# Hi there



## Mantid-tom (Apr 13, 2016)

Hi everyone. 

Im a bit behind in introducing myself as i have posted in the forum about the recent molting problem i had with my first mantis so the last thing on my mind was introducing myself. Sadly he went in the freezer. 

Anyway i live in the uk, southeast england not far from brighton. 

I now have another mantis on the way and will be arriving friday.

I did have a Australian rainforest mantid but things went wrong during my first molt only a couple of weeks after getting him. 

I now have a Tarachomantis alaotrana : Madagascar on its way. 

I dont know why i got a praying mantis to begin with its somthing a bit different but i  reallly enjoyed it. 

Thanks all.


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## Sarah K (Apr 13, 2016)

Welcome!


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## LAME (Apr 13, 2016)

Welcome.


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## MantisGalore (Apr 13, 2016)

Welcome


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## Starving Always (Apr 13, 2016)

welcome, all the way from the USA!


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## CosbyArt (Apr 13, 2016)

Hello and welcome to the forum






Sadly problems do happen, but thankfully they get more rare with experience. Glad you stopped by to say hello.  

As you are in the UK, I thought I would pass along a great website for getting mantids and a lot more, BugzUK. I often drool at their store selection, but being in the states that is about all I can do.  Looking at their current selection it appears you already might know of the site as they have the Tarachomantis alaotrana : Madagascar species - if you did get it there what instar level did you get?


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## hibiscusmile (Apr 14, 2016)

WElcome!


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## Mantid-tom (Apr 14, 2016)

Thanks for the welcome everyone. 

Yes cosby i did stumble across that website and thats where i got my mantis ordered from lol. It is brilliant isnt it i was suprised how many they had but for the moment im only going for one and the green ones just look great love the colors. 

I take it the instar is the age or molt? I got the L4. I will try the nymphs at one stage, correct me if im wrong im thinking the bigger they are the easier to manage plus crickets are easily available without setting up a flie culture but i will look into it  . 

Do you have any stickies or advice to help a successful molt?. 

Many thanks 

Tom.


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## CosbyArt (Apr 14, 2016)

Mantid-tom said:


> Thanks for the welcome everyone.
> 
> Yes cosby i did stumble across that website and thats where i got my mantis ordered from lol. It is brilliant isnt it i was suprised how many they had but for the moment im only going for one and the green ones just look great love the colors.
> 
> ...


I figured it had to be that one.  I started to post about it for you and took a peek and saw the species was there. Indeed the instar level is their current growth, after they hatch from a ooth (ootheca) they are L1. Most species molt to L7 to become an adult species, and is when they get their wings.

Yes, the latter instar level nymphs are easier to care for as you don't have to worry about springtails, fruit flies (Melanogaster and Hydei), or pinhead crickets. Also the further along the nymphs are the better your chances for them to make it to adults, as the weaker and defect nymphs tend to die off at L2.

At L4 you should be able to feed your nymph houseflies, maybe bottle flies, and small crickets - which are all easier to handle.  

Regarding stickies or advice on molts I did a quick search, and didn't see anything standing out. Advice on that is to..


Simply feed your mantis appropriate sized feeders, which are usually 1/3 of their length or three times their head width. Of course some will take even larger prey depending on their characteristics.

Mist the mantids habitat/container/enclosure once a day, or every other day (depending on their humidity needs which is usually 50-60% RH (room humidity measured with a hydrometer, but not necessary)), with enough water that it will evaporate within 30 minutes or less.

Put your mantid into a habitat large enough for it's needs (to prevent mismolts due to lack of space), which is recommend that it is 2 to 3 times taller and wider than the length of the mantid.

Lastly make sure there are no surfaces (usually sticks and twigs) that are too low in the mantid habitat that can lead to a mismolt. The easily solution to that is place any sticks nearly vertically (straight up and down), and any forks of the sticks are high enough as well. As a molting mantid will pull itself from the old molt skin (exuviae) and hang from it to dry typically a hour - so that will make a mantid nearly twice as long as it is normally. That is the reason for at least 2 times the space, with 3 times the space being more recommended to prevent problems.

If you are interested in making your own mantid habitat, take a look at this sticky. Or if you have any more questions look around the forum, or just ask.


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## Mantid-tom (Apr 16, 2016)

Hiya. 

Thanks for the info, i knew the l was the growth but when you said instar that threw me lol. 

Even before i got my first mantid that lived only for a couple of weeks before a bad molt i did make sure i had a nice habitat for it when it arrived and i do believe after doing some research that i done everything icould to aid the molt.

Love the write up for the habitat


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## Mantid-tom (Apr 16, 2016)

Just an update i collected my mantis today it has been in the post office since yesterday as it needed signing for


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## Mantid-tom (Apr 16, 2016)

Ive only gone and bought another large container for another mantid lol. 

I got my eye on the giant rainforest mantis again now too. 

To me it makes sense because a tub of crickets is alot for one mantis over a period of time for the crickets to die off. 

To the girlfriend it wont make sense im thinking the new set up will just appear next to the other and hopefully she wont realise


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## CosbyArt (Apr 16, 2016)

Thanks, it's enough to get someone building something worthwhile for their pets.  

Glad to see you got your mantid. Might as well, I doubt unless you draw attention to it she won't notice the extra mantid.  I know my wife doesn't unless I point them out, or I get about a dozen at once lol.


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## Precious (Apr 26, 2016)

Welcome!  Looking forward to your pics and posts.  This is the greatest place to be!  Cheers!


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## hibiscusmile (Apr 27, 2016)

ps, go with gliders instead of hydei, a little smaller, but very active.


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