Santa Mantis

[Sticky]

Will he visit your good little mantis girls and boys this year? What might he bring them?

 

[Bugmankeith]

Hopefully extra months to live

 

[LAME]

Maybe some honey stix?! Echo loves her honey treats

Edit: You know.. I got to thinking about this post AFTER I posted. I'd like to get Echo a new feeder food aswell, something big.... Bigger than the average adult feeder cricket, yet small enough for her to snatch up. Any ideas?

I seen giant roaches at petco not long ago, I can't recall the species. But naturally we know petco's reputation on their feeders so I didn't bother getting them. They didn't look to lively and didn't think the risk outweighed the benefits.

 

[Sticky]

I like giant hissing roaches. They climb well and dont run for cover from lights like vampires. Dubias do. There are several places to buy baby hissers. Ive also noticed thier shells are thinner than that of dubias.

Oh,and thank you for adding me as a friend!

 

[Sticky]

Try Dubiaroaches.com. they offer 25-200 nymphs of hissers or dubias.

 

[LAME]

you're welcome Sticky

you wouldn't happen to know a decent source I can have them delivered would you? Like a website or whatever. Ive got a little bit left on my PayPal account I need to burn.

 

[LAME]

oh cool, ha! Thanks Sticky!

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Every year my mantises eagerly await the arrival of the Christmas Angel Spider. Good buggies will wake up to find treats wrapped up in silk. Bad buggies however will find themselves ensnared in sticky webbing and dragged back to the Christmas Angel Spider's lair to be devoured alive.

 

[dmina]

Cute.. really cute...K.Klaw ... I think I can handle that spider...hehe

Question...with the hissers... are they hard to keep?... I can't believe I am even thinking about bringing cockroaches into my house now... Where has my common sense gone?

 

[Sticky]

They are very easy. No mold, bedding in mine is oats, I gave them a half log for them to sit on. The dominant male likes to have a place like it to survey his little kingdom on. I gave them a dish with fish pellets and a cube of water gel.

I love giving them Bug Burger but I ran out so waiting for more to come in the mail. They swarm over it!

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Cute.. really cute...K.Klaw ... I think I can handle that spider...hehe

Question...with the hissers... are they hard to keep?... I can't believe I am even thinking about bringing cockroaches into my house now... Where has my common sense gone?

If you still need some help falling in love with spiders I suggest checking out some dancing Peacock Spider Vids. They are as adorable as they get.

As Sticky said, most roaches are insanely easy to keep. That is one of the reasons so many people prefer them over crickets. A few months back I decided to take a break from crickets to try some Panchlora niveas as a replacement feeder. So easy and the mantises seem to like munching them.

 

[dmina]

WOW... That is a wicked spider...very beautiful colors... but when he jumped... so did I! Like he could get me through the screen??... and you tell yourself how ridiculous the fear is... but... it is still there... I am still trying to evolve... baby steps...

Thanks for the roach info.. (did I just say that out loud?) Really thinking about it... maybe try a couple.. I don't even know if I could handle them...

It took awhile for the crickets... it didn't help that the first place I bought them from, the person told me they bite!

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Hahaha not to traumatize you further, but crickets can bite. Usually they don't unless you really squeeze them when grabbing them, much like mantises rarely bite when handled. With crickets it is generally nothing more than a sharp pinch so other than the surprise factor not very intimidating.

It really sounds like Santa Mantis needs to bring you some roaches. You might surprise yourself when it comes to handling. A number of the species are really docile and pokey so way more predictable to wrangle than a jumpy cricket.

 

[dmina]

LOL... Thanks... I am really think about the roaches... Maybe after the holidays... Shipping and the post office is CRAZY now!

 

[CosbyArt]

Hmm, some new habitats for all the hatching ooths - I hope to have some start hatching soon.

Question...with the hissers... are they hard to keep?... I can't believe I am even thinking about bringing cockroaches into my house now... Where has my common sense gone?

Not sure where it went - I told my wife your comment as she has agreed with you in the past about spiders. She still tells me heck no - she said she can see it now, loose roaches infesting our house and hissing too!. :clown:

 

[Seal36]

Really good topic guys but I just have a couple of things to add about caring for cockroaches. First of all they are very social animals and have 4 different hisses between them, 2 are for mating, 1 is for fighting other cockroaches with and the last one is to warn other cockroaches of predators. Also the male cockroaches will have little territories in the tank but to set up there own territories they need small logs or rocks to sit on as this is where they can survey their territory from and defend it from other cockroaches. If you are planning on breeding the cockroaches the females will only breed with males who have a territory so it's important for genetic diversity and colony expansion that there is more than one territory in the tank. You will also have a small group of males without a territory and they will consist of males who are too young to mate with and adult males who are either too old to fight or have lost their territory to a younger male. Also when one male disappears from their territory the other males will fight for his old territory. The last thing I have to say is that the solid water or water gel is very bad for all insects and it's because when the water gel starts to dry out when the cockroaches eat it it starts sucking water out of the cockroach and in to itself to keep itself moist. Thanks from Tom

 

[Krissim Klaw]

The mantises hung their stockings today. Something about glitterizing the names of my mantises on stockings each year, lets me know Christmas is truly on its way. =p

When I was a kid, elementary school age, I found my first mantis and she was with me during Christmas. I stuck her name on a stocking and it was hung with the rest of the stockings in the family. Well apparently, Santa must have forgotten about her until he was filling the stockings that night. His last minute choice was to get a stick from outside for her cage. :tt2:

 

[LAME]

Hahaha! That's an awesome stocking stuffer. :|