bug lady
Member
I'm Lisa from Southern California and I've been keeping mantids for several years as pets (just wild ones I find in my garden). I have never raised them from nymphs and wanted to try the exotics so I recently purchased a dead leaf mantis, L2. He/she has molted once, so now it's L3, correct? I think it is going to molt again very soon as the color is getting grayish. Anyway, I'm a little nervous because I hope it survives. I originally purchased 3 and the first 2 died after they molted. They didn't completely detach themselves from their skin. I may have had them in the wrong cage or perhaps it wasn't humid enough. It was one of those small insect lore pop-ups. I felt terrible about it. Anyway, my surviving mantis is in a 16 oz clear plastic cup with some sticks and shelf grip liner along with a little sphagnum peat moss on the bottom . I removed most of the inner portion of a lid and use it to hold down a piece of netting over the top. I've been feeding fruit flies and misting every couple of days. So far, I've yet to see it eat but hopefully it is because it seems healthy. I just ordered 2 ghost nymphs and 2 Indian flower nymphs from Mantid Kingdom. I'm excited and nervous too. I just love these little creatures and can watch them for hours. I'm so glad I found this forum. Here's a pic. 
View attachment 9064
4/26 update:
Purchased more nymphs from Mantis Kingdom; 2 ghost (sooo tiny and energetic) and 2 Indian flower (jumped right on to my magnifying glass!). Here's my collection so far:
View attachment 9073
View attachment 9064
4/26 update:
Purchased more nymphs from Mantis Kingdom; 2 ghost (sooo tiny and energetic) and 2 Indian flower (jumped right on to my magnifying glass!). Here's my collection so far:
View attachment 9073
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