A tardy introduction from Orlando

acerbity · Nov 6, 2007

I started the mantis hobby early this summer when I found a Gonatista Grisea on a broken pine branch I was putting in the trash bin... The decision to keep him would forever alter the course of history (not really). I started with buying small crickets for him from some local "family" owned pet shops (petco and petsupermarket don't care for their crickets enough or categorize them any more than "big" and "small." ) Unfortunately, the combination of this being a hard mantis to keep coupled with my limited experience resulted in him dying a few weeks after reaching his final moult (he shed about 4 times, so I had him for 4 months or more). His forearms (the part past his blades) had been chewed away and was obviously from crickets and he eventually died. In this amount of time I had already bought a new Mantis from a local pet store that Reggie (Mantisfu) sells to (a Nigerian Flower Mantis). So now I have this Nigerian Flower Mantis Nymph (probably only 1 molt away from adult) and a B. Mendica of the same source.

I bought a Chinese Ooth so I will have a bearing on how to deal with a mass of mantids ( some people locally have expressed interest) since I have some aquariums and container to deal with them- any more and they will feast on my over-grown yard. I have an Orchid Ooth coming from Rick and I have no problems buying a lamp for the females so that I can breed them (since females need a growth boost), but if I get a massive amount I will be spreading the joy of mantids here in Orlando!

I'm not overly experienced in Mantids but I come from a history of boring stuff like RPG gaming and other tedious unrewarding activities like advanced yo-yo-ing tricks, so Mantises are as exciting as watching pop-corn pop! I meaninglessly retain information (ie: mantis species) of things I have no relation to, so I look through the "what type of mantis is this" topics and see if I can ID the mantis before reading further posts for feelings of satisfaction.

I've posted here a little bit and have gotten to know Some members:

Rebecca: I've ordered a Chinese Ooth (and Nymph containers) so I will have real experience hatching mantids before my Orchids hatch

Mantisfu: Lives here in Orlando and by proxy have bought some mantids from him

Mantis Keeper: Lives in Florida and relays info about our Grisea and feeding tips

Asdsdf

sp) Goes out of his way to give me whatever info I could use about my past mantids and future prospects

Rick: Wears the Jesus sandals of Mod-itude and honestly gave me the poster priority in buying his Orchid Ooth before other seasoned breeders or posters did (a sparkling example of non-elitist treatment)

ZOMGZ LONG POSTS- I'm cutting it off now!