ghost mantis terrarium size + other questions

[autumn]

Hi everyone. I have never posted anything on this website yet, so I am sorry if this is in the wrong section. (Please don't ban me. Just inform me and I will repost it in the proper topic.)

I do not own a ghost mantis, but I have been interested in one for a few weeks. I know that I would love to get a nice sized terrarium that would provide him with a lot of room to roam. I have a lot of questions I would like to ask.  If you own a ghost mantis or a similar mantis species, I would love to hear your opinion

1. What size terrarium is good for a young ghost mantis such as A2 to A4? (Is the "cup" in the starter kit ideal? For how long?)

2. What size terrarium is ideal for a sub-adult/adult ghost mantis? (I was thinking this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OQW98Q/ref=twister_B005661P48?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 )

3. What is the ideal food for a ghost? At which age?

4. How will I know when to switch the size or switch the bug altogether for my praying mantis as they grow?

5.How will I know when my ghost will go into shed/molt? After they molt, how long should I wait to hold or feed them again?

6. How do you tell the gender of a ghost mantis if they are unsexed?

7. Which gender of ghost mantis is more calm? (Are they both the same?)

Thanks so much.

 

[CosbyArt]

@autumn Hello Autumn and welcome No banning, typically at worst we move the post and occasionally mention it to the author.

Ghosts (Phyllocrania paradoxa) are great for beginners and other keepers, as the species is easy to care for and not as delicate or specific as other species. Here is their caresheet for details too, and another one. All your questions though are easily answered by the caresheet and a simple search on the forum; however, I like to help so I'll get you started.

1. Referring to A2 to A4 I assume you are talking about the instar level which in this case would be labelled at L2 to L4; however, if it is not the instar level what are you talking about? Ghost though can easily live their entire life in a 32oz deli cup, and is recommended by many keepers, as they only grow to about 2" in length as adults.

The size of their habitat like any mantid is this...

The enclosure of this species of mantis should be at least 3 times the length of the animal in high, and at least 2x the length of the animal in width. For an adult this means is at least 15 cm in height and 10 cm in width. A nice size for a terrarium would be 20 x 20 x 30 cm, so there is space for lots of fake plants and perches.

If the habitat is too large the mantid will have problems finding it's feeder prey and can starve to death. To prevent issues when using a big setup the recommended thing is to move the mantid to a smaller container to feed, again 32oz deli cup is large enough for any size including adults and will work well with feeding or as a habitat.

2. For nymphs the ideal tank size I find is a 9 ounce cup, see the post here for details. A tank like that on Amazon is overkill and can lead to problems with feeders as explained above. I would advise against it, and the money could be better spent on mantid related feeders (and their setup if you want to culture them), accessories, books (or this), etc.

3. Feeder wise from the caresheet ...

Nymphs can be tricky to feed, as they may not go after crawling food. L1 and L2 will eat hydei; L3 and L4 will eat houseflies (though L4 will also eat bottleflies), and after this, bottleflies are a good food for nymphs. They also appreciate moths, roaches, and crickets.

Hydei are the larger species of fruit flies, and depending on your location can be purchased locally from PetSmart. After fruit flies I move mine to small appropriate sized cricket feeders from my culture tanks. For mantids the feeder should not be bigger than 1/3 of mantids body length. Then once my Ghosts are adults I also offer them bottle flies from my traps, waxworm moths (I culture them), and related along with crickets.

4. Again the feeder needs to be no bigger than 1/3 of the mantids body, and at minimum twice the width of the mantids head. Also you will know as the mantid will loose interest in prey too small and just gets annoyed with it.

5. The best way to know of a on coming molt is to keep records of when the last molt was. There are some signs, but nothing is fool-proof, here is one such topic...



6. For gender see the guide here, or the one from Rick... (Once you have a mantid though and if your not sure just post a photo and ask).



7. For most species males and females are the same in temperament as nymphs, and adults have little difference either really. A adult male mantis though usually likes to fly around (most species get wings as adults) looking for a mate, while females can rarely fly. For Ghosts though I've never had either gender fly as adults, so no worries.