# Best Beginner Specied Out Of...



## GingerSnapzBack (Jan 18, 2010)

Hello there,

Im new to the forum and next week ill be getting a praying mantis.

And im just wondering wich is a good beginner mantis out of the following.

Giant Indian Mantis

Bud Wing Mantis

African Mantis

Chinese Mantis.

Thank you for any replies.

Ginger-x


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## 3.1415926 (Jan 18, 2010)

all are preety good but i suggest tha african mantis and to a lesser extent the chinese.


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## GingerSnapzBack (Jan 18, 2010)

10dor1fro32 said:


> all are preety good but i suggest tha african mantis and to a lesser extent the chinese.


Hello thanks for the fast reply may I ask why you choose the African? Im interested in peoples views.


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## Rick (Jan 18, 2010)

Welcome. African or budwing. Care is identical. The african is a medium sized mantis and will require larger food in general. I get away with feeding budwings bluebottle flies but they can easily take larger. The giant indian is a very large mantis that will require larger enclosures and large food. I would go with the budwing mantis.


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## GingerSnapzBack (Jan 18, 2010)

Rick said:


> Welcome. African or budwing. Care is identical. The african is a medium sized mantis and will require larger food in general. I get away with feeding budwings bluebottle flies but they can easily take larger. The giant indian is a very large mantis that will require larger enclosures and large food. I would go with the budwing mantis.


Thankyou for replying!


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## massaman (Jan 19, 2010)

I know this may not be one on your list but the shield mantis is also another that is not that hard to take care of and is easy to take care of but as all species require different levels of care and attention but I can say as one of my recent favorites I would say the shields are a good species to have but just dont keep them together or they will tend to devour each other as will most species if kept in the same space with others of the same species!


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## revmdn (Jan 19, 2010)

Welcome.


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## Katnapper (Jan 19, 2010)

Hi Ginger, and welcome to the forum... glad to have you here!  

Giant Asian mantids are also very good for beginners.  

(Shameless plug...




I happen to have some for sale right now too... please see Here)


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## [email protected] (Jan 19, 2010)

[SIZE=14pt]Yellow there from Colorado[/SIZE]

Now I would go with a flower mantid, most are small and so you can feed them FF's , most are easy to care for.


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 19, 2010)

Welcome, go with Kats choice! from OHIO!


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## beginner entomologist (Jan 19, 2010)

Hi, and welcome!  

(not sure if I'm "allowed" to say that as I'm fairly new too)

I think the giant Asian mantis is the best for beginners.


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## Rick (Jan 20, 2010)

beginner entomologist said:


> Hi, and welcome!  (not sure if I'm "allowed" to say that as I'm fairly new too)
> 
> I think the giant Asian mantis is the best for beginners.


Not hard to keep but require more space and a lot of food.


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## Eoullis (Jan 20, 2010)

Ginger said:


> Hello there,Im new to the forum and next week ill be getting a praying mantis.
> 
> And im just wondering wich is a good beginner mantis out of the following.
> 
> ...


Hey Ginger,

Welcome to the forum. I'm new here too, about 2 weeks now. This place is packed with great information and quite a few really informed and experienced members.

I have African mantids (_Shpodromantis centralis_). I got them from mantisplace.com exactly one week ago today. I have 3 nymphs (L3 going on L4) and one adult female. The adult female is about 2 1/2" (estimate) with a very plump rump. I keep in her in a medium sized critter keeper with a small stick and a paper towel for substrate. She gets a mist of water every other day and so far I've been giving her a cricket per day. My 3 nymphs are in tall 32 oz. deli cups with grids in the lids and a small pinch of excelsior. They have been eating BB's and pinheads. They have been eating 2-3 of these everyday. I mist the little dudes every day. They all sit under a 60watt desk lamp about a foot or more from the cages. It stays about 80 degrees in the day and about 75 degrees at night.

So far these mantids have proved very easy to care for. I'm only in a week so that may change but, I don't think so. They are excellent eaters and very aggresive hunters. So far my adult female is a little shy, she likes to hide from me. But, the nymphs are always ready to come out and play.

I hatched a chinese ooth years and years ago and from what I remember they were quick to jump. Jump on you or away from you. So far my Africans don't show that tendency. Again, it's only been a week!

My nymphs are so gorgeous with such intersting color patterns and the adult female is just an awesome spectacle. The adult is what you dream of when you think of the classic mantid. (or the things nightmares are made of for other folks.lol)

I hope this can help you a little bit. I have minimal experience and my little setup cost me almost nothing (except for mantids, bb's and shipping). I have had no problems with these dudes.

Enjoy yourself!

David (Eoullis)


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## JoeCapricorn (Jan 21, 2010)

The African Mantises are docile as nymphs. They never once jumped away from me or got so startled that they scurried some place really quickly. The only close call I had was when Meek jumped and landed on the floor when he was just a tiny L1 or L2 nymph. I was very frightened about not finding him, but fortunately I did. He's a nice and strong healthy L5 now.

Comparatively, the Giant Asians are much faster as nymphs and very flighty. They love to jump, so if you do get these be very careful. At the same time, sometimes this flightyness makes it easy to put them back in their enclosure after feeding time - a lot of times they will get out, but don't worry, just guide them onto your finger and keep an eye on them. Then just place the enclosure directly in front of the mantis and poke it in the butt, it'll leap forward and into the enclosure a safe distance from the top - Always watch that your mantises are clear from the entry way when you shut the lid! This will kill or seriously injure them if care is not exercised! Fortunately, I haven't run across any disasters like this, but sometimes I get the occasional, "HEY, that was my foot!  " look from my mantises - in which case I just let them out and try again when they calm down again.

The African mantises can get so docile they might not want to leave your finger! If you have to put them in the enclosure, it takes some time, but you gotta let them get relaxed before attempting... then place the enclosure directly in front and startle the mantis into scurrying forward safely into the enclosure - just poke it on the butt. Sometimes they'll also just be trying to reach out beyond your finger, just let them grab a piece of paper towel or whatever you have in there and they'll crawl right in there!

I have only fed my mantises fruit flies for the most part. First, it's fun to feed them the flies one by one, watch them catch it and enjoy it, and give them seconds! Sometimes I do pinhead crickets and houseflies when available, but I always exercise caution - I am paranoid of overfeeding them


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