Hello from Wales :)

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Rainbow

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2023
Messages
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Location
U.K.
Hello and good evening (or morning, afternoon or night, depending on where in the world you are) to you all! 😃

My name is Rainbow, I’m somewhere in my mid-30s, and I’m from Wales in the U.K. and very new to the hobby, I just got my two little male ghost mantis less than a month ago. I’d been saying for years how cool I thought mantis were, and I was always harking on about how I was going to get one, and frankly even I was getting a little bored of hearing myself talk about it and not do it, so I finally bit the bullet! I really like some of the larger species, but I was just captivated by how utterly alien the ghost mantis looks; it really struck me that if someone showed me a photo and told me it was a design for a new alien invader from an upcoming sci-fi film, I’d have totally believed them. That they’re so adorably small also helps - it’s like when you see a travel version of a product and it’s packaging is just exactly like the packaging of the full-size version, only tiny. It’s completely adorable ☺️ Their care and housing also seemed well-suited to a beginner, although I’ve had some confusion over humidity levels (the first guide I read said 85%+, which even in damp and humid Britain I was really struggling to maintain; later guides I’ve read have all said 60-75% which is very easy and not that much above what it is here anyway).

Anyway, thus far we seem to be doing okay. One moulted fairly soon after arriving which was rather disconcerting, because for the first week or so after his arrival I couldn’t get him to eat, which was very scary as a new owner. But now he’s a very good eater, and I’m a very proud owner 😊 I also bought my first jumping spider at the same time, in a bid to help my arachnaphobia, and also as another critter I’d be jabbering on about wanting to get for altogether too long! I also have stick insects and cats, but none of these things are the subject of this forum, so I’ll leave that at that.

I look forward to reading more and participating in your community. I’m sure I won’t have much helpful to add at this point as I don’t really know very much, I’m more or less a baby in the world of keepers, but I’m sure I’ll be able to learn loads from reading what more experienced and knowledgeable folk have to say.

Hope you’re all having a cracking week! 😄
 
Hello and good evening (or morning, afternoon or night, depending on where in the world you are) to you all! 😃

My name is Rainbow, I’m somewhere in my mid-30s, and I’m from Wales in the U.K. and very new to the hobby, I just got my two little male ghost mantis less than a month ago. I’d been saying for years how cool I thought mantis were, and I was always harking on about how I was going to get one, and frankly even I was getting a little bored of hearing myself talk about it and not do it, so I finally bit the bullet! I really like some of the larger species, but I was just captivated by how utterly alien the ghost mantis looks; it really struck me that if someone showed me a photo and told me it was a design for a new alien invader from an upcoming sci-fi film, I’d have totally believed them. That they’re so adorably small also helps - it’s like when you see a travel version of a product and it’s packaging is just exactly like the packaging of the full-size version, only tiny. It’s completely adorable ☺️ Their care and housing also seemed well-suited to a beginner, although I’ve had some confusion over humidity levels (the first guide I read said 85%+, which even in damp and humid Britain I was really struggling to maintain; later guides I’ve read have all said 60-75% which is very easy and not that much above what it is here anyway).

Anyway, thus far we seem to be doing okay. One moulted fairly soon after arriving which was rather disconcerting, because for the first week or so after his arrival I couldn’t get him to eat, which was very scary as a new owner. But now he’s a very good eater, and I’m a very proud owner 😊 I also bought my first jumping spider at the same time, in a bid to help my arachnaphobia, and also as another critter I’d be jabbering on about wanting to get for altogether too long! I also have stick insects and cats, but none of these things are the subject of this forum, so I’ll leave that at that.

I look forward to reading more and participating in your community. I’m sure I won’t have much helpful to add at this point as I don’t really know very much, I’m more or less a baby in the world of keepers, but I’m sure I’ll be able to learn loads from reading what more experienced and knowledgeable folk have to say.

Hope you’re all having a cracking week! 😄
Honestly, I've found ghosts do just fine at a 50-60% humidity. For nymphs, they won't eat for a few days before and after they molt. It's perfectly normal behavior. Did you sex your own ghost mantis? He may not be male if you just used the segment method lol. Ghosts have unique sex dimorphism involving their crowns.
1678326254309.png

This here is a male. Males have a very skinny, squiggly crown.
1678326411456.png

Females have a thick, broader crown that's far less scraggly.
 
Welcome! 👋

I always keep mine around 50% humidity and 70-78° temp. As many as I've kept, I've never lost one. I think it's one of the easiest species to care for. I always found the females to make the best pets... they seem much less skittish.

Here's a great caresheet if you haven't read it already. Good luck! :)

https://mantidforum.net/threads/phyllocrania-paradoxa-ghost-mantis.29728/
 
Thank you all for your welcomes! :)

The Wolven, to answer your question, I did not sex them myself, they came to me both sexed as male by the seller, and both do appear to fit the characteristics for males :)

Synapze, your experience is very encouraging to hear! My understanding is that ghosts are amongst the very easiest to care for and that they are, despite looking (and in many ways being) very delicate, amongst the more hardy. It’s interesting that you’ve found females to be less skittish, I would almost guess the opposite, but that’s a very human perspective assumption! Mine appear fairly laid back, although one of them will occasionally have a fairly mad half hour where he’s climbing his enclosure constantly and tapping on the glass. It always concerns me a bit because it reminds me of seeing mammals in zoos with zoo-psychosis, but then 95% of the time he’s just chilling in one place, so I don’t think he cares *too* too much about being in a cage. It’s amazing to see how much larger they look when they start wandering around, compared to when they’re just chilling, hanging about.

I’m rather curious, what is the sort of makeup of the forum in terms of the location of the more regularly posting members?
 
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