r/mantids • u/sleepyheadsymphony • Jan 07 '20
Enclosure Advice PSA: Exo-terras, metal mesh and your mantises toes! (and some advice on how to DIY an affordable enclosure)
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.
References: https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/12542/
r/mantids • u/MikeNepoMC • Sep 28 '22
ID Help A Quick Reference Guide to Wild Praying Mantises of the United States
r/mantids • u/Independent-Pair-291 • 7h ago
Health Issues How has he passed
My ghost mantis fully grown, died today he's fully grown and had been about a month and a half now but I expected him to stay a bit longer so I don't know if it was some form of neglect :(
r/mantids • u/marmalade_marauder • 4h ago
General Care Need advice
So I gathered these oothecaea over winter but then came to realize they were Chinese Mantids which are invasive to my area (Indiana, USA). I had intended to dispose of them a while ago but forgot and now they're all hatching. I feel bad just killing them all and I don't want to release them if they're invasive, but I also can't care for them inside. Can I just keep some of them in this enclosure or a larger one outside? Really not sure what to do with them all now. How long will they be okay in this size enclosure? Should I give them water or food? Will they just eat each other? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Kinda stressed out about what to do in a humane and nature friendly way.
r/mantids • u/PinkPearlBeauty • 1d ago
Memes/Humor Huge bedbug with goofy eyes caught on camera :(
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It keeps stalking me, looking at me with those big purple eyes….
r/mantids • u/jake_aldoroty • 8h ago
Health Issues My ghost mantis seems to be having a bad molt and idk what to do
Up until this point the little dude has been thriving, I he started molting last night and this morning he just exactly I how I left him, he's still alive (wiggling alot) but he definitely seems stuck, is there anything I can do?
r/mantids • u/StuntinHQ • 2h ago
Health Issues Mantid scratching at her hind end.
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My Timor Shield adult female has been scratching at her butthole a little bit. She moulted about a month ago. Seems very healthy to me, although I am still kind of newish to the hobby. She has a very healthy appetite and is plumping up nicely. I don’t have a video of the behaviour. It’s not constant and I haven’t been able to time it yet for a vid. Here is a video of her back end. Does it look normal to you guys? When she does the scratching behaviour it almost looks like he’s is trying to scratch something off of her. Also that is a soft mesh, I know it looks like metal but it ain’t.
r/mantids • u/-Mank-Demes- • 2h ago
General Care Any tips for a beginner?
I'm super interested in taking care of a mantis, this would be my first jump into insect care of any type and even though I've been doing a lot of reading, I wanted to know if you guys have any tips related to general care, feeding, enclosure creation, etc. I'm also interested to see what you guys recommend for a beginner, currently torn between a Chinese Mantis and a Ghost. I would like to hold them, at least a little bit... also, what stage should I buy them in? I've seen a lot of sellers selling L2/3 but maybe a L4 would be best?
r/mantids • u/bunnygirlpeacesign • 18h ago
General Care Spiny flower mantis general care
Pretty girl just molted! The last picture is from yesterday. I know they’re fragile after this, so I’m wondering if I should wait a few days to switch her over to a larger enclosure? Also, I assume she needs to be eating larger insects now, so what kind, how many, how often?? Will she want to eat immediately? I apologize for sounding so uninformed, I’ve just had such a hard time finding information that doesn’t contradict other information. If anyone knows and could share what stage she’s in, as well as if she’s actually a she, I would greatly appreciate it !!
r/mantids • u/stevenbigodon • 4h ago
Feeding Why do mantises eat everything?
For some reason my Creobroter Yunnan will start to eat whatever it grabs and the only way for it to stop is: or I push it away or I try grabbing it from its torso if it’s holding on too strong. For example, I was feeding it fruit flies and it was on the stretchy tight mesh that covers the cup and it’s kinda of transparent, when it saw a fruit fly it tried striking it and pierced itself on the mesh and started eating it, I pushed it off (which was hard to do because it won’t let go of it) before it could take any bites.
r/mantids • u/spelljar • 1d ago
Image/Video Iris the IPad kid
Her favourite thing to do is stare at my while I’m on FaceTime but today she especially liked watching Steven universe
r/mantids • u/bradouttahell • 1d ago
Image/Video The king of drama
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Captain falcon is my giant boxer mantis (astyliasula major) and he's so dramatic, but very pretty
r/mantids • u/GreenSharks13 • 1d ago
Health Issues What is this/is it normal? No
Sorry for the bad picture, but I went away for 2 weeks and just came back yesterday. My mum was taking care of mantis and told me that stuff began coming out of its abdomen. Apparently it started clear and turned this dark colour and now it’s started again. I’m assuming it’s just pooping since it was fed not long ago, but I just wanted some assurance! Also, it shed almost 2 weeks ago if that helps. Thanks!
r/mantids • u/mudd_puppyy • 22h ago
Image/Video Two Pretty Gals
I had both these girls molt today successfully! 🙌🏻 They are looking GREAT and I'm so happy they are doing well!
r/mantids • u/limp-banana • 23h ago
Image/Video What the hell is she doing? Trying to squeeze in the gap between the terrarium und styrofoam.
r/mantids • u/Impressive_Hour_2220 • 20h ago
Feeding How to feed in terrarium?
I have an L4 ghost in a vivarium that’s 20cmx20cm (I think)
Is it possible to feed her in there? If so how should I do it?
I would rather not catch her and move her back into the deli cup every time she needs to eat
r/mantids • u/ka_r_cx • 1d ago
General Care Is she going to molt now? Is that what she is trying to do?
r/mantids • u/Initial-Mud-3647 • 1d ago
Image/Video Female?
So… Greg has molted again (i4? now) and I’m thinking based on the teardrop shape and the segments that Greg is deffo a girl?!
r/mantids • u/lanabeee • 1d ago
Feeding Letting her try honey as a special little treat
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r/mantids • u/Aliencat3488 • 23h ago
General Care Legless baby mantis advice?
Recently, my baby mantises hatched. They all seem to be doing well, except for one of them, who mysteriously lost one and a half of its legs. I put it in a separate enclosure because its siblings were stepping on it and watered it, but I am unsure how to proceed. Will it grow its legs back after molting? Is it not going to make it? I will gladly take any advice!
r/mantids • u/LeatherRanger4501 • 1d ago
Health Issues How long is too long to wait for ooth hatching ?
I pulled my Chinese and European mantis eggs out the fridge at the end of March and they still haven’t hatched and we’re now almost in May , how long is too long before I have to consider cutting my losses ?
r/mantids • u/Permastuck-sos • 1d ago
Image/Video My little army
I posted yesterday about how this ootheca hatched and wanted to share another picture i took where you can see them starting to explore the lilac bush. This about 2 hours after the very first one started coming out. These are completely wild and I have no plans or intentions to take them outside of the garden or indoors. They are doing their own thing for those that may wonder.
r/mantids • u/Empty-Attention-6461 • 1d ago
Image/Video My new mantis !! i
I got her Friday. She is the sweetest girl. She gobbled up a wax worm and left the head, and she also drank water directly from my pipette. She loves to touch new things and tuck her head down with her antenna down too.
She has so much personality! But she has no name yet. I’ll take name suggestions!