AGREED!If you have a big cage I think it is fine for them. Not those small cages people keep them as pets. Sorry that you have so much trouble.Do you have Orchid Mantises now? Is that your second favorite mantis?
Haha those sites look high tech! It looks good! Mantidpets.com sounds too similar to Mantispets.com.
Oh, they are both nice but the mantii are expensive.
I suppose it's easy to say "mantids should be cheaper" when you aren't in the business. I didn't appreciate all the work that goes into Rebecca's business until I "walked a mile in her shoes" either.
I challenge anyone who thinks differently to take care of some 2000-3000+ mantids, EVERY day, for a year, and come back & say the same. I do this for love of the species & desire to get others "into" mantids as well. (i.e. Folks who would otherwise never have found the forum & gotten into them that way.) This is why I also sell them at local reptile shows. You have no idea how many people out there STILL say, "I never knew there were more than just a couple species!" & are simply fascinated...as well as all the kids who "Oooh" and "Awww!" over them! I really need to get a good vid of one of our shows sometime, but let's just say that it gives me no end of joy to introduce people to a hobby that they never would have otherwise known existed! (Peter should be thanking me, as I'm sure that his membership has steadily gone up as a result of new owners "searching" for all available info on mantids!) LOL
Wow. When you put it that way, It must be really difficult to keep and rear so many mantids. But it has its rewardsI suppose it's easy to say "mantids should be cheaper" when you aren't in the business. I didn't appreciate all the work that goes into Rebecca's business until I "walked a mile in her shoes" either.
Y'all don't think about all the costs associated with taking care of, feeding, misting (distilled water), housing, cleaning, electricity, incidentals (such as excelsior for hatching ooths) and then, of course, going & buying new species or replacing lost species. The only way I can keep my prices as low as I do is by finding others (like here on the forum) whom I can trade with or buy, inexpensively, new species & species that I've lost. I only RARELY deal in ooths, and refuse to import anymore, as I've already been burned a few times and just can't afford the losses.
Now, let's think of actual PAY, like my hourly wages for taking care of all the buggers...ha...there really is none...joke's on you!
Tomorrow I am going out to the great Bob Clark's (think "big snakes"/Letterman show) facility to see some of his collection, and he has also requested some mantids, as he wants to try his hand at keeping them!
I also recently did an interview with a magazine contributor about mantids & their future in the pet industry. I haven't seen it yet, but it's the newest issue of Pet Age magazine, which is a trade magazine distributed throughout pet shops nationwide.
So, REBECCA & PETER, better batten down the hatches, because I foresee a storm of "bug enthusiasts" coming! A veritable "plague" of them, you might say!
(Ha, watch. It will be my luck when the magazine arrives that there is only a one-sentence blurb from my interview!) Ah well...it'll be fun to think I've been "published" anyway!
People who are new to the hobby may mistype mantidpets.com and enter mantispets.com since they are so close. So, it could bring you more business, Carey.
Thank you. Hubby has been working hard to make it look new & "fresh". I will pass on the kudos!Wow. When you put it that way, It must be really difficult to keep and rear so many mantids. But it has its rewards
BTW love the new site update
) We will probably have a LOT better pics of the different species here soon. He doesn't have a macro setup just yet, but I'm working on him.
And by that same token, the other way around, which I believe is the reason for the "close" name.
Cool! I hadn't heard of that magazine. Do you know if it's one that you can pick up in a store or do you need a subscription? Let us know how it goes.I also recently did an interview with a magazine contributor about mantids & their future in the pet industry. I haven't seen it yet, but it's the newest issue of Pet Age magazine, which is a trade magazine distributed throughout pet shops nationwide.So, REBECCA & PETER, better batten down the hatches, because I foresee a storm of "bug enthusiasts" coming! A veritable "plague" of them, you might say!
(Ha, watch. It will be my luck when the magazine arrives that there is only a one-sentence blurb from my interview!) Ah well...it'll be fun to think I've been "published" anyway!
That's true, but I'd say it would be more in your favor. I had never heard of "mantid" until I found this site.And by that same token, the other way around, which I believe is the reason for the "close" name.
But it does not sound good.I'm not going to go out buying up all the potential website names just because I can, though! Don't worry, Rebecca, I'm not angry. I already know there is plenty of business to go around for us both (and Peter too!)
Couple means two if you do not know. Aww........I would love to do that. Water costs just about nothing. Food does not seem to cost a whole lot. But when they all die is the thing..... and heat of course.I suppose it's easy to say "mantids should be cheaper" when you aren't in the business. I didn't appreciate all the work that goes into Rebecca's business until I "walked a mile in her shoes" either.
