Can this work?

[The Dude1]

I've kept ghost mantis in a 12×12×18 exoterra cage many years ago. While moving etc I tossed all my nice exo terra cages. I have 3 large planted aquariums and I love all types of animals. I've kept poison dart frogs and would like to do so again one day once I'm happy with my aquarium set ups. 

This 8×8×8 cube is a garden I made for my Mom to help me deal with losing her suddenly one year ago. The plants are all aquatic species growing in their emersed forms. Vesicularia moss, ludwigia ruben, HC Cuba, and several varieties of bucephelandra. I must several times a day. The lid is plexiglas.  It is tight fitting and secure. I can see with spring tails as I did previously. I have other aquariums, but they are in my non air conditioned garage until we move to our TN home where I have a very large 1000 square ft workshop for my aquariums and terrariums. That being said I MAY be able to move to a larger cube in 8-10 months. Perhaps 12×12, but not much larger. 

Questions...

1. Is this environment suitable? Temp stays 75 in the day to maybe 70* at night. High humidity.

2. I love ghost mantids. Can they work? If not, what are other suitable hearty mantids that could, if there are any. 

 

[Predatorhousepet]

That's a beautiful terrarium but no, this set up is far from ideal for a mantis and I don't see many ways to fix it.The standing water is a big problem, it is a drowning hazard if they fall during molting or for any other reason. Also mantids like to hang from the ceiling, while most species can walk on glass they can also fall off it easily. There would need to be something they can grip onto on the underside of the lid like plastic mesh or fiberglass screen and some sticks. This would likely detract from the beauty of your garden and block some of the light. The next problem is ventilation and humidity. It is likely too humid for most species, even ones that need a lot of humidity. Ghosts would not be ok in 99% humidity all the time. While the live plants would help with exchange of CO2 & oxygen there isn't any ventilation until you remove the lid & ventilation is super important for most species. Also, mantises frequently make a mess while eating. That water would quickly turn yucky & brown from the pieces of discarded bugs and mantis poop. The live plants would break down some of it but not fast enough to make a difference. In an enclosure with live plants where you don't change out substrate you need cleaner insects to help clean up after your mantis. This set up isn't ideal for them either.

If a new exo terra is out of your price range right now you you can check if any used ones are for sale in the insect or herp related facebook groups or you can make something yourself. There are many types of clear plastic containers that can be modified to suit a mantis. I've seen people use food containers, doll display boxes, acrylic shoe boxes, lanterns with glass sides & a door, wide mouth glass jars, storage boxes, and aquariums.

Modified Plastic Food Jars

Or you can build an enclosure out of a wood or pvc frame with acrylic, glass or screen sides. It's even possible to build one out of mostly acrylic or glass using pet safe silicone to hold it together. There are a lot of examples of home made enclosures on Pinterest not only for praying mantises but also check the ones for aboreal spiders & tarantulas for ideas. 

One of the simplest and cheapest routes for nymphs is to start them in a 32 oz deli cup with a polyfiber lid. These can usually be bought for under $1 ea from most mantis sellers. Some species are small enough that they can continue to live in the deli cup throughout their entire life but for larger species it gives you time to figure something out for their larger permanent enclosure. 

32oz Deli Cup

 

[Mantis Lady]

it looks beautiful, but not a home home for a mantis.

There are no places to hang and if mantids like 1 thing, it is to hang upside down on something and it is mostly on the lids of their homes. and no standing water. mantids don't drink from that. I advise you the same like @Predatorhousepet

 

[The Dude1]

Thank you both. I have been looking at building a taller exo terra cage for dwarf orchids, bromeliads and maybe tilidansia. Cork background and some kind of small vine. I would have some manzanita branches. Could I cover branches and substrate with moss or do they not like that? I'm very much looking for a total presentation 

 

[Predatorhousepet]

You can put live moss on the substrate, I did that in all my planted exo terras. As for on the branches maybe sparingly so they are able to still climb the branches without there being a thick layer of moss to get in the way. The rest of it sounds good. This is a pic of my first planted terrarium right after I finished it. I added some Tillandensia and the plants are slightly taller and more lush now. View attachment 10484

When you design yours just be sure to leave enough space in the upper half for your mantis to molt (about 3 times the length of their body.) You may need to trim back some of the vines and plants if it gets too dense, especially near the top.

 

[Ocelotbren]

That garden is beautiful, but as mentioned, not ideal for mantids. However, you obviously have a gift for designing vivariums and similar, so I have no doubt you'll be able to come up with something amazing that is also mantid-friendly. The creativity is half the fun of keeping mantids, in my opinion!

Good luck and please share your end result if you do decide to put something together.