World's best mantis encloser :)

[Psychobunny]

If I were a mantis, this would be my house!!

This cube is fantastic! It's 12'' and nylon mesh on all sides except the clear plastic front,

and there is a zipper on top:

P.S. I had to delete a whole bunch of pics to make room for these!! that sucks!!!

 

[gripen]

I absolutely love these things! They work great for for my Chinese who by the way are quite clumsy. They love walking around and hunting there prey.

P.S. I am not the only one who noticed mantids look happier in these things.

 

[Termite48]

These are nice, but beware that crickets can and do eat holes in them and if you hot glue anything to the mesh, it is there for life because when you remove it later, the mesh comes will tare.

 

[jrh3]

nice where is the cheapest place to buy these

 

[massaman]

I like using critter keepers for adults and sub adults and late instar nymphs personally!

 

[gripen]

One thing to consider is never ceep gravid females in them because you can never get the ooths off the mesh!!!!

 

[ShieldMantid1997]

One thing to consider is never ceep gravid females in them because you can never get the lotus off the mesh!!!!

very true, my Miomantis p. laid an ooth on it and its still there..... it just wont come off.

 

[LLCoolJew]

I've got one of these, too, for my Cilnia. She seems to like it. But between you and me, I don't find it particularly attractive.

How's your Cilnia doing, Psychobunny? Has she molted yet? And what are you feeding her right now inside that cube? Prey seems to get lost in there, and mine can never find it!

-Lauren

 

[patrickfraser]

Green Oasis offers a different type of this net cage in a pyramid shape. It is a bit more aesthetically pleasing, in my opinion.

 

[Rick]

Yes. Been using them for years. I think i'm the only person though who puts the plastic clear side down to use as a floor.

 

[Psychobunny]

I've got one of these, too, for my Cilnia. She seems to like it. But between you and me, I don't find it particularly attractive.

How's your Cilnia doing, Psychobunny? Has she molted yet? And what are you feeding her right now inside that cube? Prey seems to get lost in there, and mine can never find it!

-Lauren

LOL!! they take a bit of getting used to the sight of them!!

She is doing well, eating flies and cricks but mostly cricks.

Both my Cilnia's are spoiled rotten! they like to be hand fed!! though they will still snag a prey if it

happens to get in their face! LOL!!

One of them is in a large plastic jar and stays hanging upside down on the lid.

When I open the lid, with her on it, she reaches her arms out for me.

I put the cricks (which I have to remove their back legs so they dont get away) in my hand and she

snags them.

The one in the cube was the same way, reaching out to me as soon as I opened her jar, that is why

I transfered her to the cube.

My other one will be transfered also as soon as I get the fake plants (exactly like in the pic) I ordered.

I am not worried about the problems mentioned above regarding crickets chewing through it, etc.

My cricks dont live long enough to chew anything. I do not leave uneaten pry in any encloser (except flies).

If they dont find them and eat them, they come out, too bad!! they learn to catch them if they are hungry

or else.

I am also not worried about an ootheca being glued to it since I will watch them for signs and if they become gravid

with an (infertile) ootheca, I will transfer them to something else.

Nothing is perfect, but for me, these cubes are the answer to home sweet mantis home

 

[Psychobunny]

Green Oasis offers a different type of this net cage in a pyramid shape. It is a bit more aesthetically pleasing, in my opinion.

Yes, I like these too.

Is it all nylon mesh like the cube (even the floor!!)?

 

[Psychobunny]

Yes. Been using them for years. I think i'm the only person though who puts the plastic clear side down to use as a floor.

You mean so you can open it from the front?

I never thought of that. It would be sturdier for putting my fake plant in there.

 

[Psychobunny]

very true, my Miomantis p. laid an ooth on it and its still there..... it just wont come off.

Just an idea, but have you tried soaking the cube in hot soapy water to remove that glued on ootheca?

 

[Psychobunny]

I like using critter keepers for adults and sub adults and late instar nymphs personally!

I have several of these and they are the perfect dimentions with a lot of surface area on the lid for hanging

upside down

I modify the lids because they are so hard to remove. I just cut the little "snap on" tabs off or Dremil off the

corner lip (depending on the brand).

That way, it's easy to lift off the lid w/o having to "pry" the thing off!!

 

[Psychobunny]

nice where is the cheapest place to buy these

They are very hard to find.

Carey and Steve (Mantis Pets) were selling them before they ran out of stock.

Problem is, there is one guy who makes these, he runs the "Live Monarch" website and they are back ordered

until middle of next month.

You can Google "The Caterpillar Castle" and maybe get lucky and find someone who stocked up before they

all sold out from the manufacturer.

 

[sporeworld]

Yes. Been using them for years. I think i'm the only person though who puts the plastic clear side down to use as a floor.

Me, too. Although sometimes I use sandwich wrap sheets (wax paper) as well, just to make cleaning easier.

And, as much as I'm a HUGE fan of decorating my enclosures, my net cubes get NOTHING! "Nothing but net", as the saying goes. Too easy for branches and such to fall or roll or otherwise crush the (usually tiny) inhabitants.

 

[sporeworld]

I clean mine with a pressure washer (well, a poor man's version). Sometimes I soak them afterwards (bleach solution). Or I just air dry them for a day.

I'm also addicted to "bung holes" in my enclosures, so I cut a hole in the top, and reinforce the area with sheets of foam (or on one, a piece of the pink insulation materials that comes with a lot of my mantids).

I also ran a twister through the tab of the zipper, as it can be a little difficult to grab. That makes me more comfortable really jamming the tab into the housing for a tight seal.

 

[lunarstorm]

I also ran a twister through the tab of the zipper, as it can be a little difficult to grab. That makes me more comfortable really jamming the tab into the housing for a tight seal.

Thank you! Gonna do that right now for my cube...