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Well, bad news, I'm afraid my mantis is dead :( Came back and he was lying on the floor of the cup. There's no signs of shed skin, so I don't think it was a moulting gone wrong- I think it was starvation. I tried all the things suggested and he refused to eat. When he refused last night I...

They're some great ideas. I've been using tweezers, so I'll try a needle instead. You're right, it's probably the tweezers/my hand he's scared of. I'd probably run too if a giant hand suddenly came down and tried to feed me dinner! I live in the UK. Mosquitos are a bit rarer here ;) Well...

I'm trying this, but he's having none of it. Seriously, I chopped up a small cricket, offered it him and he ran a mile. Is this normal behaviour? I'll try feeding him tomorrow just in case it's because he's not hungry. Now though I've got a sodding box of crickets and nobody to give them to...

Sadly it's a bit of a chilly day round here today, so nothing's out and about. Yesterday though there were aphids everywhere- shame I didn't think to catch any! Feeding's proving a bit tricky- for saying they're lethargic the crickets still move a lot when I'm trying to catch them. Turns out my...

brb, tying tiny knots on flies. Heh, well, back from pet shop. I bought the smallest things they had. It's still not ideal- they're about the size of my mantis so I'm popping them in the fridge to make them extra lethargic- but hopefully it should tide it over until Tuesday.

Well, my first ever mantis arrived in the post today- thank you ever so much for all the advice! You guys are briliant :D My new pet is an African mantis, and is a week or two old. I know it's better off getting one at about the 3rd instar, but I've been having loads of trouble trying to find...

I've been on a bit of a gardening kick recently, and the thought occurred to me...why not use my terrarium as a herb garden? My tank is fairly large, so there's enough room for both the mantids and the plants, as well as being warm and moist. The waste the mantid produces would be recycled by...

The terrarium I have is is quite large because it was a present. It's tall rather than long though, and I hear that height is better for mantids. Plus, and I think this is just me here, I'd feel a bit bad by keeping one mantid in this nice big tank and the other in a smaller one ;) On Monday...

Thanks for all your help guys! I think I will go for mail order then...I've been waiting long enough with the pet shops. Although now I'm wondering about the 'get more than one' thing...I'm unable to have another tank to keep several individuals. As I mentioned before, my terrarium might be...

No, I live in the UK. I can't believe all the trouble I've been having...I've actually found more crocodiles for sale than African mantids! Thank you ever so much though for your kind offer! That's very nice of you :) You bought up another point that worries me; survival in boxes. Reading...

Well, my adventures in getting my first ever mantis have ground to a halt. I have the terrarium and everything to put in it...everything save the mantis! Since I'm a complete beginner I decided to get an African mantis, since they're hardy and apparently good for the novice. The problem is...

I think my problem is that I'm overthinking it...this is the first time I've ever tried to keep a pet so complicated, so I'm terrified of doing the wrong thing! I really don't want to end up killing it by accident after only a few days. Plus I can't exactly go out and catch a new one! I'm not...

Pretty soon I'll be getting my first mantid. I'm going for an African mantid, since I've heard they're good for beginners and pretty hardy too. I've got an awesome terrarium (30cm x 30cm x 45cm), and I'm in the proces of setting it up. I've been reading through the archives of this forum, so I...

Hello there, everyone! I'm Raya, and pretty soon I'm going to be the owner of a lovely little mantid...and after lurking round here for a bit, I found you guys to be a brilliant source of information and advice! So I hope you won't mind this complete novice hovering around :)