# Hi, I'm A New Mantid Keeper In Arizona



## ladygigi (May 9, 2013)

I got into this on accident but am very excited and have been doing research and just soaking up information. I came into this forum with a zillion questions but have found almost all of them answered here,  as I have spent my entire day here reading! (Started around 9 this morning, or I should say yesterday morning since it is like 2 a.m..) What happened may sadden some of you, as it does me now (it didn't then) but I had a lizard named Tartan and he LOVED Praying Mantises. They were a real treat to him and so I would occasionally feed him one. He was fed a total of 3 of them. Well, he died just this last week. I had him for 3 years or so, which for his breed was normal for his life expectancy. I hadn't cleaned out his cage yet, and I happened to look in it last week like a day or 2 after he passed and noticed that I had 4 baby mantids. :blink: I was like WOW, obviously one of the ones I had fed him managed to lay oothacae before she was consumed. (There was one that he allowed to live along with him for about 3 days before he decided to make a meal of her.) So, I thought I was going to have a couple of baby mantids. Then a few days later I noticed that I had 7 baby mantids!  I was surprised to suddenly see more. Little did I know. . . As of now, the count is up to 10!  (Last night.) I'm not sure how long they are going to continue hatching? I'm also not sure what kind they are. All of the females he was fed were the same, but I haven't seen any photos of one that look like the ones I had. The nymphs are a tan color. I've been feeding them flightless ff's and they all seem to be doing well. So far I've only had to remove 2 dead ones. I'm enjoying watching them and am excited about the whole process. The more I read and learn the more I look forward to seeing these little guys grow. They are in a rather large terrarium so I don't have to worry about seperating them or anything at this point. From what I've read it will hold up to like 10 adults. So unless I end up with a bunch more, they should be okay right where they are.

As for me, I am a disabled :wheelchair: behavioral health counselor amongst several other things and can no longer work. I've been experiencing a lot of health problems as of late, so this has really cheered me up and given me a lot of smiles and something to focus on besides sitting at my computer playing games all day! lolz ^_^ I also collect statuettes and figurines of all shapes and forms of Bald Eagles and have a collection of several hundred pieces. I'm a retired Harley owner/rider and widow. I sold my Harley approx. 3 yrs. ago and my husband passed away 17 yrs. ago and I've never remarried. I met my husband while going to school to become a certified auto mechanic, thus working on older cars is/was one of my hobbies or pasttimes. Lastly, I'm a bit of a computer nerd in that I work on pc's for friends doing things like removing viruses, making upgrades and stuff like that. It would be nice to find someone again someday. . . He's gonna have to like Praying Mantises tho!  

Some of my nymphs should already be nearing first molt as the terrarium is kept around 80 degrees and the first ones appeared about a week ago. They all like to hang around under the lamps where it is really warm. There is only 1 or 2 nymphs hanging on to the top on the other side where the lamps aren't located. My biggest problem and I'm open to suggestions and advice, is the humidity. I have paper towel folded on the bottom that I TRY to keep misted, but the heat of the terrarium dries it out rather quickly and I'm concerned that it's too dry in there for them. How often should I mist it? I mean should I keep that towel wet? Or is it okay to just wet it a couple times a day or what? I never see the nymphs on it or anything so I'm not sure they are getting the water they need. Ideas anyone? I will take some pics and upload them maybe tomorrow. I've got a couple doctor app'ts. tomorrow so I'm gonna be kinda busy, so it might be Saturday before I can take some pics and get them uploaded. I'm really looking forward to this adventure and making some friends here.  I'm definitely going to need you cuz this is all new to me! :helpsmilie:


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## agent A (May 9, 2013)

welcome from CT!!! your username reminds me of Lady GaGa, u a fan?? :lol:


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## Rick (May 9, 2013)

Welcome. Good luck with your future mantids.


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## hibiscusmile (May 9, 2013)

they can be misted each day and are u feeding them fruit flies, they gotta eat something! welcome girl! ps, got pic of the ooth or one of the mantis? prob Chinese?


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## aNisip (May 9, 2013)

Hello and welcome to the forum!  Sorry to hear about Tartan, losing a friend is awlays tough :/ ....also sorry to hear about your health misfortunes...but it seems like you perservere through it pretty well though!  I wish you all the best!  

As far as the mantids, being in Arizona, you have a couple species as what they could be....american ground mantis (Litaneutria minor) arizona unicorn mantis (Pseudovates sp.) or arizona grasshopper mantis (Yersiniops sophronica).....or it could very well be another unicorn sp or stagmomantis or grass mantis.... (lol so many possibilities) ....

And you might want to limit the 10 to a smaller area so they can find their ffs with more ease...either seperate them in their own cup or a larger deli cup setup....and only mist the container every other day, or spray it then after the water has evaporated completley, wait a day to spray again....or (lol, again lots of possibilities) give a gentle mist every evening or early morning....

All the best,

Andrew


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## jrh3 (May 9, 2013)

welcome


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## fleurdejoo (May 9, 2013)

Hey there and welcome to the forums! Fruit flies and misting!

Check out mantisplace for supplies I love them!


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## BugLover (May 9, 2013)

Welcome!


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## thalassarche (May 9, 2013)

Welcome! I'm sorry about the loss of Tartan, but it sounds like he left you some new friends.  I'm new to the hobby myself so I bow to the knowledge of the more experienced here. Excited for photos so we can figure out what little mantises you have!


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## sally (May 9, 2013)

Welcome


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## ladygigi (May 10, 2013)

agent A said:


> welcome from CT!!! your username reminds me of Lady GaGa, u a fan?? :lol:


Thanks! I like some of Lady GaGa's music, can't say I'm a big fan tho.


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## ladygigi (May 10, 2013)

sally said:


> Welcome


Thanks for the Welcome!


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## ladygigi (May 10, 2013)

thalassarche said:


> Welcome! I'm sorry about the loss of Tartan, but it sounds like he left you some new friends.  I'm new to the hobby myself so I bow to the knowledge of the more experienced here. Excited for photos so we can figure out what little mantises you have!


Thank you for the welcome and condolences on Tartan. Yes, I definitely had some new friends left behind!  It looks like it's gonna be quite a ride! :surrender:


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## ladygigi (May 10, 2013)

BugLover said:


> Welcome!


Thanks!


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## ladygigi (May 10, 2013)

fleurdejoo said:


> Hey there and welcome to the forums! Fruit flies and misting!
> 
> Check out mantisplace for supplies I love them!


Thank you for the welcome! It seems that I'm doing the right thing then for now. Guess that's all I can do till they get a little bigger.  They are so cute! :wub:


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## ladygigi (May 10, 2013)

jrh3 said:


> welcome


Thanks for the Welcome. BTW, I do support the NRA too. . .


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## ladygigi (May 10, 2013)

AndrewNisip said:


> Hello and welcome to the forum!  Sorry to hear about Tartan, losing a friend is awlays tough :/ ....also sorry to hear about your health misfortunes...but it seems like you perservere through it pretty well though!  I wish you all the best!
> 
> As far as the mantids, being in Arizona, you have a couple species as what they could be....american ground mantis (Litaneutria minor) arizona unicorn mantis (Pseudovates sp.) or arizona grasshopper mantis (Yersiniops sophronica).....or it could very well be another unicorn sp or stagmomantis or grass mantis.... (lol so many possibilities) ....
> 
> ...


Thank you for your welcome and your words on Tartan. Losing him was very tough, however, would he still be alive, I wouldn't have these baby mantids cuz he'd have gobbled them up too!  So, now I get to experience a whole new adventure! ^_^ Also, your speculations on the type of mantis got me googling mantids so that I could find the ones that I had caught and given to Tartan since all 3 were the same (even tho all of these babies are not). I was able to ID them  and will go into that in another post for everybody, as well as post some pics. I took quite a few. Since there is an upload limit, I'm gonna have to start a gallery or something on here (if I can do that). Oh, and my 10 are now 12! LOL


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## ladygigi (May 10, 2013)

hibiscusmile said:


> they can be misted each day and are u feeding them fruit flies, they gotta eat something! welcome girl! ps, got pic of the ooth or one of the mantis? prob Chinese?


Thanks for the welcome! I've finally ID'd the females that I had put in the terrarium and took some pics of the little ones. I will make another post in the forum for everybody so that I can let everyone know and post some of the pics. BTW, I am misting them each morning.


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## ladygigi (May 10, 2013)

Rick said:


> Welcome. Good luck with your future mantids.


Thanks Rick! I'm going to need all the luck (and help :excl: :surrender: ) I can get!


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## jrh3 (May 10, 2013)

ladygigi said:


> Thanks for the Welcome. BTW, I do support the NRA too. . .


very cool. and just a heads up mantids are addicting. I actually gave up chameleon breeding to raise mantids. It started when i got a ooth to feed my chameleons and when it hatched, in a slow joe dirt southern voice I said,"DAAANNNGGG, THESE SUCKARSS ARE TOOO COOL, I AINT FEEDING THEM OFF", lol not long after my chameleons were gone and in came the mantids. There are soooooo many species and all act different. Many have different requirements so it presents a challenge. More supplies are relativley cheap. Its just to me the all around best hobby. Even my wife tells me that my mantids hobby interests her more than the chameleons, lol. Im still into reptile but just a few for keeping.


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## mantid_mike (May 10, 2013)

jrh3 said:


> very cool. and just a heads up mantids are addicting. I actually gave up chameleon breeding to raise mantids. It started when i got a ooth to feed my chameleons and when it hatched, in a slow joe dirt southern voice I said,"DAAANNNGGG, THESE SUCKARSS ARE TOOO COOL, I AINT FEEDING THEM OFF", lol not long after my chameleons were gone and in came the mantids. There are soooooo many species and all act different. Many have different requirements so it presents a challenge. More supplies are relativley cheap. Its just to me the all around best hobby. Even my wife tells me that my mantids hobby interests her more than the chameleons, lol. Im still into reptile but just a few for keeping.


LMAO @ the joe dirt reference!! I could almost hear it.


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## jrh3 (May 10, 2013)

im in alabama, just comes natural, lol.


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## JTHMfreak (May 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum!


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## ladygigi (May 11, 2013)

jrh3 said:


> very cool. and just a heads up mantids are addicting. I actually gave up chameleon breeding to raise mantids. It started when i got a ooth to feed my chameleons and when it hatched, in a slow joe dirt southern voice I said,"DAAANNNGGG, THESE SUCKARSS ARE TOOO COOL, I AINT FEEDING THEM OFF", lol not long after my chameleons were gone and in came the mantids. There are soooooo many species and all act different. Many have different requirements so it presents a challenge. More supplies are relativley cheap. Its just to me the all around best hobby. Even my wife tells me that my mantids hobby interests her more than the chameleons, lol. Im still into reptile but just a few for keeping.


Really? Wow! Right now I just feel overwhelmed cuz I wasn't expecting this and so it's like, wow, this is way cool and yet it's like wow, what am I in to and in for?  I don't have a lot of strength or I should say stamina. I tire easily and can't do a lot at once, yet these guys have me a bit excited while scared at the same time. Especially when I read about mis-molts and stuff. So, I'm just trying to soak up as much info as I can and persevere the best I can. I need to go back and find the thread on making the ff culture(s) and get that going too. Probably shoulda started that a long time ago. May have to buy one more while I get that project going. I really am going to have to find someone to help me with this endeavor. I'm really interested in it, but just don't know if I can do all the work that is required.


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## ladygigi (May 11, 2013)

JTHMfreak said:


> Welcome to the forum!


Thank you so much for the welcome!


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## JTHMfreak (May 13, 2013)

FF cultures are east to set up. I used some plastic diswashing sponges that have tons of holes in them and the worked out very well, reuseable too.


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## ladygigi (May 14, 2013)

JTHMfreak said:


> FF cultures are east to set up. I used some plastic diswashing sponges that have tons of holes in them and the worked out very well, reuseable too.


What? Cut them up and set them in a jar or something? They do get stinky when old and attract some kind of little bug/fly. Never even thought of that. Now, that's an idea. Am I understanding you correctly?


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## JTHMfreak (May 14, 2013)

I bought two 3-packs at Ralphs for $5, they work fantastic, and are reusable too since they are just plastic.


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## D_Hemptress (May 14, 2013)

Hey! welcome! i love your introduction.

Sorry to hear about the health issues, but im glad you found something that makes you happy and keeps you busy.

i have some experience in behavioral management as well, i was a care taker for developmentally disabled adults for several years, many with behavior issues. unfortunately things got personal at the job and i had to find other work.

ide love to see some pictures of your nymphs so we can get an i.d. on them...


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## ladygigi (May 15, 2013)

D_Hemptress said:


> Hey! welcome! i love your introduction.
> 
> Sorry to hear about the health issues, but im glad you found something that makes you happy and keeps you busy.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the welcome and nice to meet someone else familiar with the behavioral health field!  I've posted pics already and we've determined that they are Iris Oratoria. In fact, I've got 2 people that want to buy some of the nymphs. So, things are happening really fast! I'm having a heck of a time! LOL :lol: Just started raising them and already having to learn how to sell, pack, and ship! LMAO!  I guess that just comes with the territory? Anyway, thanks again for your welcome and if you go to the gallery you'll see some pics. I posted 9 of them I think. ^_^


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## D_Hemptress (May 15, 2013)

ladygigi said:


> Thanks for the welcome and nice to meet someone else familiar with the behavioral health field!  I've posted pics already and we've determined that they are Iris Oratoria. In fact, I've got 2 people that want to buy some of the nymphs. So, things are happening really fast! I'm having a heck of a time! LOL :lol: Just started raising them and already having to learn how to sell, pack, and ship! LMAO!  I guess that just comes with the territory? Anyway, thanks again for your welcome and if you go to the gallery you'll see some pics. I posted 9 of them I think. ^_^


my experience was exactly the same when i got into this hobby. its really fun and a bonus that there is some cash coming in, helps pay for feeders!


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## TheOtherSpecies (May 15, 2013)

mantid_mike said:


> LMAO @ the joe dirt reference!! I could almost hear it.


My favorite movie by far!


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## TheOtherSpecies (May 15, 2013)

I recommend misting the enclosure and the Mantids directly, just don't over do it on the Mantids!


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