# My first enclosore!



## Navii (Sep 5, 2020)

Hello!

I am currently awaiting the arrival of my first mantids, two Sphodromantis Lineola nymphs! I made two enclosures for them lile this to keep during the nymph stage (I will not keep them in there as adults!). The mesh att the tops is plastic not metal. Thoughts?


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## MantisMart (Sep 5, 2020)

Looks good! I can see the mesh very well, is flat and covering to whole lid?


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## Navii (Sep 5, 2020)

MantisMart said:


> Looks good! I can see the mesh very well, is flat and covering to whole lid?


I'll take a new picture in a little bit! There is a hole in the very top (will close it off with a sponge) for tapping in fruit flies so the top is not compleatly covored by mesh to give the mantis plenty of climbing space!


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## MantisMart (Sep 5, 2020)

Unfortunately mantids are not extremely smart. They probably will end up molting at the very very top. It’s ok if the mantis molts on the sponge, but since the lid is rounded and the mesh isn’t on the lid itself, most likely is will molt on the rounded lid and could cause issues. I would make sure the whole lid is covered in mesh. I hope this helps.


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## Navii (Sep 6, 2020)

MantisMart said:


> Unfortunately mantids are not extremely smart. They probably will end up molting at the very very top. It’s ok if the mantis molts on the sponge, but since the lid is rounded and the mesh isn’t on the lid itself, most likely is will molt on the rounded lid and could cause issues. I would make sure the whole lid is covered in mesh. I hope this helps.


Ooooh I see. I didn't think about it that way, thank you very much for taking the time to reply to me! I will try to figure something out


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## Ilovemybirdies (Sep 8, 2020)

Navii said:


> Ooooh I see. I didn't think about it that way, thank you very much for taking the time to reply to me! I will try to figure something out


It’s super easy to hot glue the mesh all around the top! Otherwise, the enclosure looks good, congrats on the new babies!


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