Questions about raising mantids

[geishagirrrl]

so now that we put ours out of her misery and learned some valuable lessons of what to do and what not to do, i want to move on and get at least a couple more. have some questions though.

first of all i have kids and our mantis was kept in about a 1/2 gallon to 1 gallon size habitat on our kitchen bar where we could enjoy her all day. i don't think i gave her enough sun. how much sun do they need and how often?

also, humidity wise....i had no clue about that. we kept her indoors and the temp is usually between 74-78degrees throughout the day. how can i insure that the new ones will have the proper humidity they need to molt and not have issues like the last one?

food...we had fruit flies aplenty, just naturally around, and fed her those when she was little, then caught house flies and then fed her wild florida mantids, grasshoppers, moths and other insects we could find around. is there anything i should not be feeding them? she didn't seem to like some of the larger wasp/horsefly type flies that we found. we did buy crickets at the pet store but i found them to be gross and too much like roaches for my liking and would prefer not to have to have them around...although i can find them naturally outside if i needed to.

if i have the ooth how many offspring can i expect? how long can they be kept together before they start to eat eachother?

i was thinking of going the chinese mantis route again. is there any reason not to get those?

thanks in advance for your help.

 

[LauraMG]

first of all i have kids and our mantis was kept in about a 1/2 gallon to 1 gallon size habitat on our kitchen bar where we could enjoy her all day. i don't think i gave her enough sun. how much sun do they need and how often?

Good size for an adult, maybe a little big if you have nymphs though. I've had trouble getting babies to eat when they're in an enclosure too big.

also, humidity wise....i had no clue about that. we kept her indoors and the temp is usually between 74-78degrees throughout the day. how can i insure that the new ones will have the proper humidity they need to molt and not have issues like the last one?

You'll need something to hold humidity. You can use anything from a paper towel to coconut fiber substrate to soil. Humidity helps with molts big time. The temp will naturally rise with humidity plus sunshine, just don't let it get too hot (based on species of coarse. Some like it HOT).

food...we had fruit flies aplenty, just naturally around, and fed her those when she was little, then caught house flies and then fed her wild florida mantids, grasshoppers, moths and other insects we could find around. is there anything i should not be feeding them? she didn't seem to like some of the larger wasp/horsefly type flies that we found. we did buy crickets at the pet store but i found them to be gross and too much like roaches for my liking and would prefer not to have to have them around...although i can find them naturally outside if i needed to.

Sounds perfect! The risk of wild catching is ensuring what you catch isn't exposed to poisons. My apartments spray so I don't trust anything that crawls around where I live, only fliers. Sounds like you were doing just great with it's diet though. If they can't eat it, they won't eat it, so don't worry too much about what not to feed. I hate crickets myself. Stinky nasty cannibalizing creatures. I have a roach colony of b. lateralis now that I'm attempting to feed mine with now. I know what you mean by not wanting them around, but I must say I've become desensitized. Creepy, I know!

if i have the ooth how many offspring can i expect? how long can they be kept together before they start to eat each other?

Depends on the species. As nymphs, if they have plenty of food they are *less* likely to eat each other from what I've read. I'm not well versed with this one, as my own experience is a single Chinese ooth.

i was thinking of going the chinese mantis route again. is there any reason not to get those?

I love them myself! I think I'll always keep a Chinese regardless of what else I have! But, that's just my opinion

 

[Rick]

Only thing I have to add is that they don't need any sun or special lighting. It sounds like you may want to avoid any large species if you're unwilling to keep roaches or crickets. There are some species that can eat nothing but bluebottle flies which are readily available for purchase in pupae and spike form. Be sure to do a search using the search feature since all of your questions have been asked many time.s

 

[hibiscusmile]

I would never put a mantis or anything else in the sunlight, unless they were from outside and used to it. Even a few minutes in the sun in a container will heat up and kill them. Just use your room lighting and they will be fine.