Newbie alert!

jaimeepie · Feb 23, 2017

Hello there! My name is Jaimee and I'm a 18 y/o girl in college from Dallas, Texas. I love bugs. For some reason, praying mantises have always caught my attention. I've always wanted one! Do you guys know of any available small species I could purchase? I don't want to freak my roommates out that much. If not, do you know of any cool starter species? Would love to know more! : )

crabbypatty · Feb 23, 2017

Hi and welcome! The ghost mantis is a great starter if you want something small and exotic looking. I personally started with two giants and a ghost, and I loved my Giant Asian, very sweet. My ghost isn't one to be handled often, if I do he likes that I stay still while he sways. I've read that that's the case with many ghosts. My Giant Asian though loved being handled, he would even fly to me sometimes. My other one that I got was a Giant African, she's too aggressive to handle, but she's beautiful. It's up to you, but those are great starters. Either way you'll love the experience.

Serle · Feb 23, 2017

Greetings Jaimee ... S

Zeppy44 · Feb 23, 2017

Heyas and welcome. May I suggest you delve into the forum to find what would be best for you to start with. Matching the temperature and humidity needed with what conditions you can easily supply solves a lot of problems.

The ghost mantis is a good started for many reasons. Being new to mantis care myself, I chose the ghosts primarily because they are a forgiving mantis for conditions needed. Also full grown they are around 2 inches or so. Small habitats work well where a larger mantis would need much more living space.