First Mantis, any tips?

[CashPants]

My boyfriend and I are ordering out first mantis tomorrow! We will go with an easy, beginner level guy of course. Do any of you seasoned mantis parents have any little tips that won't be in a book? Any quirks we should know about?

Thanks!

 

[Paradoxica]

That all depends what kind you are getting.

 

[CashPants]

We are doing research tonight and deciding that tonight

 

[Paradoxica]

Well my only general advice is make sure you have the mantises food before the mantis arrives.

 

[hierodula]

Well my only general advice is make sure you have the mantises food before the mantis arrives.

I agree. Depending on the size I would generally recommend fruit flies for L1-L2 mantis (usually hydei for larger species and malanogaster for smaller ones) Then on, use any prey that is 1/3 the mantis length, although some species will tackle their prey and are very agressive. For those (hierodula, rhombodera) I would go up to 1/2 their size if they are willing to take it. Make sure you use distilled water to mist them. I have lost several mantids accidentaly using tap water. Best of luck!

 

[CashPants]

Thank you for the feeder size advice! On a similar note, we are most likely going with the starter pack (enclosure, mist bottle, feeder flies, etc) from MantisPets.com. Not to cause any problems or bring up drama (if there is any) but is this a good place to order from? I've looked around on here and send some bad stories of sellers and shipping and such, just want to cover my bases. They look like a great place to buy from and the starter pack would be so easy for us.

Probably going to get a South American Green Mantis or a Tenodera Sinensis to start with. Thank you so much for being so receptive, just poking around in this forum has taught me so much!

 

[TySAAAN]

Its a good deal! I purchased it myself. But be warned, the enclosure is quite packed and smaller than in the pictures. By the way, the starter package comes with an Egyptian Mantis. It used to come with a Ghost Mantis.

 

[hierodula]

<p>I would recommend a bigger mantis like the giant asian or H.Majuscula. I find smaller mantids a bit more difficult because if they are hurt, it is harder to hand feed and help them in other ways. I would recommend getting enclosure supplies from a pet store. Critter keepers are ideal, but for the mantids and their food, mantisplace is a good spot to get them. <img alt=" " class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://mantidforum.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.png" title=" "></p>

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[Krissim Klaw]

My suggestion would be to pick up one of the net cubes along with your purchase. Far more room than the smaller containers and your adult mantises will especially enjoy the extra space.

 

[CashPants]

We went with the giant asian, should be here middle of the week. We are going to the pet store tomorrow to get some odds and ends and grabbing some sticks and bark on the way home.

I'm having it delivered to my office, should be fun for my co-workers when it arrives, lol.

Thank you all so much for the guidance, I'll post some photos as soon as I can

 

[Paradoxica]

I've got one of those, they are a very cool species. At first I thought they were too plain looking but after I got one from Rebecca as a mystery mantis I really like them. There's just something awesome about handling the Giant species.

 

[hierodula]

Yeah the giant asians live long and have such great personalities :wub: . The first exotic I got was a giant asian named brownie well, because she was brown (I know I'm creative). When starting I like having only a few mantids, because you get to know them better. Can't wait to see pics of that lucky mantis! Show us your enclosure too!

 

[gs304]

Some tips from me.

Feed mantid until it stops catching. When it stops, it means that mantid is full. When it keeps ignoring food for 2 days, don't worry - moulting is coming (not a strict rule but usually works)

When you open a container or handle your mantid remember, that they like jumping and always move up, so e.g. to the top of your finger. You can use that fact to make mantid go inside the container - just turn it upside down. Mantid will climb up.

If you see it's abdomen pulsing and front legs looking different than usually (a little bit opened) you can expect moulting.

Good luck!

 

[fleurdejoo]

Good luck!

I agree about the bigger species.

I started out with ghosts and always worried about weather they were eating.

They're so small it's hard to see!

My larger ones were easier imo.

You can always ask questions here this is a wonderfully helpful community!

Your co workers are probably going to be grossed out at least by feeders, at least that's been my experience.

I think Mantispets gets good reviews, Mantisplace.com is my go to though.

 

[hierodula]

Good luck!

I agree about the bigger species.

I started out with ghosts and always worried about weather they were eating.

They're so small it's hard to see!

My larger ones were easier imo.

You can always ask questions here this is a wonderfully helpful community!

Your co workers are probably going to be grossed out at least by feeders, at least that's been my experience.

I think Mantispets gets good reviews, Mantisplace.com is my go to though.

+1

every one here is here because we all love mantids (No way! :tt2: ) and we all are here to share our knowledge with anyone who needs it!

 

[CashPants]

Gah, I keep checking my email for a shipping confirmation. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas.

I want my bug!

*Autocorrect turned my 'gah' to 'gay'. I'm sorry if that looked iffy/middle school to anyone. *

 

[hierodula]

Lol i know how that feels. But when you get it itll be all the sweeter.

 

[GreenOasis]

Hello Cash,

I actually looked you up when I saw I had a kit going to an office in Washington! I hope everything was satisfactory. I love H. membranaceas myself. I am breeding them again right now, matter of fact.

Sorry for the delayed response! I haven't had much time to get on here, what with all the orders the past several months!

 

[sally]

Oh good luck! It is very exciting waiting on a new mantis