Advice please

[CapLoD]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum and after searching the internet for a few hours tonight I stumbled upon it. I am almost new to Mantises except for an occasion when I was young and hatched a home depot egg case.

I released the young into the garden and a couple months later saw a huge mantis on the windshield of the car when I had never once seen an adult mantis before in my life.

I am here seeking advice. My endgame goal is to successfully keep Orchid Mantis's in a lush terrarium environment. Can anyone suggest the best way to work my way up the difficulty scale? I am not professionally trained in insects though I am not an idiot. The most important thing is for me to learn enough to keep them with minimal chance of death.

Death by ignorance is not an option for me.

Please advise me!

Thanks

CapLoD

 

[Rick]

Welcome. Please register and post an intro in the introductions forum

Orchids are not hard at all to keep. I have tried with other mantids to make lush terrariums with live plants. Fact is mantids are easier to keep in small containers. They generally must be kept individually as they will eat each other. Also, in a large cage you tend to have to feed them more in order for them to be able to find the food. In a smaller cage they can find it easily.

 

[Peter Clausen]

A "small" terrarium should be fine. I have a nice 2 gallon hexagonal that makes a wonderful display cage for medium-sized mantis. Adult mantids do fairly well in ten gallon aquariums, though Rick's points about feeders definitely come into play if you have a lot of vegetation and hiding places in a habitat this size. Mantids watch for food, but they don't usually go traipsing through the daisies to find it.

I hand feed many of my display mantises (with a long pair of tweezers...drawing a blank on the correct term for this tool). This way, I know they've eaten and whether they're hungry. Most will take the food immediately.

Peter

 

[Kruszakus]

Keep it small, keep is simple and well ventilated - remember that they will need high humidity levels - this will force you to clean the cages once in a while, or faeces and insect remains will mould and this may seriously affect the mantis.

I would not go for higher temperatures unless you have a system that would allow you to keep humidity levels high regardless of the temperature - other that than, water will quickly evaporate and it may be too dry for the mantis to shed.

 

[joossa]

I would start with an easier, more forgiving and less expensive species and then try the orchid. Something along the lines of Sphodromantis, Tenodera, and Stagmomantis. Just for the beginner's experience.

Also, make sure you read as much as you can on all basic aspects of mantis keeping. Good luck.