Praying mantis care sheet

[*mogwai*]

he ate yesterday. i figured the cricket might be too big so i put a smaller one in. didn't take him long to find it.

no pics as yet. i can't belive it's taken me this long to get one. i've been thinking about it for a while but got the opportunity to buy one on wednesday, complete with small glass fishtank & branches & stuff all set up so i jumped at the chance. the other half didn't put up a protest either which is a bonus lol.

i think i'm gonna call him deigo although after seing him eat i think the exe****ioner (can't spell) might be more appropriate.

[macro junkie]

you guys and naming your mantids..lol.i dont bother naming them.i have to many,even when i only had 1 i didnt name it..im not sure why..i name my cats tho.

[marty.twigs]

can mantids be handled?

[joeyboy]

yes but you do have to be very delicate when doing so, i only held mine today because it was being upgraded to a bigger plastic clyinder.

I might sometimes when it's adult and a bit more durable. They can be a bit skittish, this is isn't but my first Indian one was, however once it's on your hand it should be ok, it will probably stay still and look around or walk around slowly, if it is crawling too far up your arm place your other hand in front of(not RIGHT in front of it, but close) it, it will cause it to stop and go into a defence position usually, it's getting them off your hand and back into their enclosure that's annoying, i usually take a stick out too and coax them back onto the stick then i place the stick back in the cage.

[marty.twigs]

how are they hard to get off your hand?

and do they bite?

[joeyboy]

hard as in sometimes they don't want to move and since their delicate you can;t exactly big it up with two fingers and pull it off your arm. Generally tapping it's ass will make it move but i mean sometimes when your putting it back in it's enclosure it will turn around and try and crawl up your arm(slowly). I'm making them sound like crazy sprinting bugs, seriously their not that bad, just be delicate when you handle them because their easily damaged, they don't lose legs like stick insects do but ya know it's just an insect you can't grasp them hard or anything.

In my experience they don't bite, apparently they have some of the sharpest jaws of any insect but their pretty small, doubt they'd do much more then break the skin a tiny bit if they did bite, but really all they will do if threatened by say your finger being too close is draw their front arms ton their body(striking position), if you get closer they'll strike at you, generally doesn't hurt at all only my adult Indian one once scratched me.lol.

[earthstick]

I came home this evening to find my mantis had started to shed its skin but it did not hang high enough. I moved it higher when I saw it but I'm afraid its going to die. Its thorax is bent at a right angle, one of its legs looks like spaghetti. I guess when it comes out its skin is soft and it sets. It looks like it has set and its now a cripple. To make it worse it can't get out. Its been hanging there now for long enough to have come out but its arms are stuck and because its body is bent at 90 degrees it cannot get its antenna out. Its really sad to see it because it is a giant asian and now has wings. Looks like it is adult or close to it.

Is there any hope for it?

[Joe1507]

cool, thanks this helps abit :P

[Ozgi]

you say to only spray them with spring water. Would it be ok to spray them with tap water that has been left out for a couple of days as all the chlorine will have evaporated?

[Blackmelo]

yes ozgi spraying tap water that has been standing for a day is fine to use.

I thought I would add a couple of things to mantis care too.

I place a small water bowl in my mantis enclosure instead of spraying. Is alot easier looking after lots of mantis and they can take a sip of water whenever they feel like it.

I would also advise against using a plastic container with a mesh screen. On a mantis final shed it will decide to moult on the mesh at the top, emerge and try and hold on to the sides of the container which will be too smooth to grip and the mantis will most likely fall.
It is not an ideal way of housing a mantis. It works for the first few sheds, but most often not for the final one.
A good container imo is for example a sweet jar, lid staying on with a few airing holes drilled into the container and lid and either branches or a polystyrene cup in the middle of the container for the mantis to shed on.

If a mesh screen is provided on a sweet jar, again there is the risk of the mantis shedding on the mesh at the top and the final moult ending badly unless the sweet jar is placed on it's side, that works also.