Live Plants for Mantis Enclosure

Aryia · Jan 10, 2014

Hi everyone~

I'm currently putting in live plants into my mantis enclosures. Are there any common plants that may be toxic or otherwise unsuitable for a mantis?

Currently I have several species of mosses and bonsai trees ready to be put in.

Ranitomeya · Jan 11, 2014

Avoid using plants that you've purchased recently from a nursery--they may have been treated with insecticides that may get ingested by feeders or by the mantis when drinking water off the plants.

Mantids are insectivorous and won't eat plants directly.

Extrememantid · Jan 11, 2014

I just use fake plants.. But I agree, make sure they aren't treated

Aryia · Jan 11, 2014

Oh boy _._ that's a good point. Well... thankfully half of the bonsais are in dormant state so they don't have any leaves that could've been treated anyway.

Do you know how long a plant should sit before it's "pesticide-free" again in case it's been treated?

*Ok so I read that most pesticides are only effective up to 2 weeks on an article. I'll give the plants a good wash and add some crickets to the enclosures when they're ready and see what happens to the crickets before adding the mantises. (Sorry crickets!)