"Critter Case" - had trouble with this enclosure, wouldn't recommend

[Vespertino]

I bought a couple of "critter cases", which are circular mesh cages, for my little Carolinas to move the girls into new condos. It seemed like a good idea at first, but I noticed their little claws would get stuck in the mesh now and then, and yesterday one got so badly snared I had to cut the mesh to free her. Just wanted to report in case anyone else was thinking of buying this exact enclosure.

 

[dmina]

WOW... thanks for the info... I was looking at one of those for my grandson... nix that idea... What a shame... They look cute and easy to open..

I would like to know if anyone else has ever had one of these?

 

[Ranitomeya]

I had one of these as a child. They tend not to close completely and you can get escapes. I remember the mesh on mine being pretty loose as well, so I'm not surprised you had a mantis get its claws stuck.
If you can switch out the mesh for something safer, they would work just fine.

 

[Vespertino]

Yeah it was cute and easy to open, but it might work for much smaller mantids where the claws/barbs on the tibia and femur don't get quite as long. The one I had to cut free had both forearms stuck, and with the claws hooked into the mesh in different directions so it was impossible for her to wiggle free. It might work better for other kinds of pets. I didn't have trouble with the doors overall, but they occasionally needed to be tightened up on the inside with eyeglass tools.

 

[Rick]

Carolina mantids do just fine in 32 oz insect cups. If you want something a bit nicer looking I recommend the 2.5 gal mini aquariums. You can get screen lids for them and glass dividers. I cut extra notches so I can divide the tanks into thirds and keep three mantids in each one.

 

[jseng]

Hey Rick, I have a couple of those 2.5 gallon tanks and was thinking of trying to add dividers just as you described. Would you mind sharing where you found glass dividers for them?

 

[mantisman 230]

I prefer the acrylic critter keepers as they are called. Inexpensive, but easily changed to suit any species of mantis. I kept a pair of Heterochaeta orientalis in my largest. They shed without issue.

 

[KevinsWither]

Carolina mantids do just fine in 32 oz insect cups. If you want something a bit nicer looking I recommend the 2.5 gal mini aquariums. You can get screen lids for them and glass dividers. I cut extra notches so I can divide the tanks into thirds and keep three mantids in each one.

How do you do that with the dividers.