Potential new mantid owner - tips please?

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maybon

maybon

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Hey so I am a biology student & during my course we did entemology and I have loved mantids for ever, I did an insect collection last year & had to kill one... which was rather sad however I did end up finding a very good spot to catch them (caught about 5 adults in 15minutes). I went late in the breeding cycle, I am planning on going today and catching some and hopefully starting up a little colony (seperate containers of course) but i plan to breed them later on so that I can have babbies & keep them into next year and hopefully longer.

So I plan to catch some mantids (they are about 4" & green) I will post a picture if I catch any later today. I also want to make my own enclosure's for them and was wondering some basic stuff.

1. Should I include a patch of live grass & dirt as flooring (for a natural feel since they are wild ones)?

2. Can I keep baby mantids in an enclosure sized for them as adults or is it best to keep them in small containers (note i have planned to do the later but was wondering)

3. What materials will I need to make an enclosure (I am decent at crafting things with wood etc...)

4. Do i need a heat lamp & how often should I mist (I am from Melbourne Australia & its not a humid climate and can range from ~5ºC-45ºC through the year)

5. Will I need a light for my enclosure/s and if so what sort? Eg UV, heat, regular, soft or bright light?

6. Any other tips that will be helpful? I know about removing food if they are about to molt and trying to not over mist to prevent mold growth (any tips on not getting mold)

I was thinking of making a square enclosure with a metal or nice wooden edges & using pyrex or what ever its called see through plastic for the two sides & mesh for the front with a zip. Having a solid background I plan to get some polystyrene and cover it to make a rocky outcrop feel (glueing loose small rocks/dirt onto it for a cool look & something for the mantid to climb).

so this enclosure will be about 15inches tall (room for substrate & 3 times the length of adult), about 8inches across but 12inches deep (to allow room for my rocky wall)

I plan to get meal worms, nutrient loaded crickets & to catch flies/moths/butterflies for them. (will they eat bugs & beetles also because I have lots of them around the yard outside.

Does this sound like I will be successful, should I change/remove/add anything?

Thank you for your input & advice in advanced

p.s I will put pictures up of the mantids I catch if any & the enclosure once built!

 
Ok I have a couple of suggestions for you. For the inclosers think simple simple simple. I use 32 oz deli cups with only one twig and maybe some paper towel substrate. Any thing more than that would make moulting for them very hard.

I'm assuming you are either finding archimantis sp. or pseudomantis sp. If so you will not find adults this time of year. You will only find mantids of less than one inch in length or non at all this time of year. If you show me a picture of what you find I can ID it for sure.

 
ID'ing it would be nice, however I am fairly confident I should find some mantids since it is half way into autumn in Australia & I found them around this time last year maybe add 2-3 weeks at the or almost adult stage. (fully developed wings and about 4-5inches in length).

I will also be keeping most of the mantids in basic containers as you reccomended, but I want a "main show case" for my favourite one hence the elaborate case one. P.S I am not over crowding the enclosure as I plan to only have 1 stick in there & a very short layer of grass/moss.

 
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my main concern right now is fungus & how to prevent/remove it from the enclosure/insect.

Should i have live grass/moss or will it increase chances of fungal growth if so by lots or not much?

p.s going hunting now will post results later tonight or tomorrow morning!

 
Eco earth is a great substrate.

Please post pics if you find any more adults

no special lighting needed. Heating should also not be an issue depending on species. Humidity will help them molt so a YES on a humid enviroment (Inside the cage)

Feed them every 2-3 days, feed them moths or flies

Good luck, Pics would help

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hertarem45 said:
Eco earth is a great substrate.

Please post pics if you find any more adults

no special lighting needed. Heating should also not be an issue depending on species. Humidity will help them molt so a YES on a humid enviroment (Inside the cage)

Feed them every 2-3 days, feed them moths or flies with you can buy at MantisPets.com or MantisPlace.com

Good luck, Pics would help
Click to expand...
He is in Australia lol.
 
No not wrong at all. UK mantis sites ship to Australia, I checked... would've been funny though

I havent seen any Australian mantis sites as the mainly only sell phasmids

 
Hertarem45 said:
No not wrong at all. UK mantis sites ship to Australia, I checked... would've been funny though

I havent seen any Australian mantis sites as the mainly only sell phasmids
Click to expand...
There are a couple of problems with that. It is highly illegal to ship any non native bugs in and out of Australia making feeder shipments all but impossible.
 
It is not the same though here in the US. In Australia they actually scan every package into the country and every one leaving the country. It is to help prevent invasive species. If you get caught it is not pretty.

 
Well, I did not know that.

Good luck finding a mantis site in Australia. Or you could try and get away with one in the UK but you might go to jail so....

 

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