Ghost Communal

[rhysofliyue]

Raising 5 of these lil fellows currently in a closely supervised (and I mean closely, their enclosure is next to my bed LOL!) communal setting. So far I’m thinking there’s 2 females and 3 males, though I’m still fairly new to the hobby and not great at identification. I had my first molt since I’ve gotten them this week! All 5 had perfect molts with no injuries or casualties so I’m naturally very excited. And I have to say, the color variation in these babies is BEAUTIFUL. I’m especially fond of Avocado, she’s a gorgeous green. I also have a very dark colored one, two fairly medium brown ones, and then the most recently molted one is like almost an army green and tan, stripey color? Regardless, I’m very very excited about their safe molts and how lovely they are. I haven’t had any issues really with communal living yet though I did move the first female that molted into her own enclosure temporarily since she was way ahead of the others while they were small and seemed a lil TOO interested in them lol! But she’s back with the rest now and everyone’s getting on fine! Here’s a few pics of the last baby molting and then the rest of them! I think they’re L4 now? Maybe? If anyone wants to correct that, please feel free!

 

[rhysofliyue]

She(?) was the first to molt!

 

[Kayla Smith]

She(?) was the first to molt!

Yep! Female

 

[Ckowsky]

2nd on that being a nice female! If you're unsure about IDing, I think you're more than free to post pics of the rest and have some assistance.

p.s. ghosts are one of the top tier mantids imo; congrats on the group!

 

[rhysofliyue]

2nd on that being a nice female! If you're unsure about IDing, I think you're more than free to post pics of the rest and have some assistance.

p.s. ghosts are one of the top tier mantids imo; congrats on the group!

Thank you!! All molts are completed and they've graduated to larger feeders
I'll post individual pics with everyone today or tomorrow but I'm fairly confident I have 2 females and 3 males!
Everyone's still getting along swimmingly so here's hoping it stays that away for a couple more instars lol!!

 

[TheWolven]

Hey this pretty cool!! I really do suggest filling the cube with more decor, so the mantises have more places to hide from each other. This will reduce the risk of cannibalism.

 

[rhysofliyue]

Hey this pretty cool!! I really do suggest filling the cube with more decor, so the mantises have more places to hide from each other. This will reduce the risk of cannibalism.

I’d had a bunch more of the moss and decor in general in there but they really just won’t use any of it and since I mostly let them hunt their prey naturally within the cube (removing the bodies of dudes that didn’t get eaten is not fun), the flies were just not getting caught because they kept hiding in all the decor I did just order some nice bendy like moss branch things? so we’ll see if maybe they appreciate that a bit more!

 

[rhysofliyue]

I’d had a bunch more of the moss and decor in general in there but they really just won’t use any of it and since I mostly let them hunt their prey naturally within the cube (removing the bodies of dudes that didn’t get eaten is not fun), the flies were just not getting caught because they kept hiding in all the decor I did just order some nice bendy like moss branch things? so we’ll see if maybe they appreciate that a bit more!

I also had like cleaned silk flowers and branches all throughout and across before but they didn’t like those either

 

[Orin]

Congrats on success so far. They do eat each other but are certainly communalish.

 

[craigbaker]

 

[craigbaker]

This is how to keep ghosts communally. It requires being fed very often and there still is a chance of loosing some to cannibalism. Gravid females are ravenous and can’t help themselves sometimes. Look at all the ooths they laid. I even let some ooth hatch in there and with providing enough cover and area for them to separate they are quite comfortable. I do many species like this but warning, don’t try this without having enough space for them and keeping them well fed is key

 

[rhysofliyue]

This is how to keep ghosts communally. It requires being fed very often and there still is a chance of loosing some to cannibalism. Gravid females are ravenous and can’t help themselves sometimes. Look at all the ooths they laid. I even let some ooth hatch in there and with providing enough cover and area for them to separate they are quite comfortable. I do many species like this but warning, don’t try this without having enough space for them and keeping them well fed is key

I always try to keep a few smaller snack sized prey items in there in case someone gets a bit peaky. And those look like the type of branches I ordered, should be here in the next day or two. Plus I do have extra enclosures in case I need to make separations throughout their growth, but since everyone molted, I haven't had any issues at all. Hoping my luck continues. Thank you for the examples!

 

[rhysofliyue]

One of my lovely ladies just vibing~
Long time no update but everyone is still doing wonderfully! we just had another successful molt from all 5

 

[rhysofliyue]

I’ll post a picture of my gorgeous green girl soon but she’s too freshly molted to handle right now

 

[Mystymantis]

Awesome, I love green ghosts they are so pretty!

 

[rhysofliyue]

Awesome, I love green ghosts they are so pretty!

She’s my absolute pride and joy!!!

 

[Mystymantis]

Awww! She is so beautiful! what a pretty mantis!

 

[rhysofliyue]

Awww! She is so beautiful! what a pretty mantis!

Thank you sm! I can’t wait to see what a lovely adult she grows into (along with the rest of them haha)

 

[Mantis Lady]

A green ghost is special. She is beautiful

 

[rhysofliyue]

Cube clean out today before feeding time so I figured I’d get a few group pics