Mangos happiness?

AltarMantis · Feb 20, 2017

Hi all, though i have little commentary for the thread I am interested to hear what the community believes, or knows about mantis well being and if there are any crucial factors to over mantis wellbeing. I.E. temperature, enclosure size, sunlight, diet, handling. Any way... excited to see what y'all have to say.

GingerC · Feb 24, 2017

Many would debate whether insects have emotion, and so while I can't really be sure on this, I suspect George is a very content lil' bugger.

She has a spacious biscotti jar as a cage, with direct exposure to sunlight every day, and she lives on crickets as a staple with the occasional housefly or crane fly if I find one. I also handle her for five to ten minutes a few times a week, and during these times I let her watch TV and eat honey off my finger. I think her life is quite enriched.

The only anecdote I have that might suggest different conditions promote a happier mantis was that one time, when George was still living in a small container, she leapt out of it during feeding time. She had just molted and gotten too big for it... I think it is possible that the constrained space was bothering her. Also, I let my dad hold her once while I got a cricket to hand feed her, and when I got back, I saw him bring his hand up way too close for her to climb on- so close that she raising her arms up defensively each time, which made me physically cringe. That was just two or three days ago, and she is still jumpy and skittish after that experience.

Zeppy44 · Feb 24, 2017

AltarMantis said:
Hi all, though i have little commentary for the thread I am interested to hear what the community believes, or knows about mantis well being and if there are any crucial factors to over mantis wellbeing. I.E. temperature, enclosure size, sunlight, diet, handling. Any way... excited to see what y'all have to say.

The care sheets on each mantis pretty much covers what is known or considered to be needed for proper care and propagation. Have found a lot of info there. Searching for separate threads on various aspects of care and well being can be found. Fascinating info on many areas.

Guess I am not sure quite what you are looking for.

AltarMantis · Feb 24, 2017

I Really just want to make sure my mantids are happy and healthy. So I'm just enquiring what other handlers believe is most important for keeping their mantids.