# How does your family view your mantis keeping hobby?



## Katnapper (Nov 11, 2008)

I'm wondering what everyone else's families and/or roomates thinks of your hobby of mantis keeping?  Do they also get into it and think it's great? Or do they dislike it? Something in between? Do they think you're crazy?

My husband tolerates them (and the various feeders). But he definitely doesn't share the same interest in them as I do. His attitude is, "Do what you want, if it makes you happy... but don't expect me to join you in it." B) Sometimes he rolls his eyes, puts his head in his hands, and sighs, "Oh, God!" whenever I start talking about my "babies" to our friends. I think he likes the comic effect of people feeling sorry for him, being overwhelmed by my "bugs" as he calls them. :wacko: He's usually fairly indulgent, except for the few times when escapee feeders have gotten loose (I'm working on remedying that). But he just can't fathom my attraction to "bugs." I'm currently trying to figure a permanent plan on where to put them all. His (serious) suggestion was the basement. :angry: &lt;_&lt; 

My 9 year old son shares some of my enthusiasm, but not as much as I'd like. He gets bored with, and usually avoids helping me look for wild mantids, oothes, or catching mantis dinners in the Summer. But he does think they're neat. I get the feeling some of my co-workers and friends think I'm a bit "strange" sometimes.  

What does your family think of the mantids, feeders, and your interest in keeping them?


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## shorty (Nov 12, 2008)

Right now I'm living with my mom 'til I get back on my feet again. I ordered some mantids, feeders, equipment, containers, etc, and made a setup in my room for it all. When she saw it she asked quizzically, "What are you growing in your room?" I comically told her marijuana and then explained to her what I was doing. I've done it here before and she is tolerant and understands it because I had a fascination with them as a child. I think she was a bit surprised as I haven't done this in a while. Her main concern is feeders getting loose in the house, mainly because when I was younger (15 I think) I'd take German cockroaches from a friend's house that was infested with them at the time and feed them to my mantids. Well, as expected, I nearly got my house infested with them! She wasn't exactly happy with that as you can imagine. Thankfully, we took care of them before they could really multiply. She keeps a clean house and it's relatively hard for roaches to make a home here. As long as I stick to FFs, Flies, and crickets she doesn't mind at all.

My friends, on the other hand, aren't so understanding. I'll say, "Hold on man, I'll be over as soon as I feed my mantids." "Your what?" they reply. Sometimes I wish I hadn't mentioned it because I have to explain what I'm doing, and why I do it and they still don't really get why I'd keep "some bug." Although they think it's weird I don't care what anyone thinks so I do what I do. Some of my friends are interested a bit, others not so much. I wish I could get someone to get into the hobby! It would be so fun to have someone here in my own town to trade with and help out.


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## hibiscusmile (Nov 12, 2008)

My husband was all for it! Does not like the flies though. I don't blame him, I really dislike the houseflies, the bbs are ok and easy to catch, the others try to fly up your nose  and freaks me out! Now my son on the other hand, sees no need to have bugs around, when he was growing up he liked bugs, but now that he is a MAN he doesn't. A couple superworms escaped and went behind his tolit and he was besides himself  . And we won't even mention the flies, although sometimes he is telorant of them, he will occassionally catch spiders with my forcepts and feed them to the mantis, can't quite make him out  . Everyone else though loves them. Sorry u cant get someone interested in them. It is always nice to share your interests, but thats what this place is good for. And Kat, tell hubby you have decided the kitchen and bedroom would be the best places for the mantis and feeders! This way wherever you choose will seem like so much a better place. :lol:


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## Rick (Nov 12, 2008)

Wife is fine with it. She does hate escaped flies.


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## cloud jaguar (Nov 12, 2008)

My wife (Faerie mantis) and I both are interested in the hobby together. Actually, all of our diverse hobbies were first started by my wife - we may not be rich yet, but at least we have TONS o' hobbies!, lol (paleo-bowmaking, garden trains, n-scale trains, Warhammer, modelling, mountain biking, fly fishing... and most recently KEEPING MANTIDS!). It is interesting how this mantid hobby came about for us. A couple of months ago we were on our back porch playing Warhammer against a friend. In case you do not know, Warhammer is a game like chess but 1000x better where you have fantasy armies that you custom paint and fight other armies (nerdy but fun). Anyways, a pink/peach mantid fell out of a Mandevilla flower vine and crashed into my wife. I picked it up off the ground and, voila! a new Hobby! Although mantids have always seemed super cool - not until now do we actually know how to take care of them and feed them properly etc. Now every excursion outside into mantis territory brings renewed excitement and awakens the keen senses of our hunter-gatherer forebears as we intently scan shrubbery and flowers for mantids and ooths as we pass. Also our 2 young kids like mantids too!

~Arkanis


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## king_frog (Nov 12, 2008)

They're actually all interested.


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## harryallard (Nov 12, 2008)

Mum: "What the heck is that!?" "How many of those are you actually buying?!" "Hoover that mud up!" "Oh My God! Can it fly!"

etc

etc


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## sidewinder (Nov 12, 2008)

As long as it doesn't involve a girlfriend or tons of money, my wife doesn't mind any of my hobbies....

Scott


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## The_Asa (Nov 12, 2008)

My mom doesn't care about the mantids, but is a little upset over the roaches; no big issue there. No one was a fan of the cricket chirping or any of the fly escapees. My dad is all for the mantids, he's kinda the guy who got me started, he'll sit there for hours just staring at them  maybe a little wacko for them


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## Kruszakus (Nov 12, 2008)

I once invited a girl over to my place - she saw them mantids, and she got so turned on by Texicorns munching on flies that we went straight into bed. Mantids are kewl.


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## kamakiri (Nov 12, 2008)

I only have one hobby...collecting hobbies  

My wife is okay with my hobbies as long as they are not dangerous or take up too much space or if I do not perform needed maintenance or cleaning required.

Loose crickets are not appreciated...


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## Frack (Nov 12, 2008)

Everyone thinks Im a wierdo for keeping all the bugs I do  When I was a kid my family even talked me into getting rid of my tarantula. Ive never really had anyone around me that likes bugs the way I do, its nice to have the forums its the only source of social aceptance I get lol.


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## darkspeed (Nov 12, 2008)

salomonis said:


> As long as it doesn't involve a girlfriend or tons of money, my wife doesn't mind any of my hobbies....Scott


LMAO :lol: 

It took my wife a while to get used to them. Now she likes them, but she is super frugal, and spending any money on mantids requires serious haggling on my part. My kids love them, tho my 3 year old is still scared when it comes down to holding them.


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## JennMantis (Nov 12, 2008)

My 3 yr old likes watching them, my 16 mo old just wants to toss their enclosures around, so I don't let her near them lol my husband was interested in them in the beginning, but didn't like it when i devoted more time to feeding &amp; watching my "bugs" than spending time w/ him or the girls, so I cut back a little bit. I currently don't have any mantids (I let my Chinese mantis and European mantis free about 2 months ago) The Chinese one, I raised from a nymph and the European one my 16 mo old found outside (he was hanging on the back of one of my patio chairs and when she saw it, she started "talking" to it and I was trying to see what she was talking to. The husband never appreciated loose flies in the house.


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## hibiscusmile (Nov 12, 2008)

:lol: You guys kill me!!! My hubby made me read *Kruszakus message to him twice!*

DARKSPEED do trades, no one can argue with that!

Frack: yea and people say were weird too, but what do they know, thank God for the internet!

harryallard: ha ha ha, sounds like me! before I became a mantis Geek!


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## ismart (Nov 13, 2008)

My girl friend does not care for them. She freaks out when some flies or crickets escape!


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## kakistos (Nov 13, 2008)

My boyfriend likes them, but more because I like them. He does not want to take care of them, but when I show something he will watch with me. He likes their shapes and ferocious behavior, but if it weren't for me liking them so much he would not spend time on them. I think it is great this way, I can have my hobby and talk about it with him, and he tolerates then being all over the place.


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## idolomantis (Nov 13, 2008)

they all like the mantids, but they hate the feeders.


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## PhilinYuma (Nov 13, 2008)

Want to live in peace with your mantises, cockroaches, fire ants, toads, wind spiders, etc, etc? Live alone! No OMG!s, no "we can't afford them!" My dog Tucker doesn't like the flies when they get on his nose, but he eats the crickets and stays away from the mantises when they look hungry.

I kept Sunny's ants and cockroac

hes when she had a science fair a few years back, and her mom wouldn't let her keep them in the house, so she's pretty tolerant (for a 14 year old).


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## superfreak (Nov 13, 2008)

my parents are mildly amused and hate the escapees. mums happy that she's got something new to threaten me with :"ill let your bugs go!". lol. my boyfriend enjoys watching them but drew the line when i ran out of space and tried to move some of my babies into his place


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## Krissim Klaw (Nov 15, 2008)

You mean other than the fact I was nicknamed The Mantis Queen. I really get a range in my family/friends. Everything from sheer terror when it comes to my mom, to curiosity, amusement and so on. Naturally they all think I'm a little crazy, but I didn't need the mantises for that. Most of the people I have met have gotten a good laugh out of my bug stories and seem genuinely interested when they hear I keep mantises. Not exactly the most common household pet. Actually I think I convinced several of my college professors into looking into picking up one for a pet. Being I was a English/Studio Art major they popped up a lot in my writing and artwork. :wub:


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## revmdn (Nov 21, 2008)

I am a collector of many things, like toys, comic books, books, sea glass, shells. I'm also a animal lover. My mother used to breed Yorkshire Terriers. I had a pet hedgehog when I was in grade school. So, I have some understanding of animals. I have had a few mantids that I found outside but tended to let them go. I'm excited to really get into the hobby. My girlfriend really dislikes any kind of insect, but is tolerant, as long as she doesn't have to get involved. My five year old daughter loves them. She was really upset when our last mantid died. We have to replace him very soon. My parents think it's funny, maybe a little weird, but they love animals also. I have Buddhist beliefs so, I'm a little weird about feeding live animals to another. But, thats nature. I wouldn't try to feed a dog tofu. My friends have always thought I was strange.


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## cloud jaguar (Nov 21, 2008)

revmdn said:


> I have Buddhist beliefs so, I'm a little weird about feeding live animals to another. But, thats nature. I wouldn't try to feed a dog tofu. My friends have always thought I was strange.


My chihuahua dogs love tofu! (soy bacon, soy sausage, tofurkey, ground soy). I wonder if mantids like tofu?


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## Katnapper (Nov 21, 2008)

Arkanis said:


> My chihuahua dogs love tofu! (soy bacon, soy sausage, tofurkey, ground soy). I wonder if mantids like tofu?


Arkanis, try it and let us know!  (I'm assuming you normally buy/have it around)


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## revmdn (Nov 23, 2008)

Any luck with the soy feeding? I have seen a few videos on Youtube with people feeding their mantises jam and hot dogs, and herd of feeding them wet cat food. Is any of that bad?


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## eaglewarrior (Nov 24, 2008)

All my roommates are also study in the department of entomology so that there are many insects in our room now. One of them breed termites, another is cockroaches, and I am mantids and stag beetles. breeding mantids isn't strange here, sometimes they even help me to feed them.


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## The_Asa (Nov 24, 2008)

revmdn said:


> Any luck with the soy feeding? I have seen a few videos on Youtube with people feeding their mantises jam and hot dogs, and herd of feeding them wet cat food. Is any of that bad?


I imagine it would be if in excess.


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## d0rk2dafullest (Nov 24, 2008)

my mom and dad and friends think im crazy for harboring bugs in my house.

they do think im wierd, and they dont really care much =P


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## hibiscusmile (Nov 24, 2008)

eaglewarrior said:


> All my roommates are also study in the department of entomology so that there are many insects in our room now. One of them breed termites, another is cockroaches, and I am mantids and stag beetles. breeding mantids isn't strange here, sometimes they even help me to feed them.


Don't think I could quite sleep at night knowing termites and roaches were nearby... ok I am sure I couldn't, I would be sitting up with your shoes in my hand hitting anything that moved :blink:


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## Katnapper (Nov 24, 2008)

hibiscusmile said:


> Don't think I could quite sleep at night knowing termites and roaches were nearby... ok I am sure I couldn't, I would be sitting up with your shoes in my hand hitting anything that moved :blink:


[email protected]! :lol: What makes it even funnier is you said "your" shoes... like you wouldn't use your own to smash creepie crawlies, you'd use eaglewarriors! ...let alone take yours off your feet!  ~still giggling~

You know, I'm OK with most bugs as long as they don't get on me by surprise, except for mostly spiders and roaches. But I'll have to say spiders really creep me out. And roaches used to also, still do in fact. But now I'm very seriously considering buying some dubias to raise and breed as feeders. Need to do some more research, but the more I read the less they bother me. :huh: Have you ever, or do you raise or keep feeder roaches for your babies, Rebecca?


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## hibiscusmile (Nov 25, 2008)

Katnapper said:


> [email protected]! :lol: What makes it even funnier is you said "your" shoes... like you wouldn't use your own to smash creepie crawlies, you'd use eaglewarriors! ...let alone take yours off your feet!  ~still giggling~You know, I'm OK with most bugs as long as they don't get on me by surprise, except for mostly spiders and roaches. But I'll have to say spiders really creep me out. And roaches used to also, still do in fact. But now I'm very seriously considering buying some dubias to raise and breed as feeders. Need to do some more research, but the more I read the less they bother me. :huh: Have you ever, or do you raise or keep feeder roaches for your babies, Rebecca?


Now who's the funny girl? No way, I have considered it, but my hubby would probably take his shoe off and crack me a couple times with it. ha ha, it would be me saying to my poor old feet" feet don't fail me now!" :lol: , Naw seriously I lived in the poor side of town when I first got married (many moons ago) and the people next door were very nasty housekeepers, and they had some kind of German Roach I believe, well the landlady had an exterminator come in and spray and the guy when done, stood outside laughing because he saw them leaving and coming over to my yard and I guess he thought it was funny, I didn't, hated them, which I promptly became infested with them, and also had a boyfriend, (yes we called them that even back then) God you would think I was ancient ! His family named them when they ran across the table :] Also I worked somewhere that had the Palmano roaches and they were bigger than I was, scared the snot out of me whenever I saw one, wanted to take out my 38 and blow their heads off! AW NUTS! So all in all the simple answer would be NO!


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## Katnapper (Nov 25, 2008)

hibiscusmile said:


> Now who's the funny girl? No way, I have considered it, but my hubby would probably take his shoe off and crack me a couple times with it. ha ha, it would be me saying to my poor old feet" feet don't fail me now!" :lol: , Naw seriously I lived in the poor side of town when I first got married (many moons ago) and the people next door were very nasty housekeepers, and they had some kind of German Roach I believe, well the landlady had an exterminator come in and spray and the guy when done, stood outside laughing because he saw them leaving and coming over to my yard and I guess he thought it was funny, I didn't, hated them, which I promptly became infested with them, and also had a boyfriend, (yes we called them that even back then) God you would think I was ancient ! His family named them when they ran across the table :] Also I worked somewhere that had the Palmano roaches and they were bigger than I was, scared the snot out of me whenever I saw one, wanted to take out my 38 and blow their heads off! AW NUTS! So all in all the simple answer would be NO!


Lol... I see!  :lol: Reminds me of when I was a kid... My parents divorced when I was 7, and mom moved us (my brother, me, and her) to this little rental house that was infested with roaches. Omg... it was horrible. You could see them running around everywhere. I remember sitting on a wooden chair in the dining room with my feet up crying, and feeling petrified of moving or any getting on me.  And I'll never forget the time I bought my first house. The next morning after moving in, I went into the bathroom and was at the sink. I looked down and there was a roach nestled in between the bristles of my toothbrush, looking up at me. I about died. The funny thing was, I'm a very frugal person, and I didn't want to throw the toothbrush away because it was new. I washed and scrubbed it and even soaked it in bleach... but I couldn't get the image of that cockroach in it out of my head. The dilemma really stressed me out for several days! (In the meantime I bought another new toothbrush). But I just couldn't bring myself to use it so I ended up throwing it out.

I started researching feeder roaches recently, and some of those websites do a really good job of distancing those images, and making the feeder roaches almost seem like a joy to work with and keep. Hmmm. :huh: If I do decide to go that route, I'll just go ahead and order them... no telling hubby first!  :lol:


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## kmsgameboy (Nov 25, 2008)

Katnapper said:


> I'm wondering what everyone else's families and/or roomates thinks of your hobby of mantis keeping?  Do they also get into it and think it's great? Or do they dislike it? Something in between? Do they think you're crazy?My husband tolerates them (and the various feeders). But he definitely doesn't share the same interest in them as I do. His attitude is, "Do what you want, if it makes you happy... but don't expect me to join you in it." B) Sometimes he rolls his eyes, puts his head in his hands, and sighs, "Oh, God!" whenever I start talking about my "babies" to our friends. I think he likes the comic effect of people feeling sorry for him, being overwhelmed by my "bugs" as he calls them. :wacko: He's usually fairly indulgent, except for the few times when escapee feeders have gotten loose (I'm working on remedying that). But he just can't fathom my attraction to "bugs." I'm currently trying to figure a permanent plan on where to put them all. His (serious) suggestion was the basement. :angry: &lt;_&lt;
> 
> My 9 year old son shares some of my enthusiasm, but not as much as I'd like. He gets bored with, and usually avoids helping me look for wild mantids, oothes, or catching mantis dinners in the Summer. But he does think they're neat. I get the feeling some of my co-workers and friends think I'm a bit "strange" sometimes.
> 
> What does your family think of the mantids, feeders, and your interest in keeping them?


I keep telling my wife that I am going to start a mantid army! LOL (You have to have something to fight the coming zombie attacks right?  ) Anyway she keeps telling me that if I bring any "bugs" into the house then shes gone...but shes loves me and I know that realy she says it just to get a laugh from our friends!


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## MantidLord (Nov 25, 2008)

Awesome topic. My dad loves my enthusiasm. All my uncles inspired me to take them up and support me. My mom is neutral. She'll buy feeders for them, but she doesn't really like them. She'll take care of them for short periods (but that's just to please me). Though if I do something wrong, she blames the mantids. &lt;_&lt; My step-dad is mildly interested, but HATES escapees (whether feeders or mantids). Kids at school sometimes tease, but it's ok. Some of my friends find some for me and are mildly interested while others think I have bugs swarming my house.lol. Although Idon't talk about mantids when talking to girls. lol.


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## sk8erkho (Dec 5, 2008)

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHAHAHHA!!! Good one!!!! My mom is the best,man!! she is the last one I expected to be down like that!! I mean she was never scared to let them crawl on her she talks baby girble to them and everything!!! My youngest sister has bug a phobia!!! :angry: When she was 7 we were on our way home from a road trip at one point we had to pull over to the side of the highway to let here relieve herself. She came back to the car with a tick attached to her. She did not know until we got home and she found it sucking on her neck!!LOL!!! She totally freaked out and we heard 'it was on me, mommy.. it was on meeeeee!' for days after!!! well to this day she hates, I mean HATES bugs of any type. But I can imagine if she had to put up with a bug of some sort it would be mantids as roaches totally unravels her, Talk about spontaneous paranoid schizoid attack, she'd have a total meltdown!!!

When we inherited the six ooths back in 2004 she was all for leaving them out in the freezing cold for dead!!! She calls my crib the bug house and when I had an ant problem she related it to the mantids. So, now any bug problem to her is related to the mantids!!! She won't come anywhere near them and freaks out when I come around here forgetting that i have one camped out in my hair (they always climb up and pose in my hair)!!! My other younger sister is cool with it she won't hold wm but she is interested especially in details of the species, I like that!!! And last are my boys!!! They have been with me in this right from the beginning!! The eldest one who actually got this whole thing started is in Misawa Japan now in the Air Force and last we spoke he misses having the little buggers around. My little dudes 14 and 9 are here with me and we go through it all together. They are great at feeding, cleaning tanks, keeping a lookout for mantids in trouble during moulting, cannibalism alert etc. They are my back up team 'team mantid'!!!!


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## hibiscusmile (Dec 5, 2008)

It is fun to have them around, it is always a way to break the ice with people who drop in. My hubby still complains about the flies in the house, all thanksgiving day u could hear him, WE ARE the only house in OHIO with flies in mid winter. hahaha, I said Oh shup and eat em :lol: The boys are about done coming in and sticking things in their mouths, I always have feeder food going, either for the dog or the bugs. The dog gets dog cookies, which usually consists of shredded pork and beef liver, I blend up in blender and add cornmeal and stuff to and bake, comes out lookin like brownies, ha ha ha, really they do not taste to bad, just kinda surprising when u think your mouth is ready for chocolate and get liver instead, or the cornmeal and peanut butter cookies or the fruit fly potato mix with fruit in it. Yea, I gotta say I always did tell them boys, whatever you do, don't pi... off the cook!!!  Hard to tell what she will feed ya.

ps, sorry I think I got off topic.


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## Katnapper (Dec 5, 2008)

Rebecca, at first my husband always asked about anything he didn't recognize or know what it was in the fridge. Once in a while he still does. But now he usually just avoids anything "suspicious," especially anything with a vented lid... "it's something for your bugs!"


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## PhilinYuma (Dec 6, 2008)

ps, sorry I think I got off topic.

Was there a topic?

Sunny is the only member of her family who likes meals with rice, so last week I took over some sweet and sour pork that i know she likes. I put it in a ziplock inside a Tupperware box of rice. I put it in the freezer in the garage and told her that I had left a box of grubs for my critters there because I was out of room. She just rolled her eyes, but I noticed last night that the box was still there, untouched. Guess I'll have to eat some in front of her to prove that it's just rice!


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## Anleoflippy (Dec 18, 2008)

To tell you the truth, My father is an expert keeping mantids.He kept 3 male and 4 females of Deroplatys desiccata when he was a teenager.He is not interest in Mantids now but he does give some tips.And as for my mother, my mom hate cockroaches and she wants me to feed my mantis cockroaches, so I do what she says and my mom appreciate it...

As for my Friends, they think it is interesting but some say weird, as for my Best friend or My girl friend...  She is breeding a Hymenopus Coronatus...

:lol:


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## Katnapper (Dec 18, 2008)

Anzilleoflippy said:


> To tell you the truth, My father is an expert keeping mantids.He kept 3 male and 4 females of Deroplatys desiccata when he was a teenager.He is not interest in Mantids now but he does give some tips.And as for my mother, my mom hate cockroaches and she wants me to feed my mantis cockroaches, so I do what she says and my mom appreciate it...As for my Friends, they think it is interesting but some say weird, as for my Best friend or My girl friend...  She is breeding a Hymenopus Coronatus...
> 
> :lol:


It is nice that your girlfriend shares your interest in mantids!


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## yen_saw (Dec 18, 2008)

Anzilleoflippy said:


> To tell you the truth, My father is an expert keeping mantids.He kept 3 male and 4 females of Deroplatys desiccata when he was a teenager.He is not interest in Mantids now but he does give some tips.And as for my mother, my mom hate cockroaches and she wants me to feed my mantis cockroaches, so I do what she says and my mom appreciate it...As for my Friends, they think it is interesting but some say weird, as for my Best friend or My girl friend...  She is breeding a Hymenopus Coronatus...
> 
> :lol:


You are one lucky dude


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## Anleoflippy (Dec 22, 2008)

yen_saw said:


> You are one lucky dude


Lol dude...

Not really...


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## dldy (Dec 22, 2008)

My mom thinks it's creepy, but she asks how they are doing, my kids (I have 3) are jealous of time I spend "staring" at the bugs, but they named them. My 3 year old helps me catch feeder bugs outside. Thier friends think it's cool and my husband couldn't care less if they exist. They are kinda in his way I guess. Everyone has held one except him.


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## revmdn (Dec 22, 2008)

My girlfriend won't hold them either. She is scared of bugs. My 5 year old daughter loves everything about them. We are trying to get my girlfriend to hold them as a Christmas present for us.


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