Please Advise, New to Mantids

[Gwynhidwy]

Greetings All,

I'm a new member here and would appreciate some advice. My husband has wanted a mantis as a pet for quite a while and I'd like to get him one, but I'm not really sure where to start. I know he would like a larger species and something fairly hardy and preferably green.

Will a 40g acrylic terrarium with a secure lid be okay for a mantis? Any plants that should be avoided in the setup? Is online the best way to acquire a mantis? Any recommendations? I'm in the Pacific Northwestern US, any place I could get one locally? Any recommendations on good books or websites to learn more about proper care?

Thanks for any help!

 

[joossa]

Hi and welcome!

Use this http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?s=...ode=adv&f=0 to answer all your basic, general questions. Many of the old topics and posts here have covered all the basics, so it's good to make use of them.

 

[macro junkie]

your need a giant asain mantis very easy to look after and grow very big and very easy to look after...your need a steady supply of crickets a small tank with soil and a stick..there very easy to look after

 

[Mantida]

Greetings All,I'm a new member here and would appreciate some advice. My husband has wanted a mantis as a pet for quite a while and I'd like to get him one, but I'm not really sure where to start. I know he would like a larger species and something fairly hardy and preferably green.

Will a 40g acrylic terrarium with a secure lid be okay for a mantis? Any plants that should be avoided in the setup? Is online the best way to acquire a mantis? Any recommendations? I'm in the Pacific Northwestern US, any place I could get one locally? Any recommendations on good books or websites to learn more about proper care?

Thanks for any help!

Welcome to the hobby of mantis keeping!

A 40g will be roomy for your mantis, but he or she may have trouble finding prey in such a large enclosure. Most of us keep mantids in 2 or 5 gallons. Unless you release a lot of prey into the cage, the mantis won't be able to find any prey. Some mantids are sit and wait hunters, and this just makes the situation worse.

I recommend either a Chinese mantis (Tenodera aridifolia sinensis) or a Giant Indian mantis (Hierodula grandis), Giant Asian mantis (Hierodula membranacaea), or an African mantis (Sphodromantis centralis). These mantids are probably the hardiest, largest and stockiest mantids that are out there. Keep in mind females are always the bigger ones so if you want a large mantis, go with a female. Males are generally smaller and slimmer and much more active in the sense of flying and jumping.

All plants are fine as long as they are not carnivorous.

Online is probably the best way, as breeders are better with raising mantids than petstores are. I recommend Yen Saw (usamantis.com), Ian (insectstore.com), Rebecca (mantisplace.com), and Peter (bugsincyberspace.com).

There are several websites you can go to for care. My freewebs site has a bunch of links to breeders and caresheets and I've also written an extensive caresheet for the general mantis.

DeShawn (mantiskingdom.com) has caresheets as well. I recommend the book Praying Mantids: Keeping Aliens. You can get it from Peter's site here.

If you have any further questions, like joossa mentioned, the search feature is always open and a wonderful way to find questions that have already been asked. Good luck in finding your way!

 

[Rick]

Welcome. 40 G is way too big. Mantids do better in smaller enclosures where they can find their food easily. Many people keep nymphs and small mantids in 32 oz deli cups. The largest tank I use is a 2 1/2 gallon.

 

[Gwynhidwy]

Thanks very much for the responses! I'll look around here on the forums for more info and check out the suggested breeders. We can nix the 40G and go with something smaller, no problem. Thanks again!