Hello from California

[grenade01]

Hey, saying hello from southern California.

Just wanted to introduce myself because this forum seems pretty awesome. I’m a guy… 28… name is Ryan.

I came across the idea of acquiring some mantis…es… mantii? In a strange way. Haha. Both of my cats died about a year ago at the ripe old age of 20/21. I’d love to have a new cat (especially a Bengal!) but my current living situation is not conducive to cats…soooo I started looking at exotic bugs/animals that I might be able to get in California. Argh so hard to get anything besides a cat or dog in this state/country!

I actually first came across the African Land Snail. Holy awesome giant snail. Having a snail bigger than my fist sounds like it would be pretty neat…but As it turns out is highly illegal (and actually enforced/pursued) in the US because of the destruction it can cause…

Aww bummer…

So I was looking at some of the exotic beetles out there. Seems they are pretty impossible to get as well. Shame because there are some really huge and beautiful colored beetles. I was really unaware how neat some of these guys are. I think a beetle would be neat because they’re often associated with magic /mystery/curses in movies… Bummer #2.

So this kind of leaves me with the mantis and …maybe cockroaches. There are some pretty neat and exotic cockroaches…. And they are pretty easy to get… But (ive been told) they smell like garlic and… well even if they’re raised in a tank…not eating garbage… the association is still kinda blegh to me. So I dunno really if I’m ready for the roach step. Haha.

Seems any sort of exotic mantis is a little harder to get without making the right friends first, but it also seems possible (compared to some other pets I have been looking at) so here I am saying hello.

I haven’t looked into the price and demands of raising any of them yet, but I’d have to say visually so far my favorites are Hymenopus Coronatus /Malaysian Orchid Mantis and also Phyllocrania Paradoxa /Ghost Mantis. Trying to remember the names and their nicknames Is confusing haha.

Hoping they are easy to raise and/or get ahold of in Cali.

Well that’s all I have to say for now, thanks for reading my novel

:]

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Welcome to the forum, hopefully you can find the ones you're looking for. Ghost mantids are very easy and cheap when bought off the right person. As far as the roaches go...who told you they smell like garlic? Some species do let out defensive odors, like the Orangehead roach, Discoid, Florida skunkie, etc. Even those that do don't smell nessasarily bad. Other species don't even have a smell.

 

[grenade01]

Haha I had a friend who owned Blaberus giganteus once, he said they smelled moderately of garlic. I dont know though, I didn't get to see them back when he did... but those are actually the ones that sounded pretty neat to me because they have cool paint job, are really big, and can't climb glass...

Even if I don't end up finding or acquiring anything... I'm certainly finding the reading most interesting!

 

[GreenOasis]

Welcome, welcome! God, I miss California!

Don't know where you heard about the roaches smelling like garlic, but that's pretty amusing! I bet vampires would really hate them if they did!

I have Orangeheads (smell a little like old cat litter box when disturbed), Turkistans (B. lateralis), which I haven't noticed an odor on, Discoids, very slight odor when disturbed (again, kinda' like litter box), Dubias (hardly odiferous)...but my absolute FAVs are the Ivories (closely related/resemble Orangeheads, but no smell!)...they are actually a "pretty" roach & while you might notice a SLIGHT acrid smell when trying to grab one, for the most part, they don't have an odor.

As far as mantids, well, you can look at my sig to see what I have. Good luck finding orchids right about now...seems only a few people have them & they're not parting with them (same with Idolos). Ghosts would be a good first choice for you among those two. I don't think you would be disappointed! They are easy to care for, have very few molting problems, are really AWESOME-looking & are easy to feed.

Okay, well...WELCOME TO THE HOBBY!

-Carey Kurtz-

 

[grenade01]

Ha you miss California, and I want out!

Figures all the cute girls with big bug collections move away. Haha :]

Oooh you have quite a collection. Gonatista Grisea is pretty cool, I didn't realize we had such exotic species native to the US. Every year I get a few very plain solid green looking California Mantis that seem to hang out on my front porch for a few months, but I've yet to see anything so impressive in person.

Things are pretty chilly out there right now, wonder if it's a good time to even have the lil critters sent across the entire country.. even with overnight... :[

Hey, by the way your websites are great GreenO.... I just wanted to mention (if you hadn't seen it already) your general mantis care guide and roach care guide link properly from the dropdown menu, but not from the guides page (they both link to the roach guide).

Anyhow thanks for the responses guys, it's nice to throw an introduction out there on a forum and actually feel welcome for once!

 

[more_rayne]

Welcome. What part of CA are you in? I have plenty of young Ghosts I can sell for cheap. If you're local, you can even come pick them up. If you really get into mantids, you might find yourself raising roaches anyways :lol:

 

[grenade01]

Oh really? I live in Fullerton.

I could see myself getting into roaches later down the line. I think Mantis would be a better introduction to the bug world though haha.

Wow the pictures in your profile are too cool!

 

[more_rayne]

Cool, I work in Fullerton!