Grizzled Mantis (Florida Bark)

[mantiscraze]

I've not raised these buggers before, but from observing their natural habitat, I've put together this enclosure. They seem to like it, so if you are interested in raising these, please provide similar amenities.

Here is my enclosure for Gonatista grisea.

To reduce stress, your basic enclosure should include these 2 or similar items.

1x Zoo Med Naturalistic Terrarium (12"x12"x18" or 30cm x 30cm x 46cm). They enjoy/require more vertical space than other species, so the 12x12x18" terrarium is great.

1x Zoo Med Natural Forest Tile Background (will fit the above terrarium perfectly). This vertical climbing area is a must for grizzled mantis. They do not like to hang off the ceiling (upside down) or branches. They will molt on this vertical bark surface.

Thick layer of moss on the bottom. Mine is covered all the way up to the door opening.

You can add some plant, etc. I have a small real orchid in mine.

1 small LED light at night (basic white LED is fine). They are nocturnal, and enjoy a light source at night.

Female enjoying a nice juicy cricket, after a nice mist.

They are very communal. This is based on observation from the wild and from experience keeping them. Several will live on the same tree, although these are very tall trees with ample space. You can put males and females inside the same enclosure, provided that you have enough bark space. I have 2 adult males along with a subadult pair currently housed inside.

 

[ShieldMantid1997]

beautiful species, definently next to add to my collection. Nice habitat very natural!

 

[patrickfraser]

I'd like to raise these, but $30 is a bit much for what is "free". Just me, but i'd rather pay $30 for mantid from africa.

 

[ShieldMantid1997]

good point

 

[mantiscraze]

Yeah, some people have charged $30 each for them. It's understandable, because they live in trees, are camouflaged, and move extremely fast. I've had some available for half that price.

I'd like to raise these, but $30 is a bit much for what is "free". Just me, but i'd rather pay $30 for mantid from africa.

 

[patrickfraser]

Yeah, some people have charged $30 each for them. It's understandable, because they live in trees, are camouflaged, and move extremely fast. I've had some available for half that price.

Obviously not to hard to find, as you are able to have enough to satisfy your needs and pander the rest to us.

 

[Rick]

I don't see anything wrong with your ideas. I kept them for years. They're very easy to keep and do fine at room temperature. They do like humidity but I just used paper towels. A piece of bark or a branch is a good idea or even just a section of gray fiberglass screen.

 

[mantiscraze]

Here is an updated version of the enclosure.

 

[Rick]

Wow nice and very elaborate. Should be just fine. Looks large so you will probably have to add a lot of food in order for them to find enough in there.

 

[mantiscraze]

Yeah, I make sure they are well fed. I discovered that the two females suddenly slimmed down considerably. I thought they were starved, out-competed by the two males and 1 other subadult female in the same enclosure. Turns out they just laid ooth...lol

 

[mantiscraze]

I read somewhere that breeders have stated that these are not communal or community friendly. But so far, I've had 5 (3 female, 2 male) live under the same roof. Provided, I feed them well and there are plenty of hiding space, as can be seen in the setup above.

Anyways, here are some observations I'd like to make pertaining to the way I'm raising/housing these.

I have a battery-powered led light (2 white LEDs) that I use at night. This creates a spot light for them. They seem to be nocturnal. I also only feed them at night (I saw them do this in the wild), i.e., I just drop a fresh load of crickets in the dark, and they are attracted by the LEDS, as they scale the bark wall and they are eaten by the mantids.

I wonder, do mantids require UV light? i.e., sun light? I'm going to put up a Repti-Glo 5.0 Compact for a few hours a day to see if it does anything.

 

[mantiscraze]

Here is a picture of their favorite position inside the enclosure.

 

[lunarstorm]

I really dig this thread and have enjoyed reading your gonatista grisea observations, mantiscraze.

I'm giving serious consideration to duplicating your cited setup (Zoo Med Naturalistic Terrarium (12"x12"x18", background, etc.), adding one of my orchid plants and then giving these guys a go as a communal attempt at some point (I'm still a beginner.) I've got some questions, if you don't mind:

I have a battery-powered led light (2 white LEDs) that I use at night. This creates a spot light for them.

Could you provide any further information (links?) to the LEDs you're describing? I'm picturing a small flashlight of sorts.

What are you feeding them? I'm guessing a ratio of greater than 50% crickets?

I think it's amazing that you've had great success with them as a communal species. Have you found this to be true throughout the entire life-cycle, from L-1 through a natural adult death?

What would you suggest as ideal temps/humidity numbers?

Thanks!

Adam

 

[mantiscraze]

The light that I use is this one, but there are a lot more economical options out there these days. I just have this one laying around, so I used it. It has 3 modes, large center LED, 2 small red side LEDs, 2 white side LEDs. I use the 3rd mode.

http://www.amazon.co...5773383&sr=1-11

I've only began to raise these since subadulthood or as adults, they were collected from my old place. I decided to breed them under captivity, and so far the 2 adult females have produced 3 ooth (2 of which I've kept and hope to incubate), and I'm expecting more since they are plump again.

These are not easy to keep, even for experienced keepers. From what I've gathered from others, especially if you are not from the South, I would say high mortality rate, very susceptible to mismolts, and mismolts will almost always result in death, especially during molting in the later stages.

I don't record the humidity number or temp. I basically just wing it. That's one good thing about keeping native species around your region. I have a substrate of 4" (again, all the way up to the glass panel door) of

http://www.amazon.co...15774487&sr=1-2

and I mist the enclosure daily, more around this time of the year (i.e., hurricane/wet season). I do have a meter for other things near by, not inside the enclosure though, and I just took a look and the temp is 81, humidity is 62.

I just put up a mercury vapor bulb 125-W http://www.amazon.co...duct/B00101JIFG near by for my tortoise, and hope to simulate some sun for these buggers.

I'd also like to stress that what I'm doing is not an exact science, there maybe other variables that we are not aware of, so even if you follow my method to a T, you may not have similar results. On the other hand, people have kept these inside deli cups and have had not much problem breeding them. So, I don't know, some say this is a very easy to care for species, others just can't seem to be able to keep them alive. Again, I've just started to keep these, so I'm new to it as well.

 

[mantiscraze]

Here is a picture of most of the gang chillaxing on the bark.

Again, this is the most comfortable and natural way for them to "perch". Their bodies are "flat", they don't like to hang upside down off narrow branches. Given the preference, they will lay flat on a vertical bark, facing down.