How does your family view your mantis keeping hobby?

[Katnapper]

I'm wondering what everyone else's families and/or roomates thinks of your hobby of mantis keeping? Do they also get into it and think it's great? Or do they dislike it? Something in between? Do they think you're crazy?

My husband tolerates them (and the various feeders). But he definitely doesn't share the same interest in them as I do. His attitude is, "Do what you want, if it makes you happy... but don't expect me to join you in it." B) Sometimes he rolls his eyes, puts his head in his hands, and sighs, "Oh, God!" whenever I start talking about my "babies" to our friends. I think he likes the comic effect of people feeling sorry for him, being overwhelmed by my "bugs" as he calls them. :wacko: He's usually fairly indulgent, except for the few times when escapee feeders have gotten loose (I'm working on remedying that). But he just can't fathom my attraction to "bugs." I'm currently trying to figure a permanent plan on where to put them all. His (serious) suggestion was the basement. :angry: <_<

My 9 year old son shares some of my enthusiasm, but not as much as I'd like. He gets bored with, and usually avoids helping me look for wild mantids, oothes, or catching mantis dinners in the Summer. But he does think they're neat. I get the feeling some of my co-workers and friends think I'm a bit "strange" sometimes.

What does your family think of the mantids, feeders, and your interest in keeping them?

 

[shorty]

Right now I'm living with my mom 'til I get back on my feet again. I ordered some mantids, feeders, equipment, containers, etc, and made a setup in my room for it all. When she saw it she asked quizzically, "What are you growing in your room?" I comically told her marijuana and then explained to her what I was doing. I've done it here before and she is tolerant and understands it because I had a fascination with them as a child. I think she was a bit surprised as I haven't done this in a while. Her main concern is feeders getting loose in the house, mainly because when I was younger (15 I think) I'd take German cockroaches from a friend's house that was infested with them at the time and feed them to my mantids. Well, as expected, I nearly got my house infested with them! She wasn't exactly happy with that as you can imagine. Thankfully, we took care of them before they could really multiply. She keeps a clean house and it's relatively hard for roaches to make a home here. As long as I stick to FFs, Flies, and crickets she doesn't mind at all.

My friends, on the other hand, aren't so understanding. I'll say, "Hold on man, I'll be over as soon as I feed my mantids." "Your what?" they reply. Sometimes I wish I hadn't mentioned it because I have to explain what I'm doing, and why I do it and they still don't really get why I'd keep "some bug." Although they think it's weird I don't care what anyone thinks so I do what I do. Some of my friends are interested a bit, others not so much. I wish I could get someone to get into the hobby! It would be so fun to have someone here in my own town to trade with and help out.

 

[hibiscusmile]

My husband was all for it! Does not like the flies though. I don't blame him, I really dislike the houseflies, the bbs are ok and easy to catch, the others try to fly up your nose and freaks me out! Now my son on the other hand, sees no need to have bugs around, when he was growing up he liked bugs, but now that he is a MAN he doesn't. A couple superworms escaped and went behind his tolit and he was besides himself . And we won't even mention the flies, although sometimes he is telorant of them, he will occassionally catch spiders with my forcepts and feed them to the mantis, can't quite make him out . Everyone else though loves them. Sorry u cant get someone interested in them. It is always nice to share your interests, but thats what this place is good for. And Kat, tell hubby you have decided the kitchen and bedroom would be the best places for the mantis and feeders! This way wherever you choose will seem like so much a better place. :lol:

 

[Rick]

Wife is fine with it. She does hate escaped flies.

 

[cloud jaguar]

My wife (Faerie mantis) and I both are interested in the hobby together. Actually, all of our diverse hobbies were first started by my wife - we may not be rich yet, but at least we have TONS o' hobbies!, lol (paleo-bowmaking, garden trains, n-scale trains, Warhammer, modelling, mountain biking, fly fishing... and most recently KEEPING MANTIDS!). It is interesting how this mantid hobby came about for us. A couple of months ago we were on our back porch playing Warhammer against a friend. In case you do not know, Warhammer is a game like chess but 1000x better where you have fantasy armies that you custom paint and fight other armies (nerdy but fun). Anyways, a pink/peach mantid fell out of a Mandevilla flower vine and crashed into my wife. I picked it up off the ground and, voila! a new Hobby! Although mantids have always seemed super cool - not until now do we actually know how to take care of them and feed them properly etc. Now every excursion outside into mantis territory brings renewed excitement and awakens the keen senses of our hunter-gatherer forebears as we intently scan shrubbery and flowers for mantids and ooths as we pass. Also our 2 young kids like mantids too!

~Arkanis

 

[king_frog]

They're actually all interested.

 

[harryallard]

Mum: "What the heck is that!?" "How many of those are you actually buying?!" "Hoover that mud up!" "Oh My God! Can it fly!"

etc

etc

 

[sidewinder]

As long as it doesn't involve a girlfriend or tons of money, my wife doesn't mind any of my hobbies....

Scott

 

[The_Asa]

My mom doesn't care about the mantids, but is a little upset over the roaches; no big issue there. No one was a fan of the cricket chirping or any of the fly escapees. My dad is all for the mantids, he's kinda the guy who got me started, he'll sit there for hours just staring at them maybe a little wacko for them

 

[Kruszakus]

I once invited a girl over to my place - she saw them mantids, and she got so turned on by Texicorns munching on flies that we went straight into bed. Mantids are kewl.

 

[kamakiri]

I only have one hobby...collecting hobbies

My wife is okay with my hobbies as long as they are not dangerous or take up too much space or if I do not perform needed maintenance or cleaning required.

Loose crickets are not appreciated...

 

[Frack]

Everyone thinks Im a wierdo for keeping all the bugs I do When I was a kid my family even talked me into getting rid of my tarantula. Ive never really had anyone around me that likes bugs the way I do, its nice to have the forums its the only source of social aceptance I get lol.

 

[darkspeed]

As long as it doesn't involve a girlfriend or tons of money, my wife doesn't mind any of my hobbies....Scott

LMAO :lol:

It took my wife a while to get used to them. Now she likes them, but she is super frugal, and spending any money on mantids requires serious haggling on my part. My kids love them, tho my 3 year old is still scared when it comes down to holding them.

 

[JennMantis]

My 3 yr old likes watching them, my 16 mo old just wants to toss their enclosures around, so I don't let her near them lol my husband was interested in them in the beginning, but didn't like it when i devoted more time to feeding & watching my "bugs" than spending time w/ him or the girls, so I cut back a little bit. I currently don't have any mantids (I let my Chinese mantis and European mantis free about 2 months ago) The Chinese one, I raised from a nymph and the European one my 16 mo old found outside (he was hanging on the back of one of my patio chairs and when she saw it, she started "talking" to it and I was trying to see what she was talking to. The husband never appreciated loose flies in the house.

 

[hibiscusmile]

:lol: You guys kill me!!! My hubby made me read Kruszakus message to him twice!

DARKSPEED do trades, no one can argue with that!

Frack: yea and people say were weird too, but what do they know, thank God for the internet!

harryallard: ha ha ha, sounds like me! before I became a mantis Geek!

 

[ismart]

My girl friend does not care for them. She freaks out when some flies or crickets escape!

 

[kakistos]

My boyfriend likes them, but more because I like them. He does not want to take care of them, but when I show something he will watch with me. He likes their shapes and ferocious behavior, but if it weren't for me liking them so much he would not spend time on them. I think it is great this way, I can have my hobby and talk about it with him, and he tolerates then being all over the place.

 

[idolomantis]

they all like the mantids, but they hate the feeders.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Want to live in peace with your mantises, cockroaches, fire ants, toads, wind spiders, etc, etc? Live alone! No OMG!s, no "we can't afford them!" My dog Tucker doesn't like the flies when they get on his nose, but he eats the crickets and stays away from the mantises when they look hungry.

I kept Sunny's ants and cockroac

hes when she had a science fair a few years back, and her mom wouldn't let her keep them in the house, so she's pretty tolerant (for a 14 year old).