phyllocrania paradoxa molts to adult

[patrickfraser]

You wanna see? I have extras..... :devil: JK, but maybe? They eat whatever I offer them usually, but go BONKERS for mantids.

This is my female eating an adult female lineola.

 

[sally]

I think one day we need to get into the ethics of how we keep our mantids........For those of you who think smaller is better I have to ask why? Is it so you can have more? Is this based on you having a pet, being a breeder or a business? Because when you start accpeting the bare minimal for how to keep your mantid when does it become more about you than whats best for the mantis?

I hear things like smaller cages allow me to keep and breed more, My question is why? Because its not for the mantids best interest. You claim keeping them in smaller cages allows you to breed more to keep them in the hobby, well if everyone worked together to educate new hobbyists we wouldnt have this issue. There would be more people keeping and breeding them there for allowing you to scale back but is that really what you want or do you want to pack them in like sardines and boost you own ego on species count while trying to make a buck?

How in the world we live in with humane laws against packing dogs and other pets into small crates would you fault someone for wanting to do more than a ff cup for housing? You ever think the mantids just hang there because they have no other options? Because most of my species roam their cages throughout the day.

this is how my ghost arrived in the mail to me last week. I thought he was dead. I got him warmed up and he made it! I kept him in a smaller container to make sure he was eating and to give him a little stability. All my adults and larger nymphs are in large hex containers. For the bigger ones, such as Orchids, I have the largest tall containers.(in the back) Of course I only have the 11 mantids so it is eay for me to do this. Everyone of them gets free range time every day But I am like the "cat lady" only with mantids so I have the time and space to be this way.

 

[sally]

It keeps me occupied/distracted, as I am home most of the time looking after my 90 year old father. Not to mention they make great feeders for chameleons. Just saying... :lol:

So who's going to lobby congress for the "Mantis Welfare Bill" and who's going to be reponsible for writing it up and enforcing it?

Yes That is how I got started. My dad had alzheimer's and I was his sole caretaker for 3 years. I loved having the mantids. H passed in Jan. But I am so into this hobby now

 

[patrickfraser]

I give all of my mantids plenty of room to move and you know what they do? They move. My bugs never ever sit still, always exploring and always looking for a roaming beetle or a new place to hang around. You dont give them a small enclosure because they dont move, they dont move because you give them a small enclosure. Cramming them in a tiny enclosure like that is not taking care of the mantis, its taking care of your wallet and your "look how many bugs I have!" ego.

A GOOD breeder would have 75 bugs well cared for with plenty of room instead of 300 crammed into tiny little cups where they can't even open their wings. Only a person looking to make money off of mantids would keep them in something so incredibly small. People like that dont care about the mantids at all, and they aren't true hobbyists.

I mean just look at the cups in this picture, from your most recent update. They're MAYBE 2x the height of the mantis, there's no furniture at all, no plants to climb on, not even paper towel as a substrate. All they have is a prison cell with some screen on the wall. How can you possibly say this is good for the mantis, and not just good for your ego?

I didn't bring the business end of it up. I was just commenting based on my understanding of what I thought I was reading. I may be entirely wrong and off point, Just going with what I read. And if he wasn't doing something right he wouldn't be able to be taking care of his wallet, would he?

BT-I rarely have anything other than what's said in posts on the chameleon forum, but the way people come off sometimes is harsh. I take what's helpful, apply it, and stay away from doing anything that I know I shouldn't do from reading the forums. I can't believe the condition of some of the chams that pop up there and that probably end up dying, bc the new member was looking for help, got reamed, and left. You may have seen it, but I am taking good care of my chameleons.

This is a sleeping pic from last night.

and out for a day of sun the other day.

 

[patrickfraser]

Yes That is how I got started. My dad had alzheimer's and I was his sole caretaker for 3 years. I loved having the mantids. H passed in Jan. But I am so into this hobby now

KARMA POINTS FOR YOU! That must have been difficult and I am sorry for your loss. My dad doesn't have any of that, but is just about blind and doesn't hear like he used to. We have good genes. His mother passed about 8 years ago at 104 years old! He might have a ways to go. :lol:

 

[Bug Trader]

Yes your pair of chams are beautifull and I follow your thread. And yes its a hard hobby to screw up in and then have to ask for help I walked away from chams yrs ago when their may have been 50 or so successfull breeders around but it was still the same way then. I would much rather try and educate people even suggest a beginners guide to keeping mantids "may end up writing one:" just to be able to explain all the options, ideas and such. Like I said my only issue was the joke based on someone wanting better for their mantids than a deli cup. Later.

 

[SilentDeviL]

I give all of my mantids plenty of room to move and you know what they do? They move. My bugs never ever sit still, always exploring and always looking for a roaming beetle or a new place to hang around. You dont give them a small enclosure because they dont move, they dont move because you give them a small enclosure. Cramming them in a tiny enclosure like that is not taking care of the mantis, its taking care of your wallet and your "look how many bugs I have!" ego.

A GOOD breeder would have 75 bugs well cared for with plenty of room instead of 300 crammed into tiny little cups where they can't even open their wings. Only a person looking to make money off of mantids would keep them in something so incredibly small. People like that dont care about the mantids at all, and they aren't true hobbyists.

I mean just look at the cups in this picture, from your most recent update. They're MAYBE 2x the height of the mantis, there's no furniture at all, no plants to climb on, not even paper towel as a substrate. All they have is a prison cell with some screen on the wall. How can you possibly say this is good for the mantis, and not just good for your ego?

Like I Said U have ur way I have my. We are IN Canada Not In the US ... U really think I want to Care for 500 Mantis , Did u ever think Why ??? other then MY EGO .... lmao ...

No one want to Raise or Keep 500+ mantis .. It just takes too much time is worse then going to Work. Is very sad to start this Hobby Probably the worse County .. The Reason I have so Many Mantis is not I want them Is they Have no were to Go .. Unless I feed them off , and if i don;t feed them off I have no choice but raising them. Who buys Mantis In Canada ??? out of 1000 people U might find 1 buyer and u can't even Post on any Canadian web sit letting people know u have them..... If i have a 10000 Square feet house sure i can have all the Space for them but i don't.. I can Only work with the space I have, is hard enough to keep the Hobby going, and I have to lesson to ur B.S saying I don't give them space .. If i have a choice all Adult will be in Exo-Terra . So Don't Judge People how they keep their Mantis They Might not have a choice.