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preyspidey

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Hello my names Frank I'm 22 years old and live in southern California. I have a love for exotic pets and even normal ones too like cats dogs lizards spiders and scorpions. Now I've gotten a interest in mantids. The thing is I need help I wanted to get a African mantid but I do not know how to take care of them I read care sheets but the fruit fly thing and found a place that sells good enclousers for them but the same place I found only has African mantid nymphs how do I go about caring for a nymph? I'd like some help please like can I feed the African mantid nymph pinhead cricet's if not whats better? Also when its fully grown to 3 to 4 inches are cricet's a good source like for spiders and scorpions? I hear fruit fly's are the best, How do you go about keeping them (the fly's) contained and how do you get them out of their container without them flying all over the place that's about it :) .

 
Welcome to the forum! You can feed the nymphs flightless fruit flies or pinheads. The adult would take crickets no problem.

-Jess

 
Welcome! My experience with crickets isn't that great, but there are others who have had great success with them so long as they are quarantined if store bought and properly fed. I like using the larger hydei fruit flies for nymphs and house flies or moths as they get larger. I also have some roach colonies to feed, but if you only have a mantid or two that's a bit of an overkill, plus some species won't eat them just because they don't fly! Not sure about African specifically though.

 
Welcome to the forum fellow SoCal-er! =)

Yeah you'll be able to feed them pinheads. Africans will attack just about anything out there! As adults they will eat crickets all day all night. My females will eat roaches nearly 2 inches in length and it won't even phase them. Not particularly picky eaters, anything you find outside that they could easily grip with their arms is basically fair game. =)

 
Hi Frank, I'm new here as well but I can share the way I got the fruit flies to my nymphs. First off the enclosure I was using was an extra large brandy snifter with a top I made out of window screen. I made a trap for the flies in my kitchen out of a jar with a little banana in the bottom. After there were enough flies in the bottom of the jar I would take a large sandwich baggie and trap them in the jar with the baggie over the top. Then wait until all the flies have gone up into the baggie and close it up. Next you can easily let the flies out into your cage by just lifting the lid and putting the opening of the baggie under the lid. The flies are confused and stupid and wont really even try to fly away right off. Also another thing i fed my nymph were aphids. You can just find an infested rose bush and take a few leaves off to put in your mantis enclosure. Good luck.

 
Welcome to the forum. Search around while you're here; most questions about mantid care have already been asked and answered at one time or another.

I had an African mantis before (Sphodromantis lineola, is that what you have?) and it was a hardy species that was easy to care for. They can be fed flightless fruit flies to start with and then you can graduate them to house flies. Adults can eat about anything; crickets or blue bottle flies are both good food sources. You can also catch your own food as they are voracious eaters that will eat about anything within reason. Just be careful when feeding them spiders, bees and things like that. Just use common sense when giving them food.

Enjoy your stay here and good luck with the hobby! :)

 
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