# Ghost mantid enclosure



## Tonypace2009 (Jan 3, 2016)

This is a 3gallon aquarium I have converted over for my female ghost mantid. I am hoping to use this as a breeding tank. I going to keep the female in here and introduce the male for a short time for breeding.


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## Tonypace2009 (Jan 3, 2016)

I will have to figure out how to rotate pictures.They were originally turned right.


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## LAME (Jan 3, 2016)

I actually like the small build. It looks pretty good in my opinion.


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## happy1892 (Jan 4, 2016)

Cool.


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## Tonypace2009 (Mar 20, 2016)

I had to change up my ghost enclosure My female laid ootheca on my vines and they were glued to enclosure. I should have seen that coming

Anyway this new setup is a lot more ooth friendly.


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## Tonypace2009 (Mar 20, 2016)

These are for my individual ghost mantids right now male mantids occupy these.


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## CosbyArt (Mar 20, 2016)

I hear you about the ooths on glued sticks lol. Anymore I find if I add some sticks glued to the lids of the adult females habitats that the majority of females will lay them there, making it easier to cut and replace the sticks.

I like the new setups for adults (as no worries of molting), they have a very clean and organic look to them. I can't tell from the photos but did you add mesh to the lids as well?



Tonypace2009 said:


> I will have to figure out how to rotate pictures.They were originally turned right.


Sounds like you have a DSLR camera, as they are notorious for auto-rotating images by default. Hidden in your camera menus should be a option to disable the rotating feature.

If not any image/photo editing software can do a simple 90 degree clockwise rotation, a free one is GIMP. Also even in the image browser built-in to Windows 7 (and up I assume) can do it too (I use GNOME Image Viewer in Debian 8.2 and it does it too).

Looks like you already fixed it in your new photos.


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## Tonypace2009 (Mar 20, 2016)

Good to know about glueing sticks to lid. The individual enclosures do have mesh screen glued to them. I glued the mesh screen with some sag toward the middle for a good foothold for the mantids. Iam thinking of replacing the screen under lid with meshed shelf liner I just don't have any right now. I also scuffed up upper part of enclosure with 60 grit sand paper to make sure mantids can get a foothold climbing to the top. Probably not nessary but just extra precaution. The only drawback to these is the lids having to be screwed down or off when mantid is on the lid. So my lids just sit on top not screwed down. I saw a lid on another container that the lid is a two piece that the center snaps shut I am thinking about getting one of these containers to see if the lids work better. My containers came with parrot food  so I had a surplus of them. I have been using iPhone for pictures I need to get a good camera. I have Photoshop but when pictures unloaded to here initially they were up right so I don't know what happened to them mabe I needed to crop them to smaller size  bit I didn't or still don't know how to edit them. I didn't think about feeder ports either but luckily my mantids haven't been hanging out by the lids so hasn't been a big issue yet. As is everything a work in progress.

And thanks for your diy toturials


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## CosbyArt (Mar 20, 2016)

Ah, sounds like a good addition of the sagged mesh. I'm curious if mantids do prefer it, as I have a few setup like that and the mantids seemed more active. The extra grip from sanding can't hurt, other than a foggy looking view for you.

You can convert the screw down lids, but it takes a bit of effort. You can use a dremel tool to sand down the threading on the container and the lid, so the lid slips on and off easily. Also if you leave a bit of the thread it can make a friction fitting lid (so prying the lid on/off takes a slight effort, securing the lid from getting accidentally knocked over/off), or add two pieces of dowel rod or screws through both the lid and container to act as securing pins.

One of the best cameras for mantid photos can be had for about $100, just buy a used DSLR 6-8 MP camera. The image quality is awesome as they are high quality components internally and in the lens glass (often the top of the line when they were made), and blow away point and click consumer cameras of double the megapixel resolution easily. Then you can get a threaded ring adapter for macro close-ups for just a few bucks that really makes it a great tool for serious photos. If you have more money to spend on a DSLR camera, a higher resolution will also give you larger images - allowing even better/bigger photos when cropped.

Your welcome, glad you found my tutorial guides useful. I really need to redo several of them due to new tricks found, and better ways of doing things from continual experience. Of course though I have several others I need to publish on here as well.


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## Tonypace2009 (Mar 20, 2016)

Great Idea on the lids grind down the threads I will try that. My ghost mantids haven't been using the lid except the first couple days I put them into enclosure. I am beginning to think that the scuffed part of container makes them hang out lower. Mabe because the can't see through it very well. The ghost will get up above the scuffed line sometimes and hang down with just there heads visible below the scuff line. They like being able to observe their surroundings. This seems to be the case for just my ghost mantids because my miamantis binotata would venture all the way to the top all the time. Just a observation

A DSLR camera has been on my list for a while I learned my lesson about point and shoot cameras trying to do macro photography. They are not designed for macro even though they have the function. Trying to photograph a small moving insect with a camera that only does autofocus is nerve-racking.

Look forward to more tutorials and guides


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## spider_creations (Mar 20, 2016)

Awesome container setup what fake plants did you use


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## CosbyArt (Mar 20, 2016)

Thanks, one of the things I had to do myself (as it seems most containers are the screw lid type). Great observation, and likely the cause of their deviated behavior of staying off the lids. I haven't sanded any habitats so the thought didn't cross my mind that the mantid wouldn't like it.  

Yeah a point and shoot has the price advantage but doesn't compete with any DSLR. My last DSLR I had was a Nikon D80 and is what many of my photos were taken with. I ended up having to sell it off again (I did have a Nikon D3300 before it) - seems something always comes up, and a DSLR is a fast way to get cash. I currently have a old 5MP Hewlett Packard camera, at least it only cost $5 at a yard sale years ago and due to not being worth anything I still have it lol.

Thanks, I have two at the moment I'm working on, and plan to redo the habitat guide coming up.


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## Tonypace2009 (Mar 20, 2016)

spider_creations said:


> Awesome container setup what fake plants did you use


I robed these fake plants from household containers. A few leaves here and a few leeves there reminds me I need to make sure bald spots are turned back to wall side. Not sure what plants they represent. Some leaves are glued to sticks with Moss to cover glue and the others are wire vines.


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## Tonypace2009 (Mar 21, 2016)

CosbyArt said:


> Thanks, one of the things I had to do myself (as it seems most containers are the screw lid type). Great observation, and likely the cause of their deviated behavior of staying off the lids. I haven't sanded any habitats so the thought didn't cross my mind that the mantid wouldn't like it.
> 
> Yeah a point and shoot has the price advantage but doesn't compete with any DSLR. My last DSLR I had was a Nikon D80 and is what many of my photos were taken with. I ended up having to sell it off again (I did have a Nikon D3300 before it) - seems something always comes up, and a DSLR is a fast way to get cash. I currently have a old 5MP Hewlett Packard camera, at least it only cost $5 at a yard sale years ago and due to not being worth anything I still have it lol.
> 
> Thanks, I have two at the moment I'm working on, and plan to redo the habitat guide coming up.


Look forward to the new guide and your new projects.


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