# Show Us Your Enclosures and Houses



## bugmeso (Aug 27, 2014)

I searched what I could to see if there was another thread on this. But I would be interesting (to me) and no doubt others about enclosures and houses. I have an enclosure on order but keep getting the run around on when it's coming. I am using a cylinder type habitat right now.


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## devonte151 (Aug 27, 2014)

This is mine adding spaghum once it gets here with my mantises.


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## bugmeso (Aug 27, 2014)

Here is mine, thought I would go and take a pic. Also one of the mantis, just gave it a cricket. Does not seem to go for the flies I bought or caught.


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## Toxic (Aug 27, 2014)

Devonte cut a big hole in the lid and use hot glue and cover with mesh.... Or use rubber mesh and rubber band.... You really need mesh at the highest point as this is more likely to be chosen place to moult....

Add kitchen roll or whatever substrate you using at bottom and your homes will be fine


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## soundspawn (Aug 27, 2014)

http://soundspawn.com/browser.php?p=terrarium


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## bugmeso (Aug 27, 2014)

Really nice.....you obviously have A LOT of FREE TIME


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## hibiscusmile (Aug 27, 2014)

The clear containers need something to give them a climbin area to get around.


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## devonte151 (Aug 27, 2014)

Update put more twigs in there with branching out pieces well waiting patiently for my mantises. So excited to start a new hobby.


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## devonte151 (Aug 27, 2014)

Update put more twigs in there with branching out pieces well waiting patiently for my mantises. So excited to start a new hobby.


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## dmina (Aug 28, 2014)

soundspawn said:


> http://soundspawn.com/browser.php?p=terrarium


Your bug room is really coming along... Good job!

Thanks for sharing


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## bugmeso (Aug 29, 2014)

The plants you use, are they real or artificial?


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## soundspawn (Aug 29, 2014)

bugmeso said:


> The plants you use, are they real or artificial?


Mine are real


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## bugmeso (Aug 30, 2014)

And what type of store were purchased at. Not seeing this to be "me" friendly to find.


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## soundspawn (Aug 30, 2014)

I've scavenged... You can get 10 gallon glass tanks at Petco/Petsmart for around $12 or as little as half that when they are on sale. The deli style cups (I have 8, 16, and 32 oz), can be bought by restaurant/deli supply stores or mantid/reptile sites. If you go with the restaurant/deli angle you'll have to modify the lids for ventilation. I bought those in bulk and then bought a lot of lids from mantid/reptile sites.

The gumball/fish-bowl style containers I found at www.neatlysmart.com (aka U.S. Plastics). Just don't buy very many at a time because their shipping calculator is messed up. Stick to 2 or 3 skus and keep the total under about 50 units; if you go over you'll see shipping jump from like $20 to $150. If you try them be sure to watch out for that. We ended up placing two orders back to back to keep the shipping reasonable. Again you'll have to modify the lids if you use anything like this.


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## bugmeso (Aug 30, 2014)

Thank you, I was referring to the live plants. I stop to some crickets at Petco and picked up some plants for reptile enclosures but they are plastic. I got my new enclosure and found the 18" X 18" X 18" is way to big. But it is what it is now


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## soundspawn (Aug 30, 2014)

Oh that we just cut off the plants from the front yard


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## mantissean (Sep 14, 2014)

soundspawn what website did you get the plastic jar like container on picture 4 and 5?


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## mantissean (Sep 14, 2014)

also picture 6


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## soundspawn (Sep 15, 2014)

Check US Plastics, my notes about them are above. Watch the shipping amount closely!


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## Shane95 (Sep 15, 2014)

My Two Enclosures


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## soundspawn (Sep 15, 2014)

Shane95 said:


> My Two Enclosures


I think your enclosures are great for a keeper. Lots of space, very clean, easy to interact with your pet. The first one looks like it would work well for adults or smaller communal species, the second would work for just about anything at any stage.

How tall is that first one again? You want "3x the mantids length" for your habitat height at least until adult, which makes me think it may not be tall enough for some species to molt.


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## mantissean (Sep 15, 2014)

thank you soundspawn.


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## Shane95 (Sep 15, 2014)

The first one is 5 1/2 inches tall.

I plan on getting one of those nano exo terra tanks (tall version) , so it has a lot of room till then.

My only complaint about the critter keepers are how annoying it is to open the little door on the top, I have to snap it out every time. It could have been designed a lot better.


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## soundspawn (Sep 15, 2014)

Shane95 said:


> The first one is 5 1/2 inches tall.
> 
> I plan on getting one of those nano exo terra tanks (tall version) , so it has a lot of room till then.
> 
> My only complaint about the critter keepers are how annoying it is to open the little door on the top, I have to snap it out every time. It could have been designed a lot better.


Definitely a little on the short side. Communal nymphs or an adult would love it though.

Critter keeper tabs are annoying. You can shave the tabs off though (dremel) as nothing inside will be able to push it open. Also the vents along the lid are so big fruit flies escape with ease so you have to do something to patch those up or stick with bigger feeders.


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## Captnsarah (Sep 16, 2014)

Magnus's enclosure





There is a small plastic container under the highest part of the coco peat with water in it holding one of the plants to keep it alive longer  A pebble in the corner, and where Magnus is hanging from there is some netted type fabric attached to the roof for easy gripping  

He seems to like it, and when the crickets are put in they climb up the biggest twig and he snatches them up


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## soundspawn (Sep 16, 2014)

Captnsarah said:


> Magnus's enclosure...


That looks great. As Magnus grows you can remove some of the lower decorations to give more molting room, and other than that it could last all of his youth if not his entire lifetime. I like how it came out a lot.


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## Captnsarah (Sep 16, 2014)

soundspawn said:


> That looks great. As Magnus grows you can remove some of the lower decorations to give more molting room, and other than that it could last all of his youth if not his entire lifetime. I like how it came out a lot.


Glad you like it  I put a lot of effort into making it! Hopefully it does as they don't have any containers like this that are bigger  I really like them!


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## LAME (Sep 16, 2014)

I'm late on this posting lol....

ones in the process of being divided and ventilated. The mason and pickle jars are my temporary housings for nymphs/smaller species.


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## dmina (Sep 16, 2014)

My evening the other night making housings &amp; enclosures..


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## Leafbug (Nov 13, 2014)

I have one of these tanks that is currently empty. The glass dividers are removable and I am planning on making a mesh top for it. Each little section measures 4"x6"x6". Great for your smaller mantids.


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## LAME (Nov 13, 2014)

dude, glass divider? That's brilliant.... Haven't seen that in my parts.

how much does that tank run? Or can you buy the dividers separate?


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## soundspawn (Nov 13, 2014)

Leafbug said:


> I have one of these tanks that is currently empty. The glass dividers are removable and I am planning on making a mesh top for it. Each little section measures 4"x6"x6". Great for your smaller mantids.


I put one of those together but ultimately don't recommend it. Mantids like to hang on the lid, so when you open it they are all released. Lining them up evenly on the lid to put it back on - or trying to get/keep two or three (or in my case it was as many as four) mantids in the enclosure long enough to get the lid on... not very fun.

I used corrugated plastic signs (like election and garage sale signs are made of, Home Depot has blanks) and glued tracks (called "mounting channel") to an aquarium. They will strike at each other if you use glass or plastic (and if they are communal, why not let them be together?) and those signs handle moisture fine. Total build was $10 for 10 gallon tank, $6 for metal lid, and maybe $10 for the plastic, silicone sealant and tracks. Potentially holds four, but again it's nice on paper and a mess in practice. Petco and Home Depot were my only two stops.


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## Leafbug (Nov 13, 2014)

LAME said:


> dude, glass divider? That's brilliant.... Haven't seen that in my parts.
> 
> how much does that tank run? Or can you buy the dividers separate?


These tanks are on the pricey side. ($26.00) I used to work at a pet store so I got a discount on mine but I know Amazon sells them and you might find some on Ebay. Local fish stores are also a good place to find them.


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## Leafbug (Nov 13, 2014)

soundspawn said:


> I put one of those together but ultimately don't recommend it. Mantids like to hang on the lid, so when you open it they are all released. Lining them up evenly on the lid to put it back on - or trying to get/keep two or three (or in my case it was as many as four) mantids in the enclosure long enough to get the lid on... not very fun.
> 
> I used corrugated plastic signs (like election and garage sale signs are made of, Home Depot has blanks) and glued tracks (called "mounting channel") to an aquarium. They will strike at each other if you use glass or plastic (and if they are communal, why not let them be together?) and those signs handle moisture fine. Total build was $10 for 10 gallon tank, $6 for metal lid, and maybe $10 for the plastic, silicone sealant and tracks. Potentially holds four, but again it's nice on paper and a mess in practice. Petco and Home Depot were my only two stops.


There are ways to make the lid to where you can have 3 separate flip tops instead of 1 full lid. As for striking at each other through glass, you can glue screen to the sides so not only do you have more climbing space for the mantis but it will also obscure the view from another mantis.


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## soundspawn (Nov 13, 2014)

Leafbug said:


> There are ways to make the lid to where you can have 3 separate flip tops instead of 1 full lid. As for striking at each other through glass, you can glue screen to the sides so not only do you have more climbing space for the mantis but it will also obscure the view from another mantis.


Yes you can make or find a tri or quad lid... but after that added expense you are far better off to have just bought three or four individual containers (which can also be moved independently). You are near if not over $50 for three 4x6x6 containers.

As for the screening of the partitioning walls, there are at least one of two problems. First they can see through screen unless it is super fine so the problem is unsolved. Second if it is super fine to the point they can't see through it, you have totally destroyed the only reason you'd ever want to use glass as you too can not see through it.

Again I'm merely speaking from experience - it's a way cooler idea on paper.


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## Leafbug (Nov 13, 2014)

soundspawn said:


> Yes you can make or find a tri or quad lid... but after that added expense you are far better off to have just bought three or four individual containers (which can also be moved independently). You are near if not over $50 for three 4x6x6 containers.
> 
> As for the screening of the partitioning walls, there are at least one of two problems. First they can see through screen unless it is super fine so the problem is unsolved. Second if it is super fine to the point they can't see through it, you have totally destroyed the only reason you'd ever want to use glass as you too can not see through it.
> 
> Again I'm merely speaking from experience - it's a way cooler idea on paper.


I see where you are coming from but since I already have the tank (that has been used for other critters) and all the supplies from other various projects around the house, I am still going to try out a few things. I learn from my own mistakes, not from other peoples.  Just my way of doing things.


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## soundspawn (Nov 13, 2014)

Leafbug said:


> I see where you are coming from but since I already have the tank (that has been used for other critters) and all the supplies from other various projects around the house, I am still going to try out a few things. I learn from my own mistakes, not from other peoples.  Just my way of doing things.


Already having the tank obviously changes things a bit, and yes don't let my testimony alone act as proof it can't be done - I just found it very undesirable.

I'll omit your last remark, I'm sure you don't mean to say you only trust your own experiences; or you'd probably have died of something silly long ago  

For comparison though - http://www.petco.com/product/12031/Petco-Pet-Keeper-for-Aquarium-Fish.aspx?cm_mmc=bazaarvoice-_-RLP-_-12031-_-description_link

9x6x6 for $5, portable and with nice lids. Only problem is the vents are too large for fruit flies. We just ran scotch tape along the inside of the lid against the vents and poked a few holes in the tape. Work great.


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## PrayingMantisPets (Dec 22, 2014)

My Enclosures and houses.

All of them

Bottom right shelf holds my two Ghost mantises and a Giant Australian Rain forest Nymph

Top left shelf holds a spiny flower mantis, curly haired tarantula, and a Carolina mantis.


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## PrayingMantisPets (Dec 22, 2014)

The top Right shelf holds my three African Mantises, and a ghost ootheca

The other shelf on the other table holds my yellow ground scorpion and a Striped tailed scorpion.


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## CosbyArt (Dec 22, 2014)

This is the original habitat I made for my mantis Susanna - and measures roughly 35" x 11" x 10". As I caught her wild in near freezing weather I had to hurry and build it while she waited. This is a image of her being released into it for the first time. Made using only lumber, staples, and plastic screen mesh.







Here is my current habitat for Susanna, and you can see the ooths I'm incubating in 2 quart containers. The small deli cup on top is my Springtail culture. Susanna's habitat is a Sterilite Show Offs (File Folder) 15 1/4" x 9 3/4" x 11 1/2". I've also upgraded to a 24" fluorescent light mounted with a cover plate and reflective foil, a large 18" tall background running 4 feet+., and two digital thermometers with hydrometers (the 2nd is on the far right).

Due to winter and the house heater, humidity is low. So I mist her habitat daily and keep the substrate of Plantation Soil (coco fiber) moist. The ooths I keep a coffee filter on the screen lids to help hold humidity and regulate heat.
















My feeder setup. The crickets are kept in a tall 35 gallon aquarium, with self watering bottles, and container of soil for egg laying. The fruit flies are kept in 32 ounce containers, and I have three varieties - Drosophila Hydei, Drosophila Melanogaster, and Turkish Gliders.


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## JonRich (Dec 26, 2014)

Here is my 10g vert for my Ghost Mantis .


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## dmina (Dec 26, 2014)

Wow... some really great ideas!


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## Bloodtkr (Dec 30, 2014)

I like the reptibreeze cages. They're expensive but I got 2 at Petco on clearance $20 a piece. The big bush died in my cave ...not enuff sun..so I added fake leaf garland at different levels


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