mantid "Tank"

[LAME]

hello all

alright, so i still have plenty of time before any decisions are made but i was just curious... And im sure this has been asked within the forums somewhere. I have two chinese mantises, right now still young (L3) but ive read they get pretty big (3-5 inch) so im thinking a 10 GAL fish tank would be enough room for one? i just spotted out some 10g tanks for less than 20 bucks so im kinda leaning toward getting two, one for each mantid. Would i need some sort of heat source for up-coming colder months? ive heard just a regular desk lamp would be enough heat, but id rather be safe than loose my little guys.

ideas?
Advice?

Any and all would be appreciated

 

[Digger]

My personal view is that's a little bit of overkill. I use the large-sized Kritter Keeper for my full-grown Tenodera sinensis. And they've always been very happy. That said, I'm sure a 10 gallon apartment would be happily accepted by any mantid !

 

[Krissim Klaw]

I'm of the opinion you can't go too large with mantis cages, especially for active species like Tenodera sinensis. Can you get away with something smaller, sure, but if you only have a couple mantises, why not have fun with it?

As for a heatsource, that depends on how cold it gets in your house.

 

[hibiscusmile]

10 is fine, and they do not need heat source if kept at 70F or above. Cooler at night.

 

[LAME]

Lol overkill =)

alright cool, thanks guys

 

[Sticky]

I love the 12"/12"/12" net cages used for butterflies. They are lightweight, if they fall no problem. The mantis can use the whole surface to climb on. They come bigger, 14/14/24 and up to a space big enough for a crowd of people if you wanted it that big.

The places to look are 1. Bioquip, 2. Josh's Frogs, 3. Educational Science and a site for monarch butterflies.

 

[Rick]

Ten gallon tank will work but it is far more space than you need. The larger the enclosure the more trouble the mantis has finding food. You can keep an adult Tenodera in a 2.5 gallon tank. Actually, I divide those little 2.5 gallon aquariums in half and keep a mantis that size in each section. Those get about 3".

 

[Aryia]

You can make a DIY mesh divider and partition the 10 gallon into two 5 gallon compartments. Looks nice and is plenty of space for your mantises : ) You shouldn't need a heat source for T. Sinensis unless your temperatures are freezing cold. Mine free-roam my room and when I leave the window open they sometimes like to hang out there during the night even though it gets close to 50 degF. Though, a heat lamp over it would illuminate the tank nicely for display purposes.

 

[LAME]

Yeah I was thinking last night I could just make a divider for one 10gal tank.. Then again I have net screening in case I decide to run that route. I used it to make my first mantids lid. It gets pretty cold here during snow season... I've read just a regular desk lamp with a 60watt bulb works fine. I appreciate everyone's feed back at the forum

 

[LAME]

Alright guys, got my tank and I've also separated it into two 5 gal apartments. Need to make a lid but I already have heavy duty screen mesh I'm going to be using for that. Thanks again for the help and ideas.