# mantis condo



## alicenwnderlnd (Apr 6, 2011)

i have built the ultimate condo. i have it in the living room, not my "bug room" really just as a display. it is functional; however for species that doesn't require to much extra heating. it is a cheap book shelf (19.99) with screening hot glued in.(sounds simple but was a chore) orchid bark on the bottom with a variety of fake flowers. on the top of each enclosure i used fabric screening(for hanging) and a touch light for added lighting. and of course divided the shelves to make a complete 8 enclosures. i am making another but going to try all fabric netting in that one to try to lighten it up a bit. B) 





P1010506 by


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## angelofdeathzz (Apr 6, 2011)

Very innovative, I built something like it out of a large wire bird cage awhile back for a bunch of Chinese, but I don't see any doors or openings?


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## alicenwnderlnd (Apr 6, 2011)

The doors are cut into the front and used a second screen over the opening, Velcro to keep secured. that was the hare part but worked out well


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## animalexplorer (Apr 6, 2011)

What do you do for lighting each unit?


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## warpdrive (Apr 6, 2011)

I think it's cool looking. far better then I would have done as I'm so bad at do-it-yourself projects.

nice job.

Harry


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## alicenwnderlnd (Apr 6, 2011)

LOL... you should see the wood frame one i tried... it came out kinda square.. but not really... thats what led me to this one... lol... thanks!


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## alicenwnderlnd (Apr 6, 2011)

animalexplorer said:


> What do you do for lighting each unit?


the lighting is one of those touch lights..like you would use in a small closet or something, but smaller. (dollar store). the bad thing is to have to turn each one off individually and i don't think that the batteries will last long. it took me a while to figure out what to use, the top two stories get quite a bit of light from the window and terrarium next to it but the bottom two have to have lights. thats why im going to use fabric netting next and see if it makes them brighter, otherwise im going to have to figure something else out as replacing 8 lights with 3aaa each will get expensive. :huh:


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## Rick (Apr 7, 2011)

Looks good! Well lighting in each one really isn't necessary for the mantids. That would just be for you. How do you open it to feed?


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## hibiscusmile (Apr 7, 2011)

Was it wire screen? either wire or fiberglass comes in a nice gray and when used it is a lot lighter and is nice to see thru.


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## hibiscusmile (Apr 7, 2011)

Oh yea, and one of those nice standup lamps with the five diff heads would run around 20.00 and u could posistion it to hit most of the areas.


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## alicenwnderlnd (Apr 7, 2011)

hibiscusmile said:


> Was it wire screen? either wire or fiberglass comes in a nice gray and when used it is a lot lighter and is nice to see thru.


its fiberglass, couldn't find it in the gray... not that i spent a lot of tome looking :huh: i got some green fabric netting for .25 a yard, i am going to try it. and the light is a good idea, at least that would just be one plug...


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## alicenwnderlnd (Apr 7, 2011)

Rick said:


> Looks good! Well lighting in each one really isn't necessary for the mantids. That would just be for you. How do you open it to feed?


just cut out a square on the front ant put another piece of screen on the front and secured with Velcro. I did add mantis to it yesterday, mostly L-5 Chinese. added about 4 blue bottles to make sure they could catch one, no problems.... :innocent: 

then.... there was a fly out :whistling: then 2 then quite a few  guess i'll have to add more velcro :sweatdrop:


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## Krissim Klaw (Apr 7, 2011)

How much do you charge for rent per a room? My two girls just shed to adulthood and are ready to move out and get a place of their own.


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## alicenwnderlnd (Apr 7, 2011)

Krissim Klaw said:


> How much do you charge for rent per a room? My two girls just shed to adulthood and are ready to move out and get a place of their own.


rent free if i have a male to go with  B)


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## Katnapper (Apr 7, 2011)

I love the look of your customized bookshelf/condominium. Very nice work... I can tell you put a lot of thought and effort into it.  

But I am wondering about a couple of things. Not sure about the Velcro to fasten an opening... even if velcroed all around; just not a foolproof closing like hot glue, zipper, etc. It's amazing how small of holes insects will get through if they have the will.

But mostly I'm wondering how you're going to clean the unit when the inevitable soiling happens. Seems like it might be a challenge.

One caveat with the fabric mesh... some insects (crickets especially come to mind) will make short work of eating escape holes in it. Also sometimes mantids accidentally grab fabric or mesh along with the prey it rests on, and can make holes or rips by eating whatever else is in their grasp, right along with the insect, or by way of incidental damage from their raptorial claws. Just some things to consider...

Best of luck with your new mantis homes! They look great, and I hope they work out as well.


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## alicenwnderlnd (Apr 8, 2011)

Katnapper said:


> I love the look of your customized bookshelf/condominium. Very nice work... I can tell you put a lot of thought and effort into it.
> 
> But I am wondering about a couple of things. Not sure about the Velcro to fasten an opening... even if velcroed all around; just not a foolproof closing like hot glue, zipper, etc. It's amazing how small of holes insects will get through if they have the will.
> 
> ...


ya, the velcro not working the greatest.... flies are escaping... might need to re-think that.(and im getting a lot of complaints about the free roaming flies)  .... for cleaning i have a big enough opening to scoop or even remove all the substrate from the bottom. I am stuck on the door issue now. im thinking your zipper idea sound pretty good. i might try that tomorrow  

the chinese mantis are very happy with the accommodations, they have been great testers...and not easily persuaded to move back out, so ill have to figure it out quick. :sweatdrop: 

Thanks for the idea.


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## sporeworld (Apr 8, 2011)

You can do the same thing with mesh that I do with screen. You can cut a hole in the mesh. The insert plastic, cardboard, milk bottle cap, or whatever - just so long as it has a hole in it and holds it's shape. Glue it in place (this also keeps it from tearing) and plug it with a foam cork.







You can also line the bottom of your shelves with wax paper or just papertowel and remove it every week or so. This will keep staining to a minimum.


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## dgerndt (Apr 8, 2011)

Very nice! I could never do something like that myself. I can barely make my own deli cup lids. lol!


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## MantisNation (Apr 8, 2011)

How did you place the dividers in the middle? Would of been great if you had pictures building it step by step. Looks really Nice though, now you have me thinking o_0 lol' Where did you get the shelf from?


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## alicenwnderlnd (Apr 8, 2011)

MantisNation said:


> How did you place the dividers in the middle? Would of been great if you had pictures building it step by step. Looks really Nice though, now you have me thinking o_0 lol' Where did you get the shelf from?


the dividers are the same fiberglass screening i used on the outside of it, i simply hot glued a "seal" around every inch of it, i was really paranoid about a mantis crossing over and getting eaten by its neighbor. i thought it would be hard, but it was the simple part, and worked great. the shelves came from Osh Hardware store and they were only 19.99. maybe i can do the step by step with the second one that is calling to me to get done. thanks for the compliment, i think it looks nice too. but, i had to move it back to the "bug room" today (until I get the door issue straitened out)as the boyfriend threatened to get raid for the loose flies.. :angry:


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## dgerndt (Apr 9, 2011)

Just let some of your mantids out and they'll take care of the fly problem! :lol:


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