Mantis-less in Minnesota

[Karr1213]

Hello!

I'm Melissa. I am new here and curious about owning a mantis or maybe two but not together. p Hey, I know that much. But.. That is about all I know.

I have been reading basic care instructions and watching YouTube vids about these fascinating creatures for a while now.

I grew up with reptiles and now just have the Box turtle I've had since I was 12 (I'm almost 40 now) Umm.. Oh! Then my current iguana, Joe. He's a hateful awful thing but I adore him.

But yes, I am ready to move on and learn about insects as I have always been curious about the smarter ones. And no, I have never been much for killing insects. I don't kill spiders even though they are one of the banes of my work life. I just can't do it.

I suppose the question on my mind of course would be what is the best mantid to start with? I'm only slightly unsure about handling them. With a little more education, no doubt this will pass. Always learn about what you fear even a little. Yep!

Looks like a nice place here.

I'm off to bounce around the forum now!

-Mel

 

[Mr.Mantid]

PWN THAT N00b!!111

Nah just kidding.

Welcome to the forum! My first mantis was a chinese mantis. I bought an egg case online on ebay, and it hatched about 400 mantids. I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner though. I kept 20 of them and only 5 made it to Adult. Most of this species die young. I would recommend a ghost mantis. Just got to keep good humidity and they do pretty good.

Mr. Mantid

 

[cuervo]

Hello welcome to forum. My first was ghost love them :lol:

 

[twolfe]

Hi Melissa,

Welcome! I just got started raising mantids in November. I started with Mios, Chinese, Gambian Spotted Eye and Ghosts. I got these species back in November and started with 5 - 7 of each that survived the journey. I had Mios and Gambians that made it to adults, and I'm still waiting for my surviving Ghosts to molt to adults. Since then I've added Dead Leaf (Deroplatys Lobata), Orchid, Popa Spurca (just one), and Creobroter (exact species unknown) to my collection. I no longer have any Chinese mantids. My last one died during its last molt to sub adult. My biggest problem in the beginning was food. I initially had trouble starting my own cultures and the ones I ordered didn't always arrive in a timely fashion and some weren't producing. Nowadays most of my mantids are eating houseflies and blue bottle flies. If I had to pick one species, it would be difficult. But I'd rely on the advice of the experts on the forum who have been doing this a long time.

Anyway, it would be great to have someone from Minnesota on the forum. If there's anyone else out there, I haven't noticed you yet. And I also have a box turtle. Mine is an Asian box turtle that I've had for almost 20 years now.

Tammy

 

[hierodula]

Hello I recommend large species such as Giant asian or Giant shield;they are ver hardy and easy to care for. Oh yeah... Welcome!!!

 

[Jolienar]

Welcome to the forum, and i recommend Tenodera sp. or Sphodoromantis sp. both so very easy.

 

[sporeworld]

Provided do your research first, I think I'd suggest Ghosts. Elegant, not too big, not too voracious, communal and depending on setup, easy to rear. Fruit flies as food, then house flies (or just wild caught prey). In a pinch, you can just get crickets. Happy in a cup or a cage.

Run through the housing thread to get inspired (take 30 minutes or so just to look at the one called "Bugatorium").

Most people selling the mantis can also sell you the habitat if you need it. Probably the feeders, too.

Let us know what you get.

Good luck and send us pics!

 

[JoraMajora]

I've only had my mantids for barely a week, but the species I have, ghosts, budwings, popa spurca, are pretty good for beginners. Like everyone's been saying so far, ghosts are amazing. Great looking and great to observe. Budwings seem to be underrated here supposedly, but they are another hardy and spunky mantis and are wonderfully adorable with their huge eyes. Popa spurca are cute and funny and also hardy. Also known as twig mantids, they like to pose with their forelegs outstretched like twigs hehe

 

[PhilinYuma]

Welcome! Everyone has a favorite "beginner's mantis", but I think that where you buy is as important as what you buy. I recommend that you try one of the dealers here on the forum, like Rebecca's MantisPlace, Peter's Bugs in Cyberspace or Carey's mantis section of Green Oasis. You'll get a good deal, and you can talk with them about the supplies that you need and get everything from one site.

 

[sporeworld]

Welcome! Everyone has a favorite "beginner's mantis", but I think that where you buy is as important as what you buy. I recommend that you try one of the dealers here on the forum, like Rebecca's MantisPlace, Peter's Bugs in Cyberspace or Carey's mantis section of Green Oasis. You'll get a good deal, and you can talk with them about the supplies that you need and get everything from one site.

+1

 

[Rick]

Welcome. Start doing your research here by reading old threads. There is much bad information regarding keeping mantids on the net. I'd love to hear about your box turtle sometime. I keep them as well.

 

[ismart]

Welcome to the forum! You have come to the right place! A Hierodula species might be a good starter mantis for you. They are very hardy. They don't miss molt often, and grow quite large.

 

[hibiscusmile]

Welcome to the newbie!!! Welcome, nice to see new people all the time!

 

[geckoboy3]

Welcome.

 

[alicenwnderlnd]

HELLO! I have to issue a warning! mantis can be addicting! I recommend a mantis grab bag. contact Rebecca at mantis place and tell her you want a newbie mantis grab bag... few mantis, some food, perfect! Cant go wrong.. all kidding aside, read the post here it helps. the search feature is nice, if you are looking for particulars. usamantis.com and mantisplace.com are two sites i really got a lot of information from. i'm sure there are millions out there but that's how i got here. Good Luck and let us know what you get!

 

[dgerndt]

Welcome! I suggest Ghosts or Egyptians. Both really great, hardy species!

 

[Karr1213]

HELLO! I have to issue a warning! mantis can be addicting! I recommend a mantis grab bag. contact Rebecca at mantis place and tell her you want a newbie mantis grab bag... few mantis, some food, perfect! Cant go wrong..

all kidding aside, read the post here it helps. the search feature is nice, if you are looking for particulars. usamantis.com and mantisplace.com are two sites i really got a lot of information from. i'm sure there are millions out there but that's how i got here. Good Luck and let us know what you get!

Hah! Thanks and a Mantis grab bag sounds like an amazing idea since I can't make up my mind and getting a surprise mantis and starter kit for a nice price actually sounds like a good idea at this point. If only it was just that easy! right?

Thanks everyone for the warm welcomes. I appreciate it.

 

[GreenOasis]

Hello, Mel! (Btw, you're a male! LOL!)

I would say that you should just find what mantis suits you, visually & care-wise, and go from there. Very few species are unsuitable for beginners. The only ones I would say to stay away from initially are the more expensive, hard-to-find & maintain models like Idolomantis, Heterochaeta, Mega Mantis & Orchids. They're beautiful, but you'd SOO be kicking yourself if they died on you.

There are a few species that can safely be called "communal": Gambians are small & communal. You can keep several in an over-sized deli cup, rather like a bowl full of fish! Violins are also communal, but are much larger and only eat flying food.

As far as breeders: Rebecca probably has a wider variety of species than I do (I'm working on that), but remember that you're also a bit limited because we each only have a few species available at any one time. Yen is by far the biggest "name" in the mantis world, but his offerings are few & far between (and you really have to act quick to get anything from him!) Best bet for a beginner is to keep an eye on the classifieds...there are often offerings for "freebies" of the more common species (which, by the way, are also the easiest to keep, breed and usually, the most personable species), such as: Shields (Rhombodera), H. Multispinas, Chinese, Budwings & Ghosts

I have been meaning to post a "beginner's setup" on my website...Thanks for the reminder! Gotta' go work on that!

Btw, they absolutely ARE addictive! My favorite is still my first Shield, affectionately called "Monkey Face"...she is so sweet! (And now I have ooths incubating from her...I'll have her babies soon!)

Welcome Melissa! Hope to hear about your first mantids soon!

-Carey Kurtz-

 

[Karr1213]

Love your website Carey. I started off in reptiles a lifetime ago and am a charter member of the Minnesota Herpetological Society. I'd guess that began in 1983ish? I can't imaging not having at least one reptile in my life.

Thanks for the info. I have bookmarked Mantis Palace. Another amazing site!

More than likely, I will chose something within a few weeks. I have to see how my work life will go and all that. I doubt I'll be laid off so no good free time for me for a while. (we like to get laid off where I work ;o) )

Thank you all for your help. Keep it coming if anything comes to mind ;o)