# Lets see what you use



## pedro92

I'm trying to get some ideas any help. especially ghost mantis enclosure


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## Rick




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## macro junkie

soon il be moving in to the shed with them..but i have to set it up 1st so for now i house them in a bedroom.

2x 1ft x 1ft net cages.15x flowermantids L5 in each cage






2x 1ft x 1ft net cages.each net cage has a sub adult idol mantis in each.






sweetie jars for bigger mantids and half pint cups for the nymphs..also u see my fruit fly cultures in front of the cups..and 3 net cages..2 has 15 flowermantids in each and the one on top has jade mantis pregnant female


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## Pelle




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## albedoa

Rick: I see you have side openings for feeding. What process do you use to remove flies from their culture and insert them into the mantid's enclosure?

Also, what do you have on the cup lids for them to perch on? Did you hot glue some fabric?


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## idolomantis

MJ,i see you use alot of decoration...


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## macro junkie

idolomantis said:


> MJ,i see you use alot of decoration...


only for the swettie jars.they have stick in.the rest just have wet tissue in the bottom..


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## pedro92

Pelle said:


>


what are those square glass enclosures. where do you get them. how much?

What is the best container/cage to buy for a ghost mantis? orchid?


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## idolomantis

macro junkie said:


> only for the swettie jars.they have stick in.the rest just have wet tissue in the bottom..


lol... give them a stick


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## Pelle

Chameleonare said:


> what are those square glass enclosures. where do you get them. how much?What is the best container/cage to buy for a ghost mantis? orchid?


They are not from glas, but from plastic.

I bought them on a Dutch exchange fair, I think they were around € 2,- each

I have no idea if you can buy them were you live..

This is the brand: Braplast


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## macro junkie

idolomantis said:


> lol... give them a stick


theres no point..do u see sticks in ricks..hahaha that rymes.. :lol: :lol: lol


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## macro junkie

Chameleonare said:


> What is the best container/cage to buy for a ghost mantis? orchid?


any thing will do..sweetie jars,1pint cups and net cages are best.


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## Rick

albedoa said:


> Rick: I see you have side openings for feeding. What process do you use to remove flies from their culture and insert them into the mantid's enclosure?Also, what do you have on the cup lids for them to perch on? Did you hot glue some fabric?


For fruit flies I insert a funnel into the hole and dump them in. For larger prey I remove the plug and using long tweezers just drop in the food.

I don't put anything on the lids. They underside is covered in fabric. They hand just fine by that.


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## Mantida

Wow, very nice setup Pelle.


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## Pelle

Thanks


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## idolomantis

macro junkie said:


> theres no point..do u see sticks in ricks..hahaha that rymes.. :lol: :lol: lol


lmao you keep kidding around :lol: and yes i see everyone uses them so far i see


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## macro junkie

idolomantis said:


> yes i see everyone uses them so far i see


well i dont get sheding probelms...when it warms up a bit il go to the forest and get some.


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## Mantida

macro junkie said:


> well i dont get sheding probelms...when it warms up a bit il go to the forest and get some.


That's not necessary as long as you have a good perching lid, like the netting you use over your cups. Sticks can actually get in the way if the cage isn't big enough. All my mantids aren't housed with sticks and they do fine since I keep them in cages with grippable lids.


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## Krissim Klaw

Macrojunkie- where did you get those lovely little square mesh cages? I've been looking for another small mesh cage since the mesh ones I used to buy were discontinued.


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## macro junkie

Krissim Klaw said:


> Macrojunkie- where did you get those lovely little square mesh cages? .


mantis place..


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## blitzmantis

Funny how you have so many mantids on none for sale on your site MJ...


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## macro junkie

blitzmantis said:


> Funny how you have so many mantids on none for sale on your site MJ...


yer there all breeding pairs and future layers

jademantid female - mated waiting for ooths

(male) just chilling

devils flowermantis(idols)subadult male and sub adult female

peacockmantis - a very old adult male and subadult female.hoping he holds out.

orhid adult female - need male

then i have 30 L5/L6 flowermantis nympths which im growing to sub adult and adult then sale what i dont need..20£ a pair.that wil be month or 2 away.

4 gambians nympths L5 waiting to become adult so i can mate them

ghostmantis sub adult pair - waiting for them to become adult

adult flowermantis which hasnt got much longer left in her

2 x adult grandis males

5 x ant mantis L5 waiting for them to become adult

So its a waiting game..i bought all my stock around the same time so there all at sub adult stage at min.


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## Krissim Klaw

macro junkie said:


> mantis place..


Oh, wow now I feel stupid, somehow I missed those cages when I looked through that site a while back. ^.^;;Thanks for the info though. XD


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## macro junkie

Krissim Klaw said:


> Oh, wow now I feel stupid, somehow I missed those cages when I looked through that site a while back. ^.^;;Thanks for the info though. XD


no probs,,


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## Gruby626

I use those:







Made them myself


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## macro junkie

GRuBaZzZ said:


> I use those - Made them myself


very smart.


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## mantis shadow

This is one tank i had to modify today to house my invasion of Chinese hatchlings!

measures 2ft x 1ft x 1.5ft (W x D x H) it is an old clear-seal tank with a home-bodged lid :lol: 

oh well if it holds the mantis and FF's in ill be happy.(well kind of,still got 2 chinese ooths hatchin anytime!  )

also got a pic of my hatchery tank which measures 18inch x 10inch x 10inch (W x D x H).


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## darkspeed




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## pedro92

I'm trying to get the holes to plug with the foam. But when i drill the hole the plastic splits. now on wood you just tape it so i did that but it still cracked. Its the plastic ones from mantisplace. What is the best way to do this.


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## albedoa

Chameleonare said:


> I'm trying to get the holes to plug with the foam. But when i drill the hole the plastic splits. now on wood you just tape it so i did that but it still cracked. Its the plastic ones from mantisplace. What is the best way to do this.


I would also like to know this. Thanks!


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## Stuart89

I would imagine you do it very slowly, dont rush and force it through, hold it back. I havent tried it yet, will be doing it soon but I would imagine that would stop it splitting so easily. Dont allow the plastic to bend either.


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## BIGGUN

Try using a dremel tool and a stone to kinda melt your hole into it.

Kevin


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## Gurd

I use a cheap soildering iron to melt feeding holes into tubs


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## darkspeed

Gurd said:


> I use a cheap soildering iron to melt feeding holes into tubs


Me too.


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## mr nick

Hi all

Examples of custom glass mantid tanks can be found here &gt; http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10352.

Enjoy!

Nick


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## Eugen

The home of my mantis.

It's 12"x8"x10" (30cm x 20cm x 25cm). For now it houses a male Mantis Religiosa but it will soon receive 4 ghost nymphs (the Religiosa will go to another home).

What do you think? Is it ok? Does it lack anything? Anything I could add to make it look better? :lol:


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## jason_mazzy

10 gallon live plant setup!


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## jason_mazzy




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## TylerFerretLord

Ooooooh, you have yours in a paludarium. I've been meaning to set up something similar to that for land crabs, how did you do it?


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## collinchang635

Suitable tank for giant asian, chinese mantids and african mantids. Any suggestions? I will be raising them from L1 to adults. What should I use for nymphs and what should I use for adults?


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## ABbuggin

Here is my set up for my *Gongylus, gongylodes *  












basking temp is about 105 degrees, ambient is 90 degrees, and the coolest part is 80 degrees. B)


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## Pelle

Nice setup and cage!

Pretty big opening, doesn't all the fly's fly out when you open it ?


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## jason_mazzy

get a 10 gallon tank buy some plastic mesh netting (like crosstitch board) measure it to length cut. then get some 1 inch pvc or something like it. cut 1 inch section. put a 1 inch section in 4 places. generally back 2 corners and 3/4 of the way to the front. put mesh on top of pvc. place decoritive rocks onfron where there is no pvc support. then either cut a small hole in mesh and put live plant in or depending on species might just lay on top. cover mesh with moss and decorations (orsand or whatever) fill t0 bottom of mesh w/ water. easy and attractive. top is acrylic sheet cut to size with 9 good size hole cut into it. pieces of screen stuck to it w/ silicone or hotglue. All done! $15 and U have a killer setup thats reusable time and time again!!!!


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## ABbuggin

Pelle said:


> Nice setup and cage!Pretty big opening, doesn't all the fly's fly out when you open it ?


Here's the kicker, the cage was actually given to me!!! It's fairly big and should easily house 10 gongy adults.  

There is actually a little door on the bottom, I use that to open and close (keeps all the flies from escaping in my bed room). :lol:


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## tnienhaus

wow...i hope to work up to that type of set up...very nice!


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## ABbuggin

Mantid Friendly Squire said:


> wow...i hope to work up to that type of set up...very nice!


Thank you. It sure was a lot of work to get the branches to fit right inside of it though. :lol:


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## Pelle

Haha I now what you mean..

I also puzzled with mine


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## collinchang635

Pelle said:


> Haha I now what you mean..I also puzzled with mine


Do you need to clean its cage? If you do, how do you do it?


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## Pelle

I'm not planning to do that very often, but if I have to..

This will explain


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## collinchang635

What should I use to house my giant asian? I was going to get 32oz containers to house them but they are only big enough to hold them until 5th instar. Recommendations would be greatly appreciated.


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## Pelle

My _Didymocorypha lanceolata_ enclosure


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## ABbuggin

Pelle said:


> My _Didymocorypha lanceolata_ enclosure


LOL :lol: :lol: :lol: How in the world to you ever find any of them! I have a bunch of these guys, and they are very good at hiding! (not quite as good as my tarachodes though lol).

Do you really know how many you have in there? :lol:


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## Pelle

Well, I do because I put some in yesterday  

But when you blow a little the enclosure comes to life


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## d0rk2dafullest

those pictures have nymphs in them?

if so i cant see anything at all cept for your enclosure lol


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## hibiscusmile

albedoa said:


> I would also like to know this. Thanks!


 :lol: You guys are amazing! Why didnt someone ask me? I put the holes in the lids! Wanna know how?  Ya gotta have a drill and a hole saw! Set the lid on the cup so it has support and drilll awayyyyyy! ps making cheap housing in Bugatorium posts!


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## Pelle

d0rk2dafullest said:


> those pictures have nymphs in them?if so i cant see anything at all cept for your enclosure lol


I believe when I made the pictures there weren't any nymphs in the enclosure.

But if there were, I don't think you could spot them


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## nympho

just got som violin mantids.....  

heres the setup so far...big glass aquarium heated by big heat mat stuck inside the back wall + 60watt light bulb. a smaller glass aquarium fits inside. i made a custom wood framed lid, with lift out hatch and feeding hole.






temps are 17c with heat matt and 33c with both, probably more under the spotlamp where they sit.

seem ok so far  

edit. loving this species... great looking mantid and awesome to watch them try to catch ff in the air. always very alert and seem to havebigger appetites (than their skinny appearance would suggest) and feeding well. they seem happy to sit next to each other with only occasional boxing and display. they are level 2 and 3 the l3 have not tried to catch the much smaller l2 yet (and hopefully wont). if you can find these, and get the right set up they are well worth trying


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## yeatzee

Biggest:





Medium:









Small:





These are my mantids cheap homes


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## The_Asa

Where'd you get the first aquarium? It looks nice.


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## yeatzee

The terranium (sp?) was given to me by my friend.....It used to hold his now dead geckos

So all of these cages + fake plants = $20


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## yeatzee

I have a picture request of the varios homes you guys use for your Idolomantis Diabolica's (sp?). I plan on making a "colony" and I want to know how big of a cage I'll need. If possible have something like a ruler or such to get a feel for the size.


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## pedro92

This thread has been sitting aside for awhile and i bet there are more great cages out there.

I really wanna see what people are keeping there g. gongylodes in?


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## Gurd

This is what I'm keeping Gongy nymphs in







This is 1 of my adult cages






Here is my Ghost house






1 of my Idolo cages


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## Morpheus uk

Heres a basic enclosure of mine, i would love to get some of them fancy glass or wood`n`mesh ones for all my mantids someday though


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## DeadInTheBasement

Morpheus uk said:


> Heres a basic enclosure of mine, i would love to get some of them fancy glass or wood`n`mesh ones for all my mantids someday though


i actually like that jar it looks cool...seriously  ...ive never even saw a jar that big here...


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## DeadInTheBasement

here is my mantisless rack i made yesterday. i made it with all of the spare 10 gallon tanks i have laying around lol im going to add another on top when i drain the ater out of another tank....i hope to have some mantids in it sometime this week.


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## Katnapper

DeadInTheBasement said:


> here is my mantisless rack i made yesterday. i made it with all of the spare 10 gallon tanks i have laying around lol im going to add another on top when i drain the ater out of another tank....i hope to have some mantids in it sometime this week.


That looks really nice and handy! Good setup!


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## DeadInTheBasement

thanks. i kept thinking how i could veiw all my mantids(future mantids) with one light then i remembered..i never throw anything away!


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## yeatzee

DeadInTheBasement said:


> i actually like that jar it looks cool...seriously  ...ive never even saw a jar that big here...


Agreed


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## matt020593

Here's what I have used in the past:

Nymph enclosure






Gongy nymphs






Adults small species






Yeah I like 'em simple  (for mantids anyway)


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## beckyl92

I use a tank thats 31cm by 24cm  

I normally put some ivy leaves in it as they last about a week and I put some twigs in there for hanging


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## Rick

Matthew Whittle said:


> Here's what I have used in the past:Nymph enclosure
> 
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> Gongy nymphs
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> Adults small species
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> 
> Yeah I like 'em simple  (for mantids anyway)


Put a feeding hole in the side of that and it would make your life much easier.


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## d17oug18

this is my work area lol, not much room but i do with what i have ^_^ i didnt want to share but everyone is so imma do it

this is my lil room, the only space i have:






these are my bug cages(all where hand me downs or cooking cups lol):











these are the cooking cups OR my incubators HAHA!:


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## beckyl92

macro junkie said:


> soon il be moving in to the shed with them..but i have to set it up 1st so for now i house them in a bedroom.2x 1ft x 1ft net cages.15x flowermantids L5 in each cage
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 2x 1ft x 1ft net cages.each net cage has a sub adult idol mantis in each.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> sweetie jars for bigger mantids and half pint cups for the nymphs..also u see my fruit fly cultures in front of the cups..and 3 net cages..2 has 15 flowermantids in each and the one on top has jade mantis pregnant female


where did you get them net cages from?


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## Katnapper

BeckyL said:


> where did you get them net cages from?


I don't know where MJ got his for sure, but I've gotten mine from here... http://livemonarch.com/store_enclosures.php


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## beckyl92

Katnapper said:


> I don't know where MJ got his for sure, but I've gotten mine from here... http://livemonarch.com/store_enclosures.php


wow thanks  

just what i was looking for. do they ship to the UK?


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## Katnapper

BeckyL said:


> wow thanks  just what i was looking for. do they ship to the UK?


I really don't know. But I do know the owner, Chris, is a really nice guy who does good business. I would contact him and ask.  

http://www.livemonarch.com/contact.htm


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## Eldur

First one






Second one






Both together seen from the back

I have chinese nymphs in there


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## agent A

I usually use recycled containers for nymphs, with a paper towel moistened with distilled water on the bottom. I get the containers from a meat market and they do the trick. Also, any old cage works. I use anything I can, it's just easier that way. No need for fancy equiptment!


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## yeatzee

I used to love this thread when everyone posted their enclosures but sadly it has traveled to the third page where it is never seen....SOOO I found a way to bring it back  

im moving my mantids out of their usual spot for some cleaning so I took advantage of it and took some pictures.

two ghosts live in here currently and can be seen in this picture







and another shot of the ghost enclosure:






budwings temporary home






Awaiting the swarm of nymphs






Another larger critter keeper I have:






nymph's homes






All together:


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## Katnapper

Pretty!


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## Katnapper

Pretty!


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## yeatzee

Ha, thanks Katnapper :lol: 

Im a big fan of keeping my mantids in nice looking preferably larger containers..... I've been dubbed "mantid man" (  ) from family friends and they frequently want to see the bugs when over at our house. Its nice to be able to show them off in spiffy looking enclosures.


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## batsofchaos

I finally got my bigger, more permanent bug area set up (before most were hanging out on book shelves or on my snake cage to mooch off his heating lamp), so I thought I'd share how it looks currently:


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## Katnapper

batsofchaos said:


> I finally got my bigger, more permanent bug area set up (before most were hanging out on book shelves or on my snake cage to mooch off his heating lamp), so I thought I'd share how it looks currently:


There are those metal type of shelves again, lol. :lol: I wonder just how many of us have our mantids on these, hehe.


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## batsofchaos

The metal shelves were very cheap, offer plenty of air-flow, aren't a fire-hazard when paired with a heating lamp, and are cat-resistant (my cats refuse to try and stand on wire shelves). Perfect choice!


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## [email protected]

Good for weak nymphs(like bark nymphs).

Scratched with sand paper and lots of hot glues sticka ans bark.


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## mescu

OMG unicorn mantis thats soo awesome i think i might do something like that for my ghosts to  !!


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## mescu

srry i meant yeatzee


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## yeatzee

Glad you like it. The mantids (specifically the ghosts) love it. I've got another generation of males and a female in there right now


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## Mr.Mantid

yeatzee said:


> Glad you like it. The mantids (specifically the ghosts) love it. I've got another generation of males and a female in there right now


Man thats a real classy set up you got there! Are you using a mixture of live and fake plants are all they all fake or live? I kind of want to experiement with a small plant terrarium where i can let some orchid mantids crawl around.


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