NuclearMantis
New member
Greetings all. I'm glad I found this place. I live in Northern California, right near the Oregon border, and just caught a mantis today. This is only the second one up here I've seen, and both of this and the other one I saw were within two weeks of each other. I'm fairly sure from looking at pictures that it is a European Mantis. Currently it's residing in a large mason jar with saran wrap with air holes over the top. It's got two smallish sticks in there along with two sowbugs for food. I misted the inside of jar earlier so it's got moisture. I've done some reading online since I got it, but I've still got a few questions. I plan on visiting a pet store as soon as I can to ask them as well. Any help here is most appreciated.
Survival and Health Questions-
•Should I save it or release it back outside? I'd like to have it as a pet, but I've only seen the two and only recently, I don't want to impact their survival up here.
•What sort of living area should I give it, how often should I give it water, and how many and what kinds of bugs should I feed it?
•It was kind of dragging one of its rear legs behind it and kept falling on its back, but now it seems to be alright. Is it injured?
•Is the average indoor temperature (around 68F) alright for it and does it need to be more in the sun or not?
•How long until it stops tapping at the glass of the jar trying to get out and is that normal?
•How long should I wait before I try and handle it and how should I go about doing so? (Also, if I smoke a cigarette and then handle it, could nicotine residue on my hands be harmful to it?)
ID Questions-
•Am I correct in my ID of it? It's about 2 1/2 inches long, green with red along the edges and tips of the wings. It's legs are reddish as well. On the inside of each upper arm it has a black spot with smaller white spot inside it. The claw at the tip of the arm is yellow with a black tip.
•How can I tell for sure if it's a male or a female?
•Is there any way to determine, roughly, it's age?
Other questions-
•What are those little feeler-things above its claws?
•What should I name it?
Again, ANY help is greatly appreciated since this is not only my first interaction with any sort of mantid but it is also my first pet since I was a very young child. And those were fish.
Thanks again.
Survival and Health Questions-
•Should I save it or release it back outside? I'd like to have it as a pet, but I've only seen the two and only recently, I don't want to impact their survival up here.
•What sort of living area should I give it, how often should I give it water, and how many and what kinds of bugs should I feed it?
•It was kind of dragging one of its rear legs behind it and kept falling on its back, but now it seems to be alright. Is it injured?
•Is the average indoor temperature (around 68F) alright for it and does it need to be more in the sun or not?
•How long until it stops tapping at the glass of the jar trying to get out and is that normal?
•How long should I wait before I try and handle it and how should I go about doing so? (Also, if I smoke a cigarette and then handle it, could nicotine residue on my hands be harmful to it?)
ID Questions-
•Am I correct in my ID of it? It's about 2 1/2 inches long, green with red along the edges and tips of the wings. It's legs are reddish as well. On the inside of each upper arm it has a black spot with smaller white spot inside it. The claw at the tip of the arm is yellow with a black tip.
•How can I tell for sure if it's a male or a female?
•Is there any way to determine, roughly, it's age?
Other questions-
•What are those little feeler-things above its claws?
•What should I name it?
Again, ANY help is greatly appreciated since this is not only my first interaction with any sort of mantid but it is also my first pet since I was a very young child. And those were fish.
Thanks again.