Jungle Gym

[Arwen9]

It's taken me the last week to finish setting up my terrarium for my three Chinese nymphs.

I wanted to make sure that it looked nice, but was practical. Was comfortable enough for small mantids and for them as they grow. And would allow me to maintain humidity, moisture, a decent cricket and other insect population (i.e. places to hide) and be able to use it for other mantis species.

Here's some pics of the completed project. The first one was before I put in my "molting platform" and the second is a close-up of said "jungle gym" hence the nickname.

 

[sporeworld]

Ha! I did the same kind of jungle gym with Tinker Toys when I first started!

What are planning to use as a cover? Screen?

 

[GreenOasis]

Ah, but nothing beats the dissappointment of watching your mantis carefully choose ANY place but the one you created specifically for that purpose to molt! <_< (Likely, they will choose the screen top above everything else!)

Are you planning to put all three in there together!? Let me know how that turns out!

 

[PhilinYuma]

This looks great! You might find that the mantids are more likely to use the molting platform if you write "Molting Platform" on it in Mantis Chinese, which is very much like Mandarin Chinese, only a lot smaller. Perhaps Yen can help you! Also, try to make sure that the molting platform is above, rather than below, the pooping platform.

 

[Arwen9]

Ha! I did the same kind of jungle gym with Tinker Toys when I first started!

What are planning to use as a cover? Screen?

Yes.

I ran out of upload quota or I'd show all that I've done. I'm going to stick it on a blog or something. <_<

But a buddy of mine who's a woodworking hobbyist made me a wooden frame with a handle, which I covered with fine screening. I can mist through the screen like a soft rain, but nothing so far has been able to get free.

Liz

 

[Arwen9]

@GreenOasis: lol. Yeah, I suspect they'll end up picking the wrong places to molt. sneaky little mantids.

But I'm hoping the platform will at least save any sudden falls, and the soft plants below (fake ones) as well as the bark on the ground will prevent any serious damage. I hope. *crosses fingers*

Also, I haven't posted all the pics, but that's actually an extra long aquarium (20 gal? Not sure really) that I found at a garage sale, and then divided into three sections, with a gap for crickets to pass through from one end to the other, but not mantis-sized things. Though Iris tried to get to one of her future hubbies already once. I had to adjust the partition a little bit but now it's fine.

@PhilinYum

lol. I'll have to look up that language.

EDIT:

Bah. I needed more space to post pics and the like. There's my blog link in my signature now. Just so I can show some of the pictures of what I've done so far.

 

[hibiscusmile]

looks cool, come on over and help me!

 

[MantidLord]

I like it, but are those the only plants you're going to put in there? I would think they would just stick to the glass and the screen top rather than on the few plants you have on there. That's how mine are by the way, until I added more plants (which also helped the crickets hide and breed ).

 

[Rick]

You will find that mantids are going to spend the vast majority of the time on the lid. While your set up will certainly work I think you will find the size to be a problem. Smaller is generally better for the mantis. With a large enclosure the mantis often has trouble getting enough to eat. Mantids generally don't move too much so they just need enough room to molt and turn around comfortably.

 

[Arwen9]

@Hibicus

Heh. I don't think you live anywhere near me, lol. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I'm used to making terrariums and the like. I've got a tiger salamander as well as other pets.

@Mantid

True. So far it hasn't been a problem. The crickets burrow into the substrate and out again, so they can't catch them all. Cleto figured out to stand in front of their "tunnels" and snatch them on the prowl.

Can anyone say drive-thru?

I'm considering getting some vines and interweaving those through the platforms. And I'm marginally hopeful the wildflowers I planted will come up but...who knows.

@Rick

I agree, it's too large for them now. But when they reach full size, I'm thinking the larger enclosure should work fine. With the dividers, it's about one foot x one foot x two feet. Which is about twice their adult length. If it doesn't work as well as I'm hoping, I'll add more dividers next year and make the enclosure smaller.

And as an update, my male Adir molted last night to an L5 on the molting platform. His old skin and himself are still clinging to the crossbar. B)

Liz

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Nice setup! I'm sure you know already but Chinese eat Chinese food(each other)they don't even use chop sticks just there raptor claws and mandibles, you may end up with just one very fat mantis if you keep them together

 

[MantidLord]

While that's always a possibility, it isn't always the case. I had a batch of chinese that I raised from nymph to adult hood all in the same container, not unlike his. Although I had more plants (which is why I suggested it) for the nymphs to hide. I ended up with 3 adult males and no females (which sucked). One of the males died soon after molting, but the others lived peacefully with each other. I even added an adult female with them and she never showed signs of aggression for the month that I had her. After she died, I got three more chinese from Yen. Put them in there, and they were able to mate with the three and later die of old age. Now (and here's the fun part) all three chinese females are fat and pregnant in the same cage with no signs of aggression towards each other at all. One sits on the top, the other on the sides, and the other one in the plants that I have in there.

I'm not saying there weren't any cannibalism, but keeping them in the same container can be done, if done right. For me, there's a constant supply of crickets that have plenty of hiding places and for the mantis nymphs, I just dump some fruit in there to keep the fruit fly population going. The ff population has been thriving since last year (December) and reverted back to it's flying, winged type. As for escapees, I put layers of newspaper in between two same sized lids and put it over the tank. It gets air still, but nothing can get in or out. I have isopods in there as a clean up crew for any mold or uneaten fruit or body parts.

 

[Arwen9]

I'm glad the set up works.

And yes, I was aware of the cannibalism. The terrarium is split into three pieces, divided up with glass and screening to keep them apart. Especially since Iris, my female, has been licking her chops after my smaller male Cleto.



Liz

 

[Rick]

Ahhhh ok. It isn't nearly as big as it looks. In the pic it looks like a 55 gal aquarium or something.

 

[Arwen9]

Okay. I'm glad then, I was afraid I'd put them in too big a container maybe.

I've always raised just a pair at a time, never more than that. Even with nymphs I would release all but a mated pair, then once mating was finished, release the male too. This time around I've got three. oh my... :mellow:

I suppose I should mention Cleto is no longer my "smaller" male. He molted last night to an L5 as well. Or subadult? (Can someone explain the difference? I'm not familiar with the terms) All my nymphs have what looks like tiny, feather wings on their backs and they're about 2-3 in so far as I can tell. Large enough to take on medium-sized crickets and houseflies just dandy.

B)

 

[nebrakacinese]

I did something similiar last winter i used bamboo skewers and the wooden type i called them my jungle gym also,for me i noticed alot more successfull molts with my chinese.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Okay. I'm glad then, I was afraid I'd put them in too big a container maybe.

I've always raised just a pair at a time, never more than that. Even with nymphs I would release all but a mated pair, then once mating was finished, release the male too. This time around I've got three. oh my... :mellow:

I suppose I should mention Cleto is no longer my "smaller" male. He molted last night to an L5 as well. Or subadult? (Can someone explain the difference? I'm not familiar with the terms) All my nymphs have what looks like tiny, feather wings on their backs and they're about 2-3 in so far as I can tell. Large enough to take on medium-sized crickets and houseflies just dandy

B)

"L5", as you correctly state, means that he has molted four times. A subadult is one molt away from assuming its adult, reproductive form, and has wings in most species. What instar that is can vary among species and the two sexes, but 6-8 is a fairly good bet. The best way to tell that a mantis is subadult is to look for "wing buds" newly swollen areas on the thorax where the wing roots will be.

Hope that helps.