# What species is this?



## Evil_Berzerker (Apr 17, 2007)

Hi i bought this little fella on the 14th of april, unsure of his species, would like to know if anyone can tell from the pics whta species he is, dont know what instar he is either, i feed him little baby crickets for now seing as hes small, any help appreciated!  

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/3842/s7000030jw6.jpg

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/766/buttmunch2pq1.png

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/9782/s7000043vq4.jpg

again, any help appreciated!  

byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee


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## JC (Apr 17, 2007)

Strangely enough I have purchased one of these critters not so long ago It is a African mantis, Sorry that i cant tell you the latin name but you can do the rest from here

Hope that helps you

JC


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## Evil_Berzerker (Apr 17, 2007)

thanks sooooooo much man you have no idea how much of a help youve been, i thought he was an african but i thought again coz i saw pics of a nymph and they had bigger eyes hmmm aw well thanks mate!  

now that we are on the subject what size tank./cage/whateveru want to call it should i keep him in when he reaches adult size coz im plannin on makin one in woodwork glass (obv with glass panes in it) and its gonna be about 6 inches long, 4 inches wide and about 8-10 inches high, would that work, and what iahve him in now is a wee plastic tub they kept him in in the petshop but ive covered the bottom with moss and put some privet branches in for something to climb on, is this ok for now?


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## Rick (Apr 17, 2007)

It does appear to be Sphodromantis (african mantis)


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## Evil_Berzerker (Apr 17, 2007)

did u see the edited bit i added onto my last post if not here it is: "now that we are on the subject what size tank./cage/whateveru want to call it should i keep him in when he reaches adult size coz im plannin on makin one in woodwork glass (obv with glass panes in it) and its gonna be about 6 inches long, 4 inches wide and about 8-10 inches high, would that work, and what iahve him in now is a wee plastic tub they kept him in in the petshop but ive covered the bottom with moss and put some privet branches in for something to climb on, is this ok for now?"

thanks for the help guys im surprised how quick you guys reply, i neve get replies on forums and i didnt expect one at all from here because mantis keeping isnt exactly a huge hobby lol


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## Rick (Apr 17, 2007)

These don't move much so they don't need a large tank as an adult. However until it's an adult it will need plenty of veritical space to molt. As an adult for these I use a divided in half 2 1/2 gallon tank.


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## Evil_Berzerker (Apr 17, 2007)

yeah well im only a 16 year old student and hense have absolutley no moeny to spare, well not enough to buy tanks ill just make the box anyways and see how it goes coz i need something to do for the last few weeks of the school year anyways


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## JC (Apr 17, 2007)

The hight should be fine but in my opinion i think you should lenghten the width and length,maybe 8" Length and 6" width. But thats my opinion i dont want to tell you what to do with your own mantis.

JC


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## Evil_Berzerker (Apr 17, 2007)

meh tell me what to do all you want i only got my first mantis on saturday lol its like an early birthday present but i like it alot so far, i mean its fun to watch my mantis cleaning his legs and claws (which he does allllll the time, hes particularly partial to cleaning his middle right tarsus for some reason, and is un fortunately misings his rear left tarsus  he came like that it wasnt me lol) and watchin him hunt is veerry interesting i took videos and pics asap lol much betetr than keeping stick insects which ive been doing since late january, but thats not for here. Im just wondering, if he gets to the stage before adult size before i get his tank finished is it ok to use a 2 litre coke bottle with the top cut off or somethng like that to keep him in while he molts to adult instar?


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## JC (Apr 17, 2007)

As long as there is enough room to molt i'd guess so


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## JC (Apr 17, 2007)

Obviously keep it ventilated and give it something to hang on


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## Evil_Berzerker (Apr 17, 2007)

yeah its certainly tall enough but is it wide enough thats what im realy askin, i probably should've made that clearer, sorry  because i understand that you need something like 2-3 times as wide as the adult mantis and about 3 times taller or something like that and i dont think a coke bottle would work in terms of width.


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## JC (Apr 17, 2007)

Yeah, thinking about it i suppose your right. You can buy some pretty cheap enclosures if you search enough


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## Evil_Berzerker (Apr 17, 2007)

yeah i suppose or i could just scrounge something from the kitchen like theres big clear rice tubs all sorts in there ill figure something out, by the way from the pictures i posted in the original post, like judging by those what instar do you think my mantis is at?

anyways im off to bed for now so we can continue this tomorrow  lol

night!


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## Rick (Apr 17, 2007)

Width is not so imporatant. Obviously give it some room to move around but for nymphs height is important to molt.


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## JC (Apr 17, 2007)

Night m8


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## hibiscusmile (Apr 18, 2007)

Just wondering if u have the very large pickle jars there? if u can get the grocery buyer in the house to purchase the pickles u could use the jar. u would just need to put some net over the top with rubber band. also i sometimes use the nets onions or oranges come in. they keep the larger ones in. u could double up on them to keep small feeders in. if u do not find anything let me know and i will try to send u something suitable! have fun !


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## Evil_Berzerker (Apr 18, 2007)

ide use something like that but ide like to ahve something that looks a lot more interesting than a pickle jar with a scabby piece of netting on the top and it gives me something conscructive to do in woodwork for the last few weeks of term, plus it can be used as an example of my work when i go looking for an apprenticeship, so it has more than one use


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