Wanting to get a pet Mantis

[ArvadaLanee]

Hello all. I have 8 year old twin boys, and one of them wants to be a scientist, the other, an entomologist. My little "entomologist" has recently become interested in having a pet praying mantis. He did receive a praying mantis kit as a gift, but it did not come with any live mantis, or egg case, (or oothca, as we recently learned,) and when I went online to look into buying something for him, I was overwhelmed by all the options. Who knew there were so many different types of praying mantis species?! And they require different care, and foods, and have different personalities....I realized that this is something I should really take my time, and research before making a purchase.

I made a mistake like that before, when I purchased a corn snake after just reading a pamphlet, and speaking with pet store employees. I ended up with a snake that was sick, and it died within a month, breaking all our hearts, and making me feel very irresponsible. I had found a corn snake forum by then, and I was able to find a new snake from a reputable breeder, and we have learned so much about the proper care for our new baby, that we didn't even read in any of the books I bought about corn snake care!

This time, I want to get it right the first time, and come straight to the place we can learn the most about praying mantis pets, from people who already own them! We are starting out with almost no knowledge, so I thought we should hang around this site, and ask questions, and learn about other people's experience BEFORE we actually make our purchase. This way we can be more prepared, and hopefully be well prepared to provide excellent care to our new friend. We look forward to meeting some new people and learning all about the wonderful world of Mantids!

 

[Rick]

Welcome.

You're doing the right thing by researching the care your new pet needs prior to actually purchasing it. There are many species suitable for a first-time owner.

 

[LAME]

"We are starting out with almost no knowledge..."

I'd recommend one of your natives species to start off with, but of course there are "beginner" classed mantids like the ghost. When I started out I took baby steps I guess... I started with a native Chinese mantis and worked my way up to the harder species

And welcome by the way, hope to see you've decided to stay!

 

[dmina]

 

[ArvadaLanee]

Thanks everyone.

 

[Sticky]

Welcome!

 

[hibiscusmile]

Welcome

 

[CosbyArt]

Hello and welcome to the forum

There are many species that are great for beginners, as they are some true survivors (low food/very forgiving/hardy/etc) and have almost no molting issues. As LAME mentioned the two common native species are great options as if your two twin boys lose interest they can be released into the wild (backyard). They are Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) (caresheet is for a Stagmomantis california) and the Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis).

The releasing outside aside if interest is lost aspect, the one species I would recommend highly is the Ghost mantis (Phyllocrania paradoxa). It is the most hardy species I've kept by far and has out done nearly any others I've had before or since I got my original pair (and here). I got 4 new Ghosts lately and they are doing great while the other two species (shipped at the same time all together had problems).

 

[ArvadaLanee]

Hello and welcome to the forum

There are many species that are great for beginners, as they are some true survivors (low food/very forgiving/hardy/etc) and have almost no molting issues. As LAME mentioned the two common native species are great options as if your two twin boys lose interest they can be released into the wild (backyard). They are Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) (caresheet is for a Stagmomantis california) and the Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis).

The releasing outside aside if interest is lost aspect, the one species I would recommend highly is the Ghost mantis (Phyllocrania paradoxa). It is the most hardy species I've kept by far and has out done nearly any others I've had before or since I got my original pair (and here). I got 4 new Ghosts lately and they are doing great while the other two species (shipped at the same time all together had problems).

We will not be releasing outside for now. (I have to look into that more because we live in such a cold climate, I would feel guilty.) We are definitely thinking ghosts. I am currently looking into making a really cool blacklight habitat out of a tall 13 gallon aquarium. We have a separate net enclosure for feeding, so space shouldn't be an issue. I am just trying to get all the details on habitat set-up and requirements now, to be sure our ghost friends will love their new home!

 

[Sticky]

Lame is setting up a beautiful tank with things donated by members for some of his ghosts.

 

[ArvadaLanee]

Lame is setting up a beautiful tank with things donated by members for some of his ghosts.

That's cool. What a good idea. I wish I could donate something cool, but it's gonna take me a while just to get all the things for my boys before their birthday. We live on a very tight budget, but we have some creative ways of saving money.

 

[Chrisv8855]

Welcome to the forum.my very first mantis was a Chinese mantis.then I went to a ghost mantis which are very cool.

We have some great and educated people here on the forum.Just ask and you will get a response very quickly.

 

[ArvadaLanee]

It has been so long, and we still haven't gotten one. Unfortunately, I had a run of bad news, with many illnesses in my family. We have been dealing with heart attacks, cancer, and luekemia. Not fun stuff. Fortunately, things are beginning to settle down now, and hopefully we will finally be able to get our long awaited mantis pet. We are trying for a ghost, or a giant asian mantis. Hopefully this time we won't have any bad news get in the way.