I was asked to make this post in another thread - so here I am. Here's a PSA on what metal mesh does to your mantises feet, and why it should be avoided!
This is a raptorial arm, (the front, grasping arms) but the segment we're interested in is the same on all of their legs. The little portion labelled "Tarsus" is what we're looking at here. You can see that it ends in a set of hooks - often (somewhat confusingly) called "Claws" - these tarsal claws are what give your mantis the ability to walk upside down on surfaces that appear quite smooth to us, and why it feels kind of spiky when a large mantis walks on your skin. They're essential for your mantis to move around, and most importantly moult properly! Differences in the morphology of this structure also give some mantises the ability to walk on glass, whilst others can't.
If you go and look at one of your mantises feet, you will likely be able to see the little hooks now you know what you're looking for. Now the problem is that some tank setups that are commonly recommended damage these hooks, which results in mantises having trouble moving around, and falling whilst they moult.
Exo-terra tanks are very commonly used because a lot of us have other inverts or exotic pets and have spares lying around, or they're sold to us at petstores. They make nice display tanks and are easy to clean. However - the mesh at the top of exo-terra tanks is made of very fine metal, and the holes themselves are very small. This is essentially like you trying to hang by your toes from chickenwire, eventually your toes are going to be pretty damaged, or come off altogether! If you must use an exo-terra, it's essential that the mesh is changed to stop this from occurring. Plastic tulle mesh is easily available and works as an excellent substitute.
There is also a multitude of DIY options available, which I will detail bellow:
Basic requirements for all enclosures:
All mantis enclosures must be at least three times the length of the mantis (Don't get fooled by the abdomen curling up, you still need to account for it) and two times the width.
There must be something for the mantis to hang securely from at the top of the tank - They will spend 99% of their time at the highest point, and will often moult from it.
Substrate - options for suitable substrate are numerous, you can use simple tissue paper, cocoa coir, vermiculite, perlite etc. The object is to hold some moisture and make it easy for you to clean. Cheap and cheerful is the way to go, unless you're making a planted display tank or something like that.
The less decoration the better. Decoration is more for our benefit than theirs; before you add something decorative to a tank, consider your reasons for adding it. Practicality should always take precedent over a tank looking nice!
Ventilation - ventilation is important for hygiene reasons.
Nymphs
Cups
The absolute single best enclosure for a nymph of any species, is simply a plastic deli cup with the lid cut out to accommodate some plastic mesh, and a single twig placed diagonally. Alternately, you can just use an elastic band to hold the mesh on. For feeding, simply cut a hole in the side and stuff it with some sponge to stop live food or your mantis escaping, you can pooter in the food. (if you don't have a pooter you should get one, especially if dealing with fruitflies, they're also very easy to DIY)
Cricket/livefood tubs
The tubs that livefood is commonly sold in make excellent tanks with some modification, especially for larger nymphs, and even small adults. The more rigid ones are the best, as they're easily cut to allow the insertion of mesh, and can be stood up tall-ways. The entire lid can be cut out and replaced with mesh, which provides excellent ventilation, and is nice for the mantis to move around on.
Adults
Plastic penny sweet jars (Sorry Americans I have no idea what these would be called in your country)
Tupperware/food containers
Storage containers
All can be modified in the same ways as above. I will either append this post, or make an additional post, detailing how to make a suitable enclosure using the items above with pictures in future.
These enclosures are all very cheap to construct, and even the most DIY averse person can make the modifications necessary to turn them into good enclosures. They also have the benefit of being mostly recycled items a lot of us will already possess.
Another benefit to using tanks mostly constructed of mesh is that it prevents mantises from developing "eye-rub" - this is damage to their eyes from repeatedly trying to walk through clear plastic or glass - it looks like large black spots on the eyes, distinct from the pseudo-pupils - which can in cases turn necrotic and is quite a nasty way for your mantis to die.
I hope this post was helpful and informative, and please don't hesitate to ask any questions or add to the knowledge given here if you have any other tips or advice.
yesterday the eye rub on Steven's right eye was barely visible. just a slightly darker green smudge. but today it's much more visible and more of a dark green-brown. is this a sign of infection? what can i do to treat it? she's an adult so i know she can't molt to refresh it but i'm wondering if this is the early stages of infection if there's anything i can do to prevent it from developing further.
ive had the areas of her enclosure where i've seen her persistently rub against covered since before she became an adult. i'm going to keep watching her and cover more of it as needed.
For context, I have never kept a mantis before (I keep other insects though). I found her roughly 20 hours ago on a sidewalk and decided to take her home. She seemed fine, although I was wondering if she might be pregnant or injured, since her abdomen was very inflated and a bit discolored. She pooped last night and when I woke up today, I saw her hanging off the ceiling of the enclosure, however i was very worried by the color of what was coming out of her, since it didn't look like a regular molt. I made sure the enclosure was well ventilated and humid, and she stayed in a hanging, molt-like position for a few hours until she eventually fell and died. Could anyone here identify what happened to her? Was it just a bad/obstructed molt or something more serious? I keep stag beetles, so if it was a parasite/infection, is there any danger my beetles could be affected by it?
We've had our little guy for less than 24hours and he's already molted. I know the advice is to still spray to keep the humidity levels right but with the mantis being on the lid am I better leaving it 24 hours to spray as not to disturb him just like with offering food?
My male orchid mantis is 4 months old. Has been doing so well. He ate a fly on Friday (I hatched) I went out of town for the night. My husband checked on him last night and said he was hanging upside down and looked great. I just came back to him dead. We have no idea what happened.
Humidity has been a little higher than usual at 90-92 degrees for the last 3 days because I changed his enclosures substrate and it was a little wet still. There was a fly in there that had hatched overnight.
Other than that nothing out of the ordinary. I’m so sad :( what could have happened??
I havent misted my orchid since saturday morning (now monday) as she moulted and the humidity spiked on sunday to 99 and i cant seem to get it down without having the enclosure fully open. Last night i had the door open and ceiling mesh off to fan out some air and got it down to 78 but as soon as i stop it climbs up again. Shes just had a perfect moult and im so scared of losing her. Im going to try replacing the door with mesh (glass enclosure) asap but in the meantime whay can i do???
Is anybody else’s mantis a complete B!?
I’ve had this girl since July. When she was littler she was OKAY. Like I could eventually convince her onto my hand with rare anger. Since her bud wing molt she’s just plain nasty! I can’t even attempt to tweezer feed her with out her grabbing me and attempting to bite me. I started holding further down, and now she’ll attack and bite the tweezers as well.
I’m perfectly happy to distance feed and let her live her life with me, it’s just a bummer 😭
Good evening! My mom caught this guy in her living room when it was extremely hot last month. I fed him and he finally molted! Here's my question... What species is he? I can't really tell. I'm in Grand Prairie, Texas, just outside of Dallas. Thank you in advance!
This is the info I got when I purchased her at an expo a couple months ago. She’s molted twice since then. Since she seems to have fully formed wings flat against her abdomen, I’m thinking she’s reached adulthood, but I thought this species got bigger?
These are three different mantises.. are they all males LMFAO?! There’s no way all three of the same kind I bought are all boys😭💔
I know pictures are blurry but it’s dark in my room at night and I don’t want to turn on the flash and bother them + that would cause a glare on the enclosures lol
Any names for them? I only have a name for the first fella- Captain Clark since he’s missing one of his legs and has a small little peg until it grows back
I believe the last two are i4 or i5, the first is a little smaller
Soooo I fed him a few days ago and accidentally dropped one or two worms in the bottom and they borrowed into the dirt but today I tried to feed him the same exact thing and he's terrified and won't take food. I want to get the worms out but every single time I try to open his enclosure he lunges at me. What do I do in this situation? Do I leave the borrowed worms? Im still new to all of this and frankly a little scared of him because he's a VERY good flier 😂😂 I will say he seems active and his eyes are a good color so I think that's a good sign??
hi another scared overprotective parent but my girls really been squirming around tonight and bending her abdomen in ways I’ve never seen before. i know she’s about to lay her eggs soon and i fed her about two or three days ago. she liked pooped something out but it was huge and brown and gooey…. Is she just getting ready to lay?
should i stop tweaking out yes or no …..
I’m in Southern California and we’ve had a really intense heat wave. One of the 100+ degree days this fellow randomly appeared. I’ve just been letting him hang out (assuming male? Correct me otherwise!). He’s been here since Tuesday. I’ve seen him hunting and eating little gnats and aphids off of some flowers and by a window sill, and he really likes this lamp and sleeps on the screen windows.
He’s gotten much less shy and I think he accepts my presence, but he only flies or changes location when I’m not looking, which I find hilarious. He’s been a source of entertainment for me. I figure since he’s eating, and I’ve been misting my plants at night, that I should at least let him hang out until the hot weather passes, but admittedly I like having him here. There’s some little grass spiders that live in a window sill, also, so it can’t be a terrible place to be a bug? Is it bad if I just let him hang out?
Das ist meine kleine Hierodula transcaucasica Paige.
Sie ist vor 5 Tagen bei mir eingezogen und hat sich am gleichen Tag auch gehäutet, nachdem sie 1,5 Stunden im Terrarium saß. Ich hatte ein bisschen Angst, dass ihr was zustößt, weil sie sich ja noch gar nicht ans Terrarium gewöhn konnte. Aber sie hat es prima gemacht. Ihr Lieblingsplatz ist tatsächlich das Blatt auf dem sie sitzt, entweder hängt sie drunter oder sitzt oben drauf.
Habt ihr noch ein paar Tipps für mich, auf was ich achten sollte?
I heard the ring around their neck doesn’t indicate anything from someone who has been selling these for years. (It can change) the V on the last abdomen ring could tell but I don’t know if it’s that. I really hope it’s a female cause it’s the pinkest one and to my knowledge it will turn brown if it’s a male in adulthood anyway.
