First mantis

[Kris02]

I'm preparing to get my first mantis, an l2 ghost mantis. I still have a couple of questions regarding their care.

1. Is it alright to feed them mealworms and fruit flies or are there better insects to feed them

2. When I'm feeding fruit flies, can I release a couple into it's enclosure every few days (except when molting) 

3. If I'm getting it at l2, how long should I expect to have it until it dies?

4. Is bugs in cyberspace a reliable place to buy it?

 

[hysteresis]

I'm preparing to get my first mantis, an l2 ghost mantis. I still have a couple of questions regarding their care.

1. Is it alright to feed them mealworms and fruit flies or are there better insects to feed them

2. When I'm feeding fruit flies, can I release a couple into it's enclosure every few days (except when molting) 

3. If I'm getting it at l2, how long should I expect to have it until it dies?

4. Is bugs in cyberspace a reliable place to buy it?

Hi Kris!

At L2 through L3 ish, feed it Drosophilia hydei (black flightless ff). You can purchase cultures online, or at reptile stores. Worms and grubs might be abit on the big side.

Use a small cup as an enclosure, at that instar. Depending on the size of the cup release 5 to 10 every couple of days. Too big a cup and it would be hard for it to hunt.

Longevity varies on temperatures and how you feed it. Cooler and less feed is slower metabolism and longer life. The opposite and they speed up. About a year for males, up to a year and a half for females, but may vary from individual to individual.

Yes, BIC is extremely reputable. In fact, they operate this forum. 

Best of luck!

 

[Synapze]

1. Is it alright to feed them mealworms and fruit flies or are there better insects to feed them

They are probably too small for meal worms. If you DO choose to attempt to feed meal worms, remove the heads and try feeding the body fluids of the worm. BTW... a meal worm bite can kill a mantis. 

2. When I'm feeding fruit flies, can I release a couple into it's enclosure every few days (except when molting) 

I would release more than a couple depending on the size of the enclosure, which should probably be a 32oz cup. I suggest keeping approximately 6 in the enclosure until the nymph grows larger except when a molt is eminent. 

3. If I'm getting it at l2, how long should I expect to have it until it dies?

Too many factors to estimate, but I would count on 10-12 months... roughly. 

4. Is bugs in cyberspace a reliable place to buy it?

Absolutely! This forum wouldn't exist without them... literally. They provide this forum as a learning resource for mantid keepers of all experience levels. 

Hope that helps!

 

[MantisGirl13]

Seems like you've gotten your answers, so I will just +1 all that has been said! 

- MantisGirl13

 

[Kris02]

Hi Kris!

At L2 through L3 ish, feed it Drosophilia hydei (black flightless ff). You can purchase cultures online, or at reptile stores. Worms and grubs might be abit on the big side.

Use a small cup as an enclosure, at that instar. Depending on the size of the cup release 5 to 10 every couple of days. Too big a cup and it would be hard for it to hunt.

Longevity varies on temperatures and how you feed it. Cooler and less feed is slower metabolism and longer life. The opposite and they speed up. About a year for males, up to a year and a half for females, but may vary from individual to individual.

Yes, BIC is extremely reputable. In fact, they operate this forum. 

Best of luck!

Super helpful

What would you recommend I feed it once it's a little too big for fruit flies? I would like to avoid cockroaches so maybe some type of housefly or worm?

 

[MantisGirl13]

If you want to avoid roaches, you can definitely do house flies, moths, if you want to handfeed, you can do mealworms (with the head crushed).

- MantisGirl13

 

[hysteresis]

Super helpful

What would you recommend I feed it once it's a little too big for fruit flies? I would like to avoid cockroaches so maybe some type of housefly or worm?

My ghosts are i4. I feed them pieces of black soldier fly larvae, and 1/4 pinhead crickets. Occasionally pieces of waxworm.

In Canada, it's tough to find read-to-serve housefly pupae. Any pupae for that matter, so i'm currently taking my first stab at pupating. In the US it's easy to buy housefly, green bottle fly, and blue bottle fly pupae. That's what I would do.

** Crickets can be tricky. As with mealworms, they can bite the mantis. Mantises are especially vulnerable post-molt, as they're soft and immobile. If they are disturbed, they can fall and mismolt. Also, crickets are prone to dirty gutloads that can kill a mantis. You have to take equal care with your crickets - flushing their guts out with clean food, removing dead crickets (they'll cannibalize their fallen) and be very careful about timing.

An alternative to crickets are grasshoppers. You can buy those as feeders too, and they don't carry as many problems in using them as feeders.

If you can avoid crickets, I would. Roaches are very popular, especially dubias. Unless you live in tropical climates, dubias wont colonize at room temperature.

Regardless,  you have options!

 

[Mystymantis]

In my experiences with ghosts they seem to be a little more timid in their feeding. They seem to prefer to eat flying foods like fruit flies, Hydei flies, house flies, and blue bottle flies. While they will eat crickets they tend not to be able to get them as easily because Ghost mantises are more of the 'wait to food comes to them' type rather then hunting down the food. Though of course with any species this can vary depending on the individual with some being more outgoing or aggressive then others. But that is my experiences with them. When mine were L3 and L4 they liked to eat multiple fruit flies and Hydei flies at the same time having one fly in one claw and catching another in the other claw. It was very amusing. But as they got older they tended not to eat as much. Also if your ghost is not eating it is perfectly normal, unless it doesn't eat for like 2 weeks or so. But I had mine not eat for a week or more when they were getting closer to a molt when they were larger.

Well anyway, good luck with your first mantis. And of course feel free to ask questions! lots of knowledgeable people here.

Ghosts will live a pretty long time if they reach adulthood. Males will live shorter then females, with females living about 10-12 months and even a year.

 

[Graceface]

Ghosts are fun, I love em!

I feed mine flies exclusively. I move them from FFs to houseflies at L3/4 and then on to Blue Bottle Flies which they eat for the remainder of their life. BBFs are great feeders and my personal fave

There are a few good, reliable sources for flies for US peeps, and I am always happy to recommend some via DM if you need it. 

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress 

 

[Mantis Lady]

My ghosts are mainly eating flies too., They are eating green bottle flies at the moment, after their next molt, they will be getting the blue bottle flies.

When I was out of flies, I gave  dubia goo, but they are not easy to hand feed.