.


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## OGIGA (Jun 14, 2008)

Wow, hand carved. What kind of stone is it?


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## collinchang635 (Jun 15, 2008)

Nice tank!  Seriously, How much did it cost? I saw a pet shop in Malaysia that looks pretty much like tht except no waterfall. Does the waterfall act as an automatic mister? If you install something like that do you still have to mist it?


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## HoldThePickle (Jun 16, 2008)

To answer Ogiga's question, the stone isn't stone at all. It's carved out of foam and then coated with a zoopoxy. Also, ILikeMantis.... the tank by itself usually cost around $50 at pet stores. Then theres about anothe $20 worth of materials into it. I'd say all and all it was around $100 with the light and everything. I didn't make it JUST for mantids though. After I move them out, then it will be day geckos or frogs.


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 16, 2008)

:angry: I'm with you, there's nothing sadder than watching a mantis watch to see if it's poop has moved cause it has nothing else to look at!  Give em some flowerS


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## OGIGA (Jun 16, 2008)

HoldThePickle said:


> To answer Ogiga's question, the stone isn't stone at all. It's carved out of foam and then coated with a zoopoxy. Also, ILikeMantis.... the tank by itself usually cost around $50 at pet stores. Then theres about anothe $20 worth of materials into it. I'd say all and all it was around $100 with the light and everything. I didn't make it JUST for mantids though. After I move them out, then it will be day geckos or frogs.


Ooh, I see.That's a pretty neat idea!


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## ABbuggin (Jun 17, 2008)

I really like the set up, just make sure the humidity does not get to high and/or you have good ventilation.


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## Giosan (Jun 17, 2008)

hibiscusmile said:


> :angry: I'm with you, there's nothing sadder than watching a mantis watch to see if it's poop has moved cause it has nothing else to look at!  Give em some flowerS


Lol @ watching its poop move. hahaha! :lol:


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## Butterfly (Jun 17, 2008)

I love those tanks!!!

Ive been debating on getting one myself. But then Id feel bad for the other Mantids still in cup's and mason jars, and Id end up broke from buying all these nifty tanks, lol.


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## Mythdefied (Jun 22, 2008)

How do you keep the humidity from getting too high? That's always been my problem with running any sort of waterfall. Too much ventilation means losing too much heat. How did you find a good medium between the two?


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