# Ghost Mantis Ootheca?



## Sarah K (Feb 24, 2016)

Hey all,

As mentioned in my introduction the other day, I am fairly new to this hobby, and I am getting to the point where my first mantises are finally molting to adulthood! I have two female ghost mantises, and they are 4 weeks after thier final molts. No infertile oothecas have been laid yet, but my females are calling. I just wanted to ask for any advice you all may have for me from your experiences, as to how much space a ghost mantis needs to lay her ootheca, Also, what kinds of items do they like to lay on? I want to ensure I am providing them with acceptable egg-laying sites.


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## Kermit (Feb 24, 2016)

Put plenty of horizontal and 45 degree sticks / branches. Pencil thickness is ideal. Make sure female well feed and increase heat and add male, then mist... Should trigger action. Highly recommend to keep an ongoing and unlimited food supply (blue bottle flies) going forward... As long as the female is eating she should produce oothecas... If the food supply lags at all the male will be in jeperdy. Male won't live as long as females so don't wait to long. If males pass from age, keep feeding the female's and they should produce oothecas until they age out.

Good luck... Keep us posted on your progress!

Erik


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## Sarah K (Feb 25, 2016)

Thank you for responding Erik! I really appreciate the advice, and will be hunting for pencil thick, horizontal and 45 degree sticks and branches to put in their enclosure after work today! 

Anyone else have experiences to share? Out of curiosity, has anyone ever had a female ghost lay an Ooth (infertile or not) in a 32oz deli cup? I have them in something bigger, but I am just curious to see the range of experiences people have had. Also, do they ever lay them on the top or the side of the actual enclosures themselves? I literally have only raised ONE adult female orchid to ooth laying age so far, and she only laid me one infertile ooth while I had her (and it was on the screen top of a Exoterra terrarium), so I am just trying to get a feel for what to expect in the future.


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## LAME (Feb 25, 2016)

They'll lay in 32oz cups.

I wouldn't leave they male unattended,  despite being a "communal" species, the females DO eat the males if they get the chance.


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## Sarah K (Feb 29, 2016)

hey everyone, I have an update!   

I moved my ghost mantises females to a 10 gallon aquarium on Sunday, which contained plenty of horizontal and 45 degree branches. One of them wasted no time laying the infertile Ooth she was due to lay, and was laying it by early afternoon! I caught her in the act, and it was so cool! I never saw a mantis lay an Ooth before this, so naturally,  I had to snap some pics. Check her out!

View attachment 7030


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## Kermit (Feb 29, 2016)

Cool!  Now feed her well again... Nice and plump... Raise the tank temperature, then introduce one or more males... Make sure not to let the food availability dwindle and mist them directly...   Make sure to note the infertil from others. 

Any pic of the 10 gal set up?


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## Sarah K (Feb 29, 2016)

Kermit said:


> Cool!  Now feed her well again... Nice and plump... Raise the tank temperature, then introduce one or more males... Make sure not to let the food availability dwindle and mist them directly...   Make sure to note the infertil from others.
> 
> Any pic of the 10 gal set up?


I will try to get a picture of the tank tonight and post it tomorrow. I should keep her away from the male for at least another 2 weeks while feeding her well again, right?


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## Kermit (Feb 29, 2016)

Keep an eye on her abdomen. You will tell when it is full. If you give her plenty of food she should fill up in two or three days. Now that she is laying oothecas she will continue to do so until she passes away which could be another 6 to 8 weeks, maybe longer. After laying an ooth she will be hungry and ready to fill up again. It is important to make sure she is fertilized so that you don't miss out on any more fertile ooths. The size of the ootheca will be determined by how much food she consumes prior to laying it.


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## Sarah K (Feb 29, 2016)

Thank you Kermit, but I only have one male, and was only able to get him this past weekend. He was a week after his final molt this Sunday when I got him, so she needed to lay that ooth before I had any chance of getting her fertilized, I think. I think maybe he is still not ready? What do you think? Like I said, he has only been an adult for a week.


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## Kermit (Feb 29, 2016)

Yes I agree you should wait a minimum of two weeks to assure the male is good to go. So given that information you might wait a week or two more before introducing the male. In the meantime you can fatten up the female. Good luck keep us posted you're almost a pro!


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## Sarah K (Mar 1, 2016)

Okay, here is the breeding habitat I made for them in the 10 gallon tank. Nothing fancy, but it is certainly functional and includes lots of sticks and places for a male to hide, if he found himself needing to get away. What do you think? Can you spot the ghost mantis? LOL

View attachment 7031


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## Tonypace2009 (Mar 1, 2016)

Are those fake leaves and vines? I like your set up .


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## Kermit (Mar 1, 2016)

Nice work Sarah! " needing to get away"... you should called the "vacation habitat"!!!


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## Sarah K (Mar 2, 2016)

Thanks guys! Glad you like my set up! 



Tonypace2009 said:


> Are those fake leaves and vines? I like your set up .


Yes, all the plants are fake in there. The branches I found outside and baked in the over to sterilize, before placing in the enclosure.


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## Tonypace2009 (Mar 2, 2016)

Where did you get the fall colored leeves? Most of our store around only carry green vines and leeves. I made a mistake and glued most of my real vines to enclosure so now to separate ooths I have to cut my vines. Not a big deal to cut the vines but I should have forseen the issue. Learning curve. A good friend used to tell me if you don't learn from the learning curve it makes a full circle  and you end up right back where you started.

But ironically three Lefts make a right.?


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## Sarah K (Mar 2, 2016)

I got some of them from Ebay, and some of them from Michael's, but it was fall when I happened to go to Michael's, so they might only be available seasonally.


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## Tonypace2009 (Mar 2, 2016)

Thanks. Again looks great with fall colors. I think it suits the ghost mantids better than all green.


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## Sarah K (Mar 4, 2016)

Well, unfortunately one of my females died in this enclosure last night. See this post for more details:



This leaves me with one female, and one male, and the males DeShawn so generously agreed to send me on Monday. Fingers crossed, but this is really quite disappointing. I guess I need to dismantle this entire enclosure, and just start from scratch. I really don't know what caused this death, but I really don't want to take any chances to to lose anyone else.


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## Sarah K (Mar 16, 2016)

Update:

Good news! I was pleased to come home from work and see this in my ghost mantis enclosure today! Thanks again Deshawn for sending me this female! As you can see, she is doing great!  

View attachment 7157


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## CosbyArt (Mar 17, 2016)

Congrats! Best wishes for many fertile ooths from your female.


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## LAME (Mar 17, 2016)

Awesome job.


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## Tonypace2009 (Mar 17, 2016)

Hopefully she will lay a ooth for you in a few days. Congratulations


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## Sarah K (Mar 17, 2016)

Thanks all! I am so excited to get to this stage of my mantis lives for the first time! I will keep you updated!


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