My First Order Has Arrived!

[ky_mantis]

My first mantis pets arrived yesterday courtesy of DeShawn of Mantidkingdom.com.

I got 3 Ghost and 1 Spiny Flower. I absolutely LOVE them.

The Spiny Flower is cuter than a speckled puppy. My wife loves how she wiggles he butt before grabbing a fly. She must have eaten 10 fruit flies last night. I put some house fly pupa in he enclosure so maybe she will get something a little more substantial when they hatch.

The Ghosties are a riot. As soon as you take the lid off their deli cup they start reaching out to be held. The can really scurry around fast. It took the effort of both my wife and myself to get fruit flies in the cup and then try to get the mantis back in before any of the flies escape. They are in separate containers at the moment, but  I'm maybe thinking a Exo Terra Tall Nano for them when they get bigger.

Anyway, just wanted to share my enthusiasm. Already looking for my next organic fly swatter.

 

[PrayingMantisPets]

Glad you love your mantises. My first two non native mantises were spiny and ghosts. I can’t wait to get more myself. I miss my spiny, she would always dance with her arms stretched out. 

Haha organic fly swagger.

 

[Connor]

Congrats on your new mantis! I remember how exciting my first package was! I always have a hard time getting my ghosts back in their cups lol. Have fun with your little guys!

 

[Mystymantis]

Awesome sounds like you have your hands full with your new arrivals. Ghosts are awesome mantises. When mine were nymphs some of them liked to grab more then one fruit fly in one arm! it was exciting and very funny to watch.

Good luck with your mantises!

 

[Teamonger]

Congratz on the babies! I am so jealous, those are my the two species I have been trying to get my hands on for over a year now. I have purchased 3 ghosts ooths and none have hatched and spiny ooths never seem to be available when I'm buying. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one that demands pictures as they grow under your care

 

[Okoboji22]

Nice! Opening the package is one of the most exciting parts. Anyways, are you going to try keeping the ghosts communally?

 

[ky_mantis]

Nice! Opening the package is one of the most exciting parts. Anyways, are you going to try keeping the ghosts communally?

That was my intentions. I had kinda thought about all 3 of them in Exo Terra Nano Tall when they grow a bit, if that would be enough room for them.

The Spiny Flower, aka Rosemary, is an eater. She consumes every fruit fly I put in the cage within a few minutes. I have some house fly pupa in with her but they haven't hatched yet. 

The Ghosts eat 3 fruit flies each the first day, but don't seem to have eaten since. I'm only keeping a couple flies in each container for them. Of course the fruit flies are a much bigger meal for them, compared to the size of Rosemary.

 

[Okoboji22]

That was my intentions. I had kinda thought about all 3 of them in Exo Terra Nano Tall when they grow a bit, if that would be enough room for them.

The Spiny Flower, aka Rosemary, is an eater. She consumes every fruit fly I put in the cage within a few minutes. I have some house fly pupa in with her but they haven't hatched yet. 

The Ghosts eat 3 fruit flies each the first day, but don't seem to have eaten since. I'm only keeping a couple flies in each container for them. Of course the fruit flies are a much bigger meal for them, compared to the size of Rosemary.

Good to hear they're doing alright. Have you seen the spiny flower dance yet?

 

[ky_mantis]

Yes! I had her out tonight and she did a little sway dance. 

 

[Okoboji22]

Yes! I had her out tonight and she did a little sway dance. 

The dancing is the cutest thing ever, it's one of my favorite things about the flower mantises :wub:

 

[ky_mantis]

So, being a mantis noob, I have a few questions I was hoping some of you could help answer them.

My Ghost Mantis aren't eating like I think they should. They ate about 2 fruit flies (FF) each the first day and since then they may have only each eaten one of two flies. That amounts to each mantis having eaten 3-4 FF in a 4 day period. I'm keeping a fly or two in each of their containers, but they mostly just ignore them. 

I had a house fly pupa hatch in one of the containers and the Ghost seemed more interested in it than theFF, but it was way too big for the little Ghosties to deal with.

The Ghost are teeny tiny compared to my Spiny Flower (who eats like a horse I might add) so 3-4 FF over a 4 day period may be normal. They don't look skinny and are active. 

Also, the Ghost are currently housed in the 3 separate small deli containers that they came in (8oz size I think). I want to keep them communally so should I go ahead and put them together now or wait till they get a bit bigger? I picked up a couple of 32oz deli containers at Meyers just in case. 

I bought a couple of fake plants at Hobby Lobby. How do I clean/sanitize stuff like that?

 

[Mystymantis]

So, being a mantis noob, I have a few questions I was hoping some of you could help answer them.

My Ghost Mantis aren't eating like I think they should. They ate about 2 fruit flies (FF) each the first day and since then they may have only each eaten one of two flies. That amounts to each mantis having eaten 3-4 FF in a 4 day period. I'm keeping a fly or two in each of their containers, but they mostly just ignore them. 

I had a house fly pupa hatch in one of the containers and the Ghost seemed more interested in it than theFF, but it was way too big for the little Ghosties to deal with.

The Ghost are teeny tiny compared to my Spiny Flower (who eats like a horse I might add) so 3-4 FF over a 4 day period may be normal. They don't look skinny and are active. 

Also, the Ghost are currently housed in the 3 separate small deli containers that they came in (8oz size I think). I want to keep them communally so should I go ahead and put them together now or wait till they get a bit bigger? I picked up a couple of 32oz deli containers at Meyers just in case. 

I bought a couple of fake plants at Hobby Lobby. How do I clean/sanitize stuff like that?

It is normal for ghosts to not eat lots, or to not eat all the food they are given, don't worry about it. They are not heavy eaters. Some of my ghosts would go even a week without eating, which of course I was worried but it is normal. If they don't eat for a few days it could mean they getting ready to molt, and if so they won't eat until after they molt. They might also take a little while to start eating after a molt too. What instar are your ghosts? Also ghosts really wait for their food to come to them and will ignore it if it is not close. Though if they are really hungry and motivated they can go after prey but most of the time they seem content to just sit there. They can be pretty laid back. But it sounds like your ghosts are perfectly normal as long as they are active and not skinny.

The ghost might have been more interested in the house fly due to its movements which are undoubtedly a lot more noticeable then a fruit flies. As I am sure you know mantises are very visual hunters.

Sure sounds like your spiny flower is happy.

I would wait on putting them together just yet, though it probably would be fine. I am just cautious and since they are carnivores there still is a risk they might eat each other.  Males probably wouldn't eat each other but females might, though yours are still tiny so that probably doesn't matter yet.  That is good that you have 32 oz deli cups those are perfect for ghosts when they get bigger.

For cleaning fake plants you can use hot water and soap. You can also soak them in water and soap for a little while. Just be sure to thoroughly rinse them to get any soap off.

Good luck with your mantises!

Spiny flower mantises do a dance? I didn't know that, that is so cool! What does the dance look like?

 

[Ocelotbren]

I was about to reply but @Mystymantis beat me to it and said everything I was going to say!  I was also curious what instar your ghosts are though.  They could possibly be put together at this point but the enclosure would have to be the right size - a balance between big enough so that they don't get in each other's faces, and small enough so that they can find their prey.

 

[ky_mantis]

I'm not sure of the instar but I would guess L2 or maybe L3. They are tiny. Like I said, a house fly was to large for one of them to handle. They are only slightly larger than the fly. I've included a picture. That's a chop stick in the cage and a FF in the bottom for reference.

Also a shot of the Spiny Flower just because...

 

[ky_mantis]

Rosemary feeding time:

 

[ky_mantis]

Mystymantis,

She will see one of us and start swaying back and forth and her little butt dances a bit. 

 

[PrayingMantisPets]

What instar are your ghosts?

Ghost dont eat as much as other mantises. Thats what ive noticed. They could be also close to molting if they haven't eaten in a few days. I would spay lightly once a night to keep them hydrated and humidity up. I personally would separate the ghost for now just to make things easier and keep track of everything. 

I forgot to press the send button last night.  :blush:  anyways i love the spiny flower! 

 

[ky_mantis]

Well, while getting ready for work, I went to check on my mantis this morning only to find what looked like 2 Ghost in one container. Confused I looked closer on to find one of them had molted! My first molt! The molted Ghost was a lot bigger than its siblings. Hopefully the others will be close behind. Happy day!

 

[Ocelotbren]

Congrats, that is exciting!