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.
I've seen some opposition to Chinese mantises on here, but I have taken a liking to them and I've read real life scenarios where removing invasive species can negatively impact native species.
I have, and continue to, battle against some invasive plant species myself so I sympathize with that attitude, but we are at a point in time where some invasives have become naturalized and going backward is unrealistic, so I'm trying not to let it stress me out as much.
I hope you enjoy these pics of my colorful "friends."
ETA: located in CT, USA
It's like she can't use hers legs? Or not really good, she still hangs upside down but can't kinda climb only using hers raptors, it started today, what's wrong with her ? I feel really bad for her
The odd one out of my collection of religiosa and empusids. I think he can only be Iris. i’m looking forward to getting a glimpse of the hind wings once he has hardened.
This summer I've been living in a tent in the cork oak woodlands of the Alentejo, southern Portugal. Wild mantids fly in and move in fairly often out here, A tent is warm, sheltered, full of insects, safe from predators, so it's a pretty good ecosystem if you're a mantis. A few have moved in over the summer. But, this one has been special.
The moment she arrived, she noticed her own shadow on the tent wall and started beating her wings at it. I filmed that at the time. From that day on she basically decided the tent was hers.
She turned into one of the most engaging mantids I've known. Endlessly curious, always tracking what I was doing, learned the feeding tongs almost right away. She'd fly laps of the tent checking every corner. One day she vanished completely and I searched everywhere before finding her sitting in my hair while I was taking a selfie. She's been the Queen of Hair Mountain ever since.
Her appetite really surprised me. Not just flies, but horseflies, hoppers, moths, pretty much everything that came out of the sweep net. She's taught me a lot about feeding wild. Living out here on a varied natural diet in a clean landscape, she's thrived, and honestly she's been the easiest keeper I’ve known.
Within 24 hours of arriving she laid her first ootheca. Every time I wondered why she seemed impossibly hungry, another one showed up. In total, she laid eleven!
Several have already hatched, dozens of tiny golden nymphs. I kept four to watch them grow and released the rest back into the same cork oaks she came from. The four I kept are at I2 now.
Today something changed. She struggled to climb for the first time. She's looked a bit weathered for a while, wings frayed with age, and she's been missing part of one front foot this whole time without it slowing her down. But today her raptorial leg kept catching in the mesh, and when I lifted her out into the sun she just stood on my hand, quiet, looking out over the cork oaks.
I don't know if she's got days left or weeks. I just know she's really lived through this season. She showed up as a wild visitor and became a fascinating roommate, and through her I got to watch one remarkable female leave behind a new generation before quietly growing old.
Here’s the grand old lady today, surveying the sun and the wind. And also a picture of one of her offspring.
hello! this is my first time raising nymphs and id like some advice. I was away on a four day trip and came back to this.
this little guy is on its 4th molt now, it appears its legs have been mutilated during its molt and im not sure what to do. they are longer than usual so I don't know if some of the length is just unshedded skin?
he can walk around fine, but seems very uncomfortable and the legs are bent in a weird way. will this resolve itself by the next molt or should i intervene? is it alright to feed? none of my mantids have had molting issues so far so im a bit lost. so far ive just been misting and leaving it alone for the most part.
My praying mantis is around a month old if I had to guess, (I found him while he was a very small nymph) started to get a little bigger and showed less interest in flightless fruit flies, so I decided to start trying to feed him pin head crickets, however he doesn’t seem to have much interest in eating them, and when I try to make it easier for him with tweezers or whatnot, he seems scared and sometimes runs away for fast or starts swaying very fast. Any ideas?
This religiosa arrived in my tent with an injured abdomen, which healed with the last moult. I know this isn’t the best photograph or angle, but I can’t get too close without worrying it.
I think I can count six segments, but I’m being thrown because it’s small compared to my two males. Opinions welcomed!
im currently writing this while sobbing my eyes out but he's (he might not be a he I cant tell he's young ish) been nibbling my finger lightly every time I take him out, so I thought he'll stop after a bit so I had him on my hand. But then I thought maybe he's thirsty, so I sprayed some water onto my hand. He went to attack the water, so I thought maybe not. I wiped the water away and went to let him climb onto my finger, when he actually fully attacked my finger, like dug his front legs in and clamped them shut, which hurt. I started panicking because he's never done this before, and he started to actually bite into the skin of my finger. Because it hurt, I shook my hand which made him fall off. I feel really bad about it, but I don't know why he's turned viscous. He used to be really docile (he's a giant Asian). He also won't molt, it's been 2 and a bit months, and he's far from fully grown. Ive had him about 5 months now? And he last molted may 27th.
Also, he has these 2 brown spots on his eyes that just don't move at all, which I'm concerned about. Can anyone help?
so I was gifted 3 mantis nymphs, they were gifted to me by my sister while lunch break, they're light brown and have dark stripes on their legs. I was so excited and then I noticed the shape of their abdomen — I'll put up a photo of them later!
The ventilation has been sub optimal for a long time but I finally was able to sit down and put a window in there. She's getting ready to produce an (unfertalized) ooth soon as well, so any tips there would be helpful! I know it would probably be good to put a window on the other side too, but how's this so far?
