Tarantula guy looking to get into mantises, some basic questions.

[Coffee]

I'm 24 and have been keeping all sorts of insects and spiders I find as pets since I was in middle school. I currently have 120+ tarantulas of 20 species, so while I am new to mantises, I'm not new to invertebrates in general. There are many similarities in the mantis and tarantula hobbies.

I've been lurking on the site for a few days trying to read up as much as I can on mantises to avoid having to make any dumb noob posts and have learned quite a bit but there are still a few things I wonder about.

I've been reading up on the breeding reports for various species and have learned that some mantises need it to be VERY hot in order to breed. I was reading numbers like 105F which I find interesting. I keep my tarantula room around 78-80 most of the time, though it will occasionally go up to 85 or down to 70 depending on the weather outside. Are these temps OK for just housing and growing mantises or do some species need to be kept at 100F all the time? What's the best way to heat an enclosure to 105F? Are there plants somewhere on the site on how to set up a heated enclosure for housing multiple mantids? Perhaps a way to heat a larger fish tank or cabinet?

 

[PeterF]

Your 80 ish should be fine for most species. You can use a heat lamp or reptile heater for a little more for specific species. As advice, I would suggest starting with a species that does not need it to be so hot. There are plenty of awesome species that will be happy in your 80 ish room.

Otherwise, bumping up the temp can be specific to your needs and the tank you have to work with. It is worth working with a species in something make shift and changeable before making the "perfect" home for it only to find out it's not perfect.

 

[Kriss]

I keep most of my mantids at room temp and they breed fine at these temps. There are species that will require more warmth but as said above start with an easy sp to begin with, african or asian sp are good starters.