# New here and a question



## Hilly (Dec 15, 2005)

I'm still considering buying my first mantis. I've always thought they were awesome creatures. The reason I haven't got one yet is I'm not sure of their temperment. I'd hate to be startled by a defensive mantis, and accidentally drop one or worse :twisted: because it decided to bite me. 

Can someone please tell me how cranky they are, and maybe post a photo of a mantis in a threat display so I know when not to mess with one?


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## Rick (Dec 15, 2005)

Mantids are usually very mild mannered insects. They are more of a look and don't touch kind of pet. If you do handle a mantis you let it walk onto your hand or you scoop it up. Grabbing them usually makes them try and grab you back. Unless you are provoking a mantis or grabbing it between your fingers it most likely won't EVER try to bite you or get into a threat posture. Basically your concerns are not going to be a problem. I suggest you learn as much as you can here about their care before getting one. Remember that they are more of a look and don't touch type of pet. I don't think that handling them a lot is good for them.


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## Hilly (Dec 15, 2005)

I'm an avid macro enthusiast with some nice photography equipment, and would love photographing a mantis or two, as long as they were willing to pose. Other than that, I'd probably avoid handling them unless absolutley necessary.

I've learned quite a bit from this forum already. Until I ran across this place, I never realized that mantids could be kept as pets.

I'll keep learning for a while though, before I get my first mantids. Any reccomendations for breeders? I also saw a few ooths on eBay. Any thoughts on them?


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## Andrew (Dec 15, 2005)

I wouldnt buy any ooths or mantids off of ebay. Get your mantids from one of the breeders on this forum.

Thanks,

Andrew


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## Hilly (Dec 15, 2005)

> I wouldnt buy any ooths or mantids off of ebay. Get your mantids from one of the breeders on this forum.Thanks,
> 
> Andrew


I won't be buying off eBay. Any suggestions as to who to buy from here? I'm looking for someone dependable. I did read most of the breeder feedback, but how can I contact a dealer on the forum?

I'm looking for a easy beginner mantis. I've had recommendations of African mantids and Asian mantids.

What about shipping during the winter? I live in central Wisconsin, and I'd imagine shipping a bug during winter can be sorta dicey?


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## JoshTopp (Dec 15, 2005)

Yes, shipping during winter can be a little risky, but it also can be done, I've already had a dozen nymphs sent to me from texas to new jersey, when it was about 18F outside here, they all arrived alive( Thank you Yen!), Just make sure that who ever you order from is going to ship overnight, or next day, and that they will be well insulated and have heat packs, and be sure to be around when its delivered. Also, I have done some dealing with Yen Saw, but I dont know if he has African, or Asians, youd' have to check with him about that, But he does ship and pack in a very nice way, so that you can get your first mantids safe thru the winter.--Josh Topp


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## Jodokohajjio (Dec 16, 2005)

You might also consider ordering the praying mantis kit from Carolina Biological (www.carolina.com). It is meant to be a sort of grade school educational supplement, but for about 50 bucks, you get a decent setup.

I believe the kit also includes a fruit fly culture and enough stuff to make a couple extra cultures. The mantids that hatch from the ooths they send, to the best of my knowledge, are chinese mantids, but I imagine other species may slip in if they go ooth hunting outside to get their stock.

Good luck, be sure to post your pics!

*edit* by the way, the mantis that is my current avatar is in a threat position. Arms spread, wings up to reveal "eye spots". Different species can be variations on this, but in general, that is what they look like.


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## Rick (Dec 16, 2005)

Check the classifieds here to see what people are selling.


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## livemantis (Dec 11, 2006)

Wow, there is alot of "dont buy on ebay" on this forum. This makes no sense, I would feel MUCH more at ease buying anything on ebay than a message board online, chill on the "don't buy on ebay stuff Thank you


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## Shelbycsx (Dec 11, 2006)

Ebay worked out fine for me. I just got three color changing mantids and over 20 chinese and euro ooths. Came safely packaged. All three mantids ate immediately. I look forward to raising our little friends. One thing about ebay is that the feedback system allows you to see how many transactions the person has processed and the ratio of positive to negative. Plus don't forget the fact that you can dispute bad deals on ebay, what are you gonna do here? It's not as easy for someone on ebay to scam you, where as with forums, all someone has to do is create a name and then offer a "sweet deal".... I also visit some car forums which all see a rash of fraud that wouldn't happen so easily on ebay.


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## Nick Barta (Dec 11, 2006)

Yen Saw has really helped me with questions and is a great person to buy your mantid(s) from, as is Deshawn George. Yen can be reached @ [email protected] (you need to put the underline between his first and last name) and [email protected] .com ( a great website!).

I just got into mantids by purchasing mantids from these two forum members, and I would recommend you not only purchase mantids, but learn from those who have passion and experience in the hobby.


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## Shelbycsx (Dec 11, 2006)

I almost purchased my mantids from DeShawn, but he never got back to me. I'm sure that all breeders have more than their hands full, but the fact that he hasn't updated his site in a while also scared me off. And now his site isn't working? All is well though since what Deshawn sells is illegal in the usa, I got some legal bark mantids and color changers from Livemantis.com  

And if Deshawn is still around, please let him know that his site's down and he should update it so that people know he's still doing the mantid thing. Hope APHIS didn't get him


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## USDAAPHISADVOCATE (Dec 11, 2006)

Oh, I would never buy ANYTHING on ebay LOL But I would certainly not buy mantids on this forum, most of them are illegal to own and will get you fined $100,000 plus possible jail time. Now these guys will try to tell you that you are fine, go ahead and break the law, DONT LISTEN&lt; It is the buyer who gets into trouble, the recipiant, that is why these guys do not hesitate to pedal them! If you do not think this information is accurate, contact Wa[email protected] who is now monitoring this site. OR you could ask Obie Sage about his visit from the bug police / USDA APHIS! They are the federal Government, people here are illegal mantis traders so use your own judgement!


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## Ian (Dec 11, 2006)

Once again, thanks for the contact email. I think it is worth sending this information to US dealers as I doubt a lot of them will have read this.


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