Ghost Colony Terrarium

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agent A

agent A

the autistic flower mantis
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I am gonna use plexiglass under a screen (keeps ff's in, holes will be drillede and covered with mesh), 20 watt light tube on top of lid (light+heat), fake plants hot glued inside, and a big sponge all wet for humidity. Good ideas? I'm gonna get them soon, they are gonna be L2. I'm gonna wait to put them in there, so I can test and if needed, improve it. suggestions welcome! thanks! :lol:

 
Sounds good, just make sure you there are plenty of perches for them. Ghosts are fairly communal, but will eat each other. The best way to minimize cannibalism is to make sure they all have plenty of places to hang from away from each other, and to feed them abundantly. Other than that, it sounds good.

 
agent A said:
oh, it's a 55 gallon tank
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:blink: Seriously?

Um, well that's a problem. Your gonna want to wait until like L5 to put them in there. They would never find any food otherwise. I would personally look for a smaller container for only 6 ghost mantids. Like the size of a 1 foot mesh cube. That would be perfect. ;)

 
ABbuggin said:
:blink: Seriously? Um, well that's a problem. Your gonna want to wait until like L5 to put them in there. They would never find any food otherwise. I would personally look for a smaller container for only 6 ghost mantids. Like the size of a 1 foot mesh cube. That would be perfect. ;)
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when they reproduce and all. Also, is 20 watts going through plexiglass enough to keep them at the right temperature?

 
I agree with AB that you might want to go with a smaller tank until you have more ghosts. Before then and they might have trouble finding the food. A colony in full-swing would be at home in that size of a container.

Temp-wise, Ghosts are pretty forgiving. The suggested temps are 75-85 F, but they're perfectly fine at 70 (which is what I kept mine at until I was ready to mate them). The 20 Watt light should be just the ticket, unless you keep your house cold.

 
You were planning on putting six L2 ghosts into a 55 gallon tank? :blink: :blink: :eek:

Im keeping 5 l4's in one of those small critter keepers and they still seem to have trouble finding food (Remember, this is a type of species that will not move towards prey one bit, but will sit there until food is close enough to grab.)

I suggest raising them normally until they are bigger and maybe using a divider to make a smaller habitat for them if you must have them in your mega container. If all works out, try the next generation in there (will be way more than 6 I presume) and let us know how it works. (I say this selfishly because I am curious to see the results :lol: .)

edit: i think you'll be surprised by how small they are at L2

 
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I will put them in the bigger cage when they get older. I am testing it now to be sure it is safe and has the proper temp and humidity. Will a big wet sponge release humidity for them? Do I need a fogger? I'm using an infared light for heat, and a tube fixture for light. I'l tell you all how it goes. I will keep them in a smaller thing until adulthood, but the smaller cage will be in the giant one! :lol:

 
I recently got 5 at L2 - my first experience with these guys =0

I've been keeping em' all separate - don't want to risk it.

 
agent A said:
I will put them in the bigger cage when they get older. I am testing it now to be sure it is safe and has the proper temp and humidity. Will a big wet sponge release humidity for them? Do I need a fogger? I'm using an infared light for heat, and a tube fixture for light. I'l tell you all how it goes. I will keep them in a smaller thing until adulthood, but the smaller cage will be in the giant one! :lol:
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You do realize how small the adults are?

 

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