# Plant



## babynik14 (Jul 9, 2007)

Some poeple might not think this is the greatest idea but.. my mantis doesnt have a cage she just lives in my plant.. its a big plant.. and she has never left.. i feed her by taking her to her food and shes fine and i mist her.. she loves it and i dont see a problem if she isnt going to go anywhere. She has been like this for at least a month.. Does anyone have problems with this.. and if you do what are they?


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## Rick (Jul 9, 2007)

I had an old mantis that lived on a house plant. I hand fed her with long tweezers.


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## Asa (Jul 9, 2007)

If she never moves, then I don't foresee any problems, unless of course you have othere people in your house/apartment.


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## colddigger (Jul 9, 2007)

what

kind

of

plant

hmm?


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## babynik14 (Jul 9, 2007)

I duno what kinda plant.. but its a huge one wiht longgg big leaves that she hangs out and hides on.. and when sehs at my boyfriends she lives in a mini palm tree and loves it..


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## Asa (Jul 9, 2007)

You take her over to other houses?! Daring thou art!


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## hibiscusmile (Jul 9, 2007)

That is so neat, they say that they do not venture far away from where they land, so she should be ok, if she's happy there and you are to don't worry about it. If I had mine out my son would have a fit...lol, if they knew where I put the big flies to cool em they would have me heaD! ha ha ha :lol:


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## OGIGA (Jul 10, 2007)

That's awesome. I always wanted to do that. The only thing I worry about is accidentally killing her.


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## babynik14 (Jul 12, 2007)

i only do it cause shes full grown and shes easy to see in it.. i took her on a 10 hour bus trip with me once lol fed her on the bus and everything.. and she hangs out in the palm tree at my bf's house.. it saves money for buying a cage and when i feed her i open the cricket container and put her head down so she can see them and she grabs one and then its done and i mist her on the plant.. its sweet


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## OGIGA (Jul 12, 2007)

That's great. Very easy to take care of. I guess all the uneaten cricket parts become nutrients for the plant.


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## hibiscusmile (Jul 15, 2007)

:shock: I decided to try it and see if the boys would have a fit! They didn't, even though the boy threatened me and hubby said if it gets on him when he falls asleep in my chair you've had it! I think they actually like it. My hubby talks to it and the boy shakes his head at me and said now I can never sit on that side of the table. Hah! I told him my plan worked.lol :lol: I call him Benny. So far he is happy in the dining room on a large plant. We'll see how it goes, thanks Babynik14s


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## Asa (Jul 15, 2007)

I'm putting one on a plant right now. Let's see how it works out.


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## hibiscusmile (Jul 17, 2007)

Benny molted right before our eyes last nite, only took about 45 minutes, my Hubby watched the whole thing, my son watch a little too! They are really getting into this Mantis thing!


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## Ian (Jul 20, 2007)

I attempted this with some of my Creobroter species, but the didn't seem to stay on the plant. However, I kept my Blepharopsis adult female on the plant for nearly her whole life.

This plant was in a fairly small room however, in case she decided to wonder! But I do like the idea of free range rearing.


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## pizzuti (Jul 20, 2007)

A praying mantis will usually try to get to the highest place so that it can find something to hang upside-down from. It might stay on the plant because it would have to crawl all the way down to get off of it, which is against its nature. But don't try to put it on a vine plant hanging over a wall or on a smaller plant where it's only a short trip to the wall, tabletop or floor; once it gets there, there's no telling where it will wander to.

Also, they might be very peaceful and stationary sometimes, especially when they're big. Think of a mantis in the wild: if it's in a place where it gets a lot of food, it will want to stay on that plant. But in my experience there are certain times when a mantis will have the sudden urge to wander, and I'll see it roving around the cage all day. That happens when it hasn't eaten in a while (maybe looking for an area that has more insects in it), and when it is looking for a place to lay its eggs. So be warned that its habits could change suddenly.

Also in my experience, males wander much more than females (probably because they are looking for a mate) and will fly off to other parts of the house if it gets a chance. Males are also more likely to try to move towards light the way moths and bees do. Even when I kept them in jars, they would often escape.

Cats or some dogs will try to eat your mantis if it isn't protected, so be careful if you take it anywhere that has a cat.

Otherwise, good luck!


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## Asa (Jul 20, 2007)

Yes, although it would be kind of awkward to put a plant in the middle of the room. The one I put on there has yet to budge.


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## babynik14 (Jul 22, 2007)

thanks


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