# Thinking of getting a Praying Mantis



## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

Hi all,

i'm thinking of getting a Praying Mantis ( not sure on kind yet) atm i'm keeping a bearded dragon so dont mind the live food, was wondering whats the best Praying Mantis for begginners and what kind of set up to go with it i have a spare exo terra faunarium the 2ft ones any replys/help would be great what as much infor before i buy anything want to get the set up sorted before getting the mantis :2thumb:


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Any species is good for a beginner really, just some require some different care than others, all quite easy, although if you're really new to inverts I'd recommend staying away from orchids. 

What kind of characteristics do you want from the mantis? Something to cuddle? Something viscous? Green? Brown? Big? Small? Let me know what you're after and I'll try and point you towards some.  

Also they won't need a massive tank, although if you're going for one of the more viscous species I don't think it would make much of a difference as they go hunting for food.  Although 2 ft will be far too big, you need more height that length and a sweet jar would be perfect for all mantids.


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

thanks for the reply :2thumb: was after something ither viscous and green or brown ( anything that looks cool ) like the ghost mantids but dunno what there like also which exo terra faunarium would you recommend ?


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Sean Hickey said:


> thanks for the reply :2thumb: was after something ither viscous and green or brown ( anything that looks cool ) like the ghost mantids but dunno what there like also which exo terra faunarium would you recommend ?


Ghosts are very docile, you can pick them up and play with them.  They still eat loads, but they would rather sit there and wait for food to come to them, so you'd have to have a smaller sized tank. 

Viscious green ones you could go for the African species, like congos, ours threat at anything that comes near, there was a stand off earlier between 2, one was eating a cricket the other was threating at it. They are in totally different tubs, a distance away from each other. :lol2: 

Peacock mantids are viscous and brown, mine drew blood one when it threat and attacked me.  

All of those can be fed on crickets, but you should use flies as well as crickets shouldn't be used as the only part of their diet. 

If you go into any sweet shop they might give you a sweet jar, or if you go on ebay I'm sure you'll be able to find some. I don't really know what sized ferranium as I don't use them, but you would need one 3 times the height of the mantids.


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

oki thanks  am after one what doesnt get any bigger then 1-2 inch max nd prefer one that doesnt fly as much the ghost sounds good do they need tank heaters ? and gr8 idea for the sweet jar :no1:


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Sean Hickey said:


> oki thanks  am after one what doesnt get any bigger then 1-2 inch max nd prefer one that doesnt fly as much the ghost sounds good do they need tank heaters ? and gr8 idea for the sweet jar :no1:


Yeah ghosts are quite small, although they are bigger at about 3 inches, I'm not too sure about the smaller species as I prefer to keep larger ones personally. 

If you have a female they tend not to fly, males do sometimes but I've never witnessed it other than to jump onto a female. 

No a ghost won't need a heater, they are fine at room temp. 

They are a lovely little species, for ours we keep them in a tub from wilkinsons which you can buy for £1.59, it has a fair amount of space and plenty of room to moult. They are square with a white lid. :2thumb:


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

thats not to big  so female for me since they dont fly :lol2: nd ill have to look into the tubs on there site  what are ghosts temperments like ?


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Sean Hickey said:


> thats not to big  so female for me since they dont fly :lol2: nd ill have to look into the tubs on there site  what are ghosts temperments like ?


Docile as anything, you can pretty much pull them off a stick and the most they will do is look at you funny. :lol2:


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

haha perfect do the females fly much or they the same as most ? nd how big do they normal grow to and would them tubs be fine for one and thanks for the replys/help :2thumb:


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

Creobroter gemmatus are worth looking at too. Stay small, fine at room temperature, need spraying every couple of days at least, nice looking, mine are only tiny atm but one of them likes to come out for a wander sometimes lol. I've been feeding mine fruit flies and even when they were smaller they'd take flies as big as themselves :lol2:


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Sean Hickey said:


> haha perfect do the females fly much or they the same as most ? nd how big do they normal grow to and would them tubs be fine for one and thanks for the replys/help :2thumb:


I've never seen any of me females even attempt to fly. About 3 inches for an adult, they are quite small (could be smaller, I'm useless with measurements). The tub I suggested would be fine. To be honest we kept outs in a pint cup until they were sub adult.


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## gary1621 (Apr 28, 2009)

This time of year is great for keeping Mantids, the gardens are full of food for you to catch for them.
Moth hunting at night is great fun


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

sounds good thanks for all your help is there a carehseet for them ? and cools best get hunting haha


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Phyllocrania paradoxa (Ghost Mantis) Care sheet - UK Mantis Forums

Also if you sign up and introduce yourself one of the people on there are selling ghosts on the classifieds.


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

oki thank u  how long do they live for ?


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Sean Hickey said:


> oki thank u  how long do they live for ?


Quite a while as far as mantids go. About a year when mature is a good age.


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

cool  think am going to go for a ghost for my 1st one been on the site you sent the link for been a great help :notworthy:


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Sean Hickey said:


> cool  think am going to go for a ghost for my 1st one been on the site you sent the link for been a great help :notworthy:


Yeah, they are a good one to start with. :no1: You're welcome, any thing else I can help you with feel free to PM me. : victory:


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

oki will do added u on the friend thing and cheers :no1:


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## Rach1 (May 18, 2010)

this has also been helpful to me...
: victory:


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

chinese praying mantids are easy... get big too!


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

gdgd  are you thinking of getting one ? looks abit to big


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

You'd have to get them at a quite high instar, as nymphs they seems to die very easily and not a lot survive, unlike others. 

They are often said to be for beginners but I'd steer away from them myself, they look boring and tend to die on you.


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

is that ghosts or chinese ?


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Sean Hickey said:


> is that ghosts or chinese ?


Chinese, Ghosts are quite hardy as long as there is enough ventilation.


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## Sean Hickey (Jun 3, 2010)

gdgd got abit worried there going to price some up tomoz at my local pet shop


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