# World's best mantis encloser :)



## Psychobunny (Sep 16, 2011)

If I were a mantis, this would be my house!!

This cube is fantastic! It's 12'' and nylon mesh on all sides except the clear plastic front,

and there is a zipper on top:

P.S. I had to delete a whole bunch of pics to make room for these!! that sucks!!!


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## gripen (Sep 16, 2011)

I absolutely love these things! They work great for for my Chinese who by the way are quite clumsy. They love walking around and hunting there prey.

P.S. I am not the only one who noticed mantids look happier in these things.


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## Termite48 (Sep 16, 2011)

These are nice, but beware that crickets can and do eat holes in them and if you hot glue anything to the mesh, it is there for life because when you remove it later, the mesh comes will tare.


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## jrh3 (Sep 16, 2011)

nice where is the cheapest place to buy these


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## massaman (Sep 16, 2011)

I like using critter keepers for adults and sub adults and late instar nymphs personally!


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## gripen (Sep 16, 2011)

One thing to consider is never ceep gravid females in them because you can never get the ooths off the mesh!!!!


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## ShieldMantid1997 (Sep 16, 2011)

gripen said:


> One thing to consider is never ceep gravid females in them because you can never get the lotus off the mesh!!!!


very true, my Miomantis p. laid an ooth on it and its still there..... it just wont come off.


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## LLCoolJew (Sep 17, 2011)

I've got one of these, too, for my Cilnia. She seems to like it. But between you and me, I don't find it particularly attractive.

How's your Cilnia doing, Psychobunny? Has she molted yet? And what are you feeding her right now inside that cube? Prey seems to get lost in there, and mine can never find it!

-Lauren


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## patrickfraser (Sep 17, 2011)

Green Oasis offers a different type of this net cage in a pyramid shape. It is a bit more aesthetically pleasing, in my opinion.


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## Rick (Sep 17, 2011)

Yes. Been using them for years. I think i'm the only person though who puts the plastic clear side down to use as a floor.


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## Psychobunny (Sep 17, 2011)

LLCoolJew said:


> I've got one of these, too, for my Cilnia. She seems to like it. But between you and me, I don't find it particularly attractive.
> 
> How's your Cilnia doing, Psychobunny? Has she molted yet? And what are you feeding her right now inside that cube? Prey seems to get lost in there, and mine can never find it!
> 
> -Lauren


LOL!! they take a bit of getting used to the sight of them!!

She is doing well, eating flies and cricks but mostly cricks.

Both my Cilnia's are spoiled rotten! they like to be hand fed!! though they will still snag a prey if it

happens to get in their face! LOL!!

One of them is in a large plastic jar and stays hanging upside down on the lid.

When I open the lid, with her on it, she reaches her arms out for me.

I put the cricks (which I have to remove their back legs so they dont get away) in my hand and she

snags them.

The one in the cube was the same way, reaching out to me as soon as I opened her jar, that is why

I transfered her to the cube.

My other one will be transfered also as soon as I get the fake plants (exactly like in the pic) I ordered.

I am not worried about the problems mentioned above regarding crickets chewing through it, etc.

My cricks dont live long enough to chew anything. I do not leave uneaten pry in any encloser (except flies).

If they dont find them and eat them, they come out, too bad!! they learn to catch them if they are hungry

or else.

I am also not worried about an ootheca being glued to it since I will watch them for signs and if they become gravid

with an (infertile) ootheca, I will transfer them to something else.

Nothing is perfect, but for me, these cubes are the answer to home sweet mantis home


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## Psychobunny (Sep 17, 2011)

patrickfraser said:


> Green Oasis offers a different type of this net cage in a pyramid shape. It is a bit more aesthetically pleasing, in my opinion.


Yes, I like these too.

Is it all nylon mesh like the cube (even the floor!!)?


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## Psychobunny (Sep 17, 2011)

Rick said:


> Yes. Been using them for years. I think i'm the only person though who puts the plastic clear side down to use as a floor.


You mean so you can open it from the front?

I never thought of that. It would be sturdier for putting my fake plant in there.


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## Psychobunny (Sep 17, 2011)

ShieldMantid1997 said:


> very true, my Miomantis p. laid an ooth on it and its still there..... it just wont come off.


Just an idea, but have you tried soaking the cube in hot soapy water to remove that glued on ootheca?


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## Psychobunny (Sep 17, 2011)

massaman said:


> I like using critter keepers for adults and sub adults and late instar nymphs personally!


I have several of these and they are the perfect dimentions with a lot of surface area on the lid for hanging

upside down  

I modify the lids because they are so hard to remove. I just cut the little "snap on" tabs off or Dremil off the

corner lip (depending on the brand).

That way, it's easy to lift off the lid w/o having to "pry" the thing off!!


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## Psychobunny (Sep 17, 2011)

jrh3 said:


> nice where is the cheapest place to buy these


They are very hard to find.

Carey and Steve (Mantis Pets) were selling them before they ran out of stock.

Problem is, there is one guy who makes these, he runs the "Live Monarch" website and they are back ordered

until middle of next month.

You can Google "The Caterpillar Castle" and maybe get lucky and find someone who stocked up before they

all sold out from the manufacturer.


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## sporeworld (Sep 18, 2011)

Rick said:


> Yes. Been using them for years. I think i'm the only person though who puts the plastic clear side down to use as a floor.


Me, too. Although sometimes I use sandwich wrap sheets (wax paper) as well, just to make cleaning easier.

And, as much as I'm a HUGE fan of decorating my enclosures, my net cubes get NOTHING! "Nothing but net", as the saying goes. Too easy for branches and such to fall or roll or otherwise crush the (usually tiny) inhabitants.


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## sporeworld (Sep 18, 2011)

I clean mine with a pressure washer (well, a poor man's version). Sometimes I soak them afterwards (bleach solution). Or I just air dry them for a day.

I'm also addicted to "bung holes" in my enclosures, so I cut a hole in the top, and reinforce the area with sheets of foam (or on one, a piece of the pink insulation materials that comes with a lot of my mantids).

I also ran a twister through the tab of the zipper, as it can be a little difficult to grab. That makes me more comfortable really jamming the tab into the housing for a tight seal.


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## lunarstorm (Sep 18, 2011)

Sporeworld said:


> I also ran a twister through the tab of the zipper, as it can be a little difficult to grab. That makes me more comfortable really jamming the tab into the housing for a tight seal.


Thank you! Gonna do that right now for my cube...


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## Psychobunny (Sep 19, 2011)

These fake plants at Amazon fit perfectly in the cubes, and they look nice, plus my mantids love them:

http://www.amazon.co...duct/B004HGE5O0

(I hope this link will work!!)

You can use a drop of silicone cement (aquarium glue) to attach these to the floor of the cube since

the base is not very wide and they can fall over.

Plus, if you only use a few drops of the silicone (smeer it around on the bottom base of the plant)

it can be removed from the netting with a brush and some alcohol if you ever want to remove it.

These have nice big leaves too, for your larger mantids.

Just to comment on a post above, yes, they are larger and it's harder for the mantis to catch food.

I only put my sub-adults/adults in these, and they learn to hunt their food.

Dont "baby" your mantis too much, let them learn their hunting strategy  

What do you think they do outside, that's a much LARGER container, huh!!??

P.S. The fake plant I am talking about can be seen in my photos above in my first post.

Another thing, these need to be washed with warm soapy water because they have a thin "oily"

like film on them. I just put them in the shower with me !! LOL (am I a cracked nerd or what!!??)


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## Psychobunny (Sep 19, 2011)

lunarstorm said:


> Thank you! Gonna do that right now for my cube...


LOL!! I did that with all of mine too  

My oldest Viridis has learned where the zipper opens at and hangs there, waiting!! LOL!!


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