"Open" Housing....

[Wallace Grover]

I doubt this would work, but if you.... say had a houseplant that was in a sunroom or a room with ideal mantid conditions, is it viable to just place him on the houseplant without him trying to run off to other rooms if the door is open all the time? Or put netting over it until he learns there is consistent feeding?

 

[Precarious]

Depends on the breed. Many tend to wander when they are young. And feeding becomes an issue unless you plan on hand feeding, in which case you'd want them big enough to accept flies.

I actually do this with my adult Ghost mantids and they love it! Humidity is very important when molting so once they are adult it not so vital an issue. Just be sure to mist daily as the average home has only about 40% humidity. I always keep a humidity/temp gauge close by so I know exactly where it's at. You can get a nice digital one at Walmart for $6 to $8. Very good investment.

Personally, I love having the ghosts on the loose. Although, the male sometimes goes missing to escape being eaten by a female after mating (last time he wasn't so lucky). I've recently put them back in an enclosure though so I don't have to cut limbs from my little tree to collect their ooths.

 

[Wallace Grover]

Hmmm, the reason I ask is I plan on having a 20H planted viv housing some sort of mantis('s), but I also have a beautiful philidendron (maybe a pothos?), and I thought it would be cool. I'm still a newbie though so I hope to pick up the mantis care book soon...

 

[LauraMG]

Yea, I would echo Precarious. Some species really will sit still if they are camouflaged and have food, but others are just runners by nature. Some pictures would help ID your mantids if you're curious. I don't let any of mine loose because I have a cat that really really really really really (did I say really?) wants to eat a mantid! :lol:

 

[Precarious]

I'd suggest one of the species that hang around (ghost, violin), but then the food has to come to them and those species generally look for flying food. If you don't mind having a lot of flies in there it may work.

Or you might just want to get a big butterfly cube.

Maybe just get an ooth of a native species to your area and let it hatch in there. Some may wander off but some are sure to stick around.

It is a beautiful idea and I hope you can work it out.

 

[Jesskb]

when I was a kid I would keep female Europeans on my curtains in my room. They'd go missing every so often, but when they did they would always turn up the next day or so.

 

[MantidLord]

Hmmm, the reason I ask is I plan on having a 20H planted viv housing some sort of mantis('s), but I also have a beautiful philidendron (maybe a pothos?), and I thought it would be cool. I'm still a newbie though so I hope to pick up the mantis care book soon...

Depending on the size of your plant, I would put the plant inside a tank. I have three philidendron(pothos) and 3 Dracena marginata inside a tank where I house my chinese. Working just fine so far.

 

[nebmanditdae]

being the newbie i am i have a carolina female she had ooth shortly after i caught her but i have a small douglas pine next to my computer every morning when i thaw out bloodworms i takea tweezers and give her one we seem to be becoming the best of friends incidently the bloodworms are for my bettas