# artistic enclosures?



## randyardvark

ok weve all seen the clasic fish tanks full of ornaments, some look umbelievably stupid with all the tacky plastic rubbish in them, whereas others like a few of the roman ruins ect look amazing, but then i wondered has any body actually done something similar with a mantid tank? obviously for a display tank, i know the vast majority stick to plastic pots along with some nicely planted tanks as well but has any body actually done something like this like a jungle ruin scene or something?

just a completely random thought... :?


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## FieroRumor

I made a tank once that had all H.R. Giger aliens in it, Looked kinda cool. It was for my african chameleon...


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## randyardvark

you got any pics? good old gieger, a bit of a nut but a wicked artist!


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## Johnald Chaffinch

i was just on the giger site just as i was about to read this page  

i've been adding stuff to my mantis enclosure since i started. this is what it started off like though ( a year ago ) :







nothing really happening there though. i've now got a herd of tiny toy giraffes to accompany my gongylus gongylode ( as they're obviously closely related :wink: ). i've also made it look a bit like a shrine to them but i dont have any pics of it yet...

i origanally was gonna create a little village for them to stomp all over but cos ya cant keep the mantids together it seemed like there was no point / difficult.

i really like those tall enclosures some people on here have that are made to display the mantids ( with the upright heat mats). they're the way...


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## sshalimar16

More people need to put enclosure pics up. I am trying to decide what to do with ours. In the past, we kept them very simple........not very pleasing to the eye but the one time we did make a tank fancy with plants and such, the food stayed hidden. We use those 10 gallon tall hex tanks, although I would prefer 5 gallon tanks.......ironically, they cost way more then 10 gallon tanks.

I recently learned that crickets can carry a dangerous bacteria to our mantis's. The nymphs I just got today from Yen_Saw are at the fruit fly stage. Have any of you fed mealworms with any sucess? I raise my own. I have never raised flies......are they difficult? Anyone heard of feeding flour worms before......where do you get them?

Thatnks for helping this relative "newbie". BTW, the mantids I got today are 1 Orchid and 2 Madagascans. I've had a European (she just passed away), and two giant Africans. I am waiting on a Nigerian Flower Mantid, and we have some coming from California that change colors like a chameleon.


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## yen_saw

HI Laura,

While it is easier to handle mealworms compared to flies, it is not recommended. It is not easy culturing house flies, you can get fruit flies or house flies online in fairly good price. Have fun with the new mantis. 5 gal is really to big for a small mantis so try using smaller containers like 12/16 oz cup until they are larger.


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## sshalimar16

Ha......I had all the enclosures prepared upon the arrival of my mantis's from Yen. I especially went way out for the Orchid mantis. When they arrived I saw the Orchid mantis was about half the size of my small finger nail and she was completely lost in her big cage. I wondered how she'd ever find her food! Needless to say, all 3 mantis nymphs are in tiny enclosures until they get bigger! Someone posted a picture of several mantis's in seperate containers, and then placed in the same tank. That is what we have decided to do, we can regulate the temp and humidity much better that way!

BTW, the orchid mantis, smallest of all, took down 4 fruit flies yesterday! What a piggie! As unbelieveably tiny as she is, I can just see her (with my glasses on) turning her head back and forth watching every move I make around her. I think that is one of my favorite things about this species......they have such personalities.

The Madagascans are so pretty, and will crawl right up onto my finger. Haven't seen them jump like the orchid does.


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## Sheldon Johnson

My gongy tanks are pretty impressive, however its never the scenery (dead tree branches and fake greenery) that are what makes the tank, its the interaction of the gongylus themselves.


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## Butterfly

I have one of those old classic Mac all in ones (years before the Imac) that was converted into a fish tank years ago. Ive been thinking of making it my mantis tank lately so maybe I will now. Once I do I'll upload a pic.


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## sshalimar16

Oh I love the European mantis's. That is what my Tia was.....she died last week. She was so sweet and gentle.


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## Butterfly

> Oh I love the European mantis's. That is what my Tia was.....she died last week. She was so sweet and gentle.


My Thor (I didnt know she was a girl at first) passed a couple weeks ago. I had to put her in the freezer, she couldnt really walk anymore. She was my favorite as well!


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## Rick

Deli cups for small mantids/nymphs:


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## sshalimar16

Thank you for the pictures!!! The foam in the side of the cups they drink from, correct? Do you mist them as well?


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## wuwu

very nice setup rick!


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## Rick

> Thank you for the pictures!!! The foam in the side of the cups they drink from, correct? Do you mist them as well?


No. The foam is there just to block the hole. I keep the spaghnum moss in the bottom of each enclosure moist and also mist the sides a bit.


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