Greetings from San Francisco

[young1]

Yo, Whats up everyone! I am new to this forum and new to the world of the preying mantis. I am looking forward to starting off straight with the ooth so I can see the full cycle of the mantis. I'm looking to receive the Tenodera Aridifolia species. I heard they are a little hard to raise as nymphs but I am looking forward to the challenge. I got their tank set up jungle style. And since I live in San Francisco, boderline Daly City, I got the heater equipped. I can't wait till they come :lol:

If anyone has any tips for a guy starting out, feel free B)

 

[MantidLord]

Welcome. Um, they may not need a heater, and it's "praying" mantis Trust me, I'm from the bay area, and they don't need the heater.

 

[kitkat39]

How's it going? Welcome to the forum! I started out with the same species as you did many many many years ago when I first found out that I could even own a praying mantis by buying ooths from the local nursery! They are pretty cool and I'm sure you'll do well with them with your set up. After a few sheds, you might wanna separate out a few because they'll end up eating each other until you only have one left. =)

 

[young1]

I was thinking the heater would help keep the humidity up because my place is usually below room temperature. I'm no scientist but I think its pretty hard to keep something warm and damp without a heat source. I'm originally from the East Bay and its pretty warm out there consistently but now I'm currently living in the city so it gets cold out the majority of the time I'm here, which is everyday, and its usually rare to have a full sunny day in some seasons, although I'm pretty much used to it.

Thanks for the warm welcome and the advice!

 

[hibiscusmile]

welcome! :lol:

 

[Ghostie]

Ahh I remember the nice cool days up in "The Bay".

Always sweatshirt weather. Used to live in Alameda. B)

Welcome and have fun with your ooth hatching.

 

[Mr.Mantid]

Welcome!

Use spaghnum moss for a substrate, it keeps moisture and heat in. When I put my hand in my orchid mantis cage, it feels warm and humid in there! I dont use a heater, at least for now.. I dont know what I'm going to do when late autumn and winter comes along! The parents might not like the idea of a lamp or a heater on all day for something that isn't human.

 

[Rick]

Welcome

 

[young1]

Thank you all. I feel very comfortable here, which is good because I plan on being here a while haha.

But regarding the humidity issue. I currently have Eco Earth coconut fiber as a substrate, I bought it because it came as a 3pack for a pretty good price. The reason I choose that one was because I wanted one that was easy to clean, incase I ever wanted to clean the terrarium. But I guess its all the same really, after I added water to the Eco Earth(which comes in a compressed form) it really just looks like regular dirt, maybe a little brighter. I guess the only difference between substrates is one type might work better than the other haha. I admit, I should have done some research before buying that Eco Earth because I'm not quite sure how well of a job it does at keeping the humidity but if it doesn't work too well I'll check out the sphagnum moss, thanks for the tip man!

More tips/advice are welcome :yinyang:

 

[Peter Clausen]

I use eco earth (coconut fiber) for many different types of inverts. It is great because you can soak it down and it will provide humidity in an enclosure for a week or so. The issue with using it as a substrate for a communal mantis cage is that if it is too wet, the mantis frass and uneaten bits of feeder insects will fall to the wet bottom and begin to mold. Unsightly and a bit unsanitary!

The substrate is attractive though and you can let it remain more dry, than wet. Simply supplement with mistings from a spray bottle 1-3 times per day, depending on how much ventilation your cage has.

Tenodera sinensis (your species) also needs lots of solid perches for molting. They are leggy and tend to have difficulty with the back legs, especially.

 

[ismart]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[young1]

For shizzle. Thanks Pete.

Question, do you guys clean your terrariums regularly?

I currently have one 10 gallon terrarium and I'm gonna hatch my ooth in there and I was thinking that it is going to be pretty difficult to clean if I have a hundreds of little guys/gals running around.

2nd question, do you guys do anything to your terrarium so you won't have to clean it regularly?

I was thinking of using damp paper towels as a substrate because it is easier to clean but, to me, it won't really feel like a nature(al) habitat.