Praying Mantis Care Guide
|
A praying mantis is a hunter with amazing attributes. They are regal and majestic as they move and seem as if they think themselves nobility in their insect world.
Day in and day out, they live their lives without knowing when their next meal will be, but always trusting that eventually they will find what they are looking for. Whether working in a garden or caring for these amazing insects, a praying mantis will never cease to surprise you. Each one has its own personality and each one has secrets to share. |
|
Before you locate an ootheca or a mantis (which I like to buy from Praying Mantis Shop), you will want to buy praying mantises’ home (also found at Praying Mantis Shop).
If you are the more creative type, some people even make their own habitats. If you want to make your own, make sure that the mantis can easily climb the sides of the enclosure (mesh sides are ideal since mantids can easily climb and breath due to the good air circulation). For beginners it might be easier to just buy an habitat because in order to care for a thriving mantis, you will need the perfect enclosure.
If you are the more creative type, some people even make their own habitats. If you want to make your own, make sure that the mantis can easily climb the sides of the enclosure (mesh sides are ideal since mantids can easily climb and breath due to the good air circulation). For beginners it might be easier to just buy an habitat because in order to care for a thriving mantis, you will need the perfect enclosure.
What size will your habit be?
You have to take into account the mantis’s size and needs. For instance, if the mantids (‘mantids’ is the correct word for more than one mantis) you are planning to keep are going to be small as an adult, you will want the specimens to live in a five oz container as a nymph and a 14 or 32 oz container as an adult. If the mantis is going to be large as an adult, it would be best to, as a nymph, live in a 32 oz deli cup and as an adult live in a 12x12 mesh container.
You might think that a bigger container is better no matter what since a mantis in the wild has such a large amount of space, but in nature, there are many more feeder insects (flys, crickets, etc.) available for the mantis to possibly catch. While in your care, however, you will not be able to offer unlimited amounts of food. And on the subject of feeding, you are going to need an easy way to access the inside of the mantis’s enclosure in order to feed it without letting other feeder insect out.
You will need a feeding hole. A feeding hole is exactly as it sounds; it is a hole in the lid of the container in which you can drop in feeder insects without taking the lid off. Once you have finished feeding your mantis, you can simply block the hole with a cotton ball or a foam piece. Why can you not just open the container like you normally would? Many people neglect to realize that if you are going to keep an insect or arachnid (spiders) as a pet, you are going to have to feed them live feeder insects and you WILL see the insect attack and eat their prey eventually.
You might think that a bigger container is better no matter what since a mantis in the wild has such a large amount of space, but in nature, there are many more feeder insects (flys, crickets, etc.) available for the mantis to possibly catch. While in your care, however, you will not be able to offer unlimited amounts of food. And on the subject of feeding, you are going to need an easy way to access the inside of the mantis’s enclosure in order to feed it without letting other feeder insect out.
You will need a feeding hole. A feeding hole is exactly as it sounds; it is a hole in the lid of the container in which you can drop in feeder insects without taking the lid off. Once you have finished feeding your mantis, you can simply block the hole with a cotton ball or a foam piece. Why can you not just open the container like you normally would? Many people neglect to realize that if you are going to keep an insect or arachnid (spiders) as a pet, you are going to have to feed them live feeder insects and you WILL see the insect attack and eat their prey eventually.
Is your habitat going to be planted or non-planted?
If you have decided that you can handle seeing a praying mantis eat another insect, then it is time to figure out what habitat you want. There are two types of habitats; planted and non-planted. A planted habitat is an enclosure that has live plants in it. This kind of habitat will create a lot of moisture, so you DO NOT need to mist it. In fact, it can make too much moisture for the mantis, so it might be a good idea to wipe the inside of the container with a dry towel to get rid of the excess water. If you dislike this habitat and want to change to a non-planted habitat, it is ideal to slowly lower the humidity in the new non-planted habitat rather then suddenly moving the mantis into a dryer enclosure. I’ve learned that trick from experience. One more thing to know: any crickets, cockroaches, and other ground insects will hide easier in the planted habitat if they aren’t eaten right away, which may make predation difficult for your mantis.
I usually use a non-planted habitat so that my feeder insects have no place to hide and plus I do not need to worry too much about the humidity. For me, it’s just easier for me to give them the best care possible. All you have to do is mist the enclosure daily to keep the mantids hydrated—unlike most insects the mantis drinks regularly—and keep the general humidity at the right level without entering intense humidity levels
.
No matter which enclosure you decide to create for you mantises, make sure the insects have plenty sticks and other objects to climb on.
I usually use a non-planted habitat so that my feeder insects have no place to hide and plus I do not need to worry too much about the humidity. For me, it’s just easier for me to give them the best care possible. All you have to do is mist the enclosure daily to keep the mantids hydrated—unlike most insects the mantis drinks regularly—and keep the general humidity at the right level without entering intense humidity levels
.
No matter which enclosure you decide to create for you mantises, make sure the insects have plenty sticks and other objects to climb on.
How to Keep Your Mantids’ Enclosure Clean
There are a few techniques that may become of use to you. I find that the easiest way to ensure easy clean up is to place a paper towel on the bottom of your mantid’s habitat—only do this if your mantis lives in a non-planted habitat. Otherwise, if the mantis lives in a planted habitat, the only thing to do is to gently pick or sweep up the worst of the mess. In habitats with high humidity it is a good idea to clean often. You can do this by taking an old paintbrush and sweeping the crumbs of dead prey and mantis poop into a pile and then brushing it into a paper towel square.
|
The OothecaThe ootheca (or you can just call it the less exciting name; praying mantis egg sac) is a safe casing formed by a female praying mantis, that protects the 12-300 nymphs (baby praying mantises) inside and usually takes three to five hours to be laid. Once you have acquired the ootheca, place it in a small container with a stick or two. If you bought the ootheca in the autumn or winter and you want to delay the hatch until spring, feel free to put the ootheca in the refrigerator—NOT THE FREEZER—for as long as six months. You still have to care for the ootheca, though (see below).
|
Caring for the Ootheca
In my experience, mantids usually hatch in the mornings, so check it every morning once it has been warming for about two weeks.
Remember to check it frequently since they will need food and water right away to prevent them from cannibalizing each other (yep, it happens). They don’t usually eat for the first three days of their life, but once they are ready, they will eat everything they can find…including their siblings.
Remember to check it frequently since they will need food and water right away to prevent them from cannibalizing each other (yep, it happens). They don’t usually eat for the first three days of their life, but once they are ready, they will eat everything they can find…including their siblings.
HatchingYou should notice the spot on the front of the ootheca that is a different color and texture from the rest of the ootheca; this is where the nymphs should emerge. They will start to scratch and chew their way out. Once they are finished, it will look like little wood shavings dusting the front of the ootheca. If you watch the ootheca, you will see small, white creatures pull themselves out of the casing. Once each creature dries off, it will end up looking like a miniature adult praying mantis. Remember to not help a mantis hatch or the odds are you will kill it.
|
|
Upon hatching, you should let many go* as it is nearly impossible to have enough food to feed all of your nymphs. In the end, you should keep about 1/3 of the hatched nymphs for companions/pets.
*There are certain praying mantises that are illegal to let go in certain areas if you bought a ‘designer’ ootheca.
*There are certain praying mantises that are illegal to let go in certain areas if you bought a ‘designer’ ootheca.
Problems Upon Hatching
Your baby praying mantises will begin to emerge out of the lighter brown front area of the ootheca. Hatching nymphs are very vulnerable as they dry off. This may be sad, but keep in mind that a female lays so many eggs to overcompensate for the large amount of nymph deaths; approximately only ten nymphs survive to adulthood in each ootheca.
Hatching hazards can be:
- a bad hatch with not many nymphs making it out,
- falling from the container lid,
- trapped under anything that might be in your hatching container,
- too much moisture from others that hatched before it (this problem is very much the same for hatching chicks since as the chicks hatch, the moisture inside the egg is released into the incubator), and
- drowning in a small droplet of water from sprinkling water by hand.
Feeding and Watering Your Newborn Pets
To avoid drowning, use a spray bottle with small holes for distributing the water so you will not leave large droplets of water in the enclosure. The nymphs are so small that they can drown in water droplets their size and bigger. Generally praying mantises are 1/2 inch when they hatch.
Feeding your mantids is a bit tricky, especially when they are young and small. The first week or so, you will probably want to buy fruit flys from a pet store since, in my experience, they have been smaller than any others that I have purchased from other businesses. Once they have molted (I’ll go over that in a second) and are a bit bigger, you can speed up the molting process by feeding your nymphs larger fruit flies or insects. You can do this by buying fruit flies from Josh’s Frogs as his flies are bigger than the ones you find in the large ‘box store’ pet stores. A general rule of thumb is to feed mantids food that is 1/3 of their size, and as long as you follow that rule, you can feed your mantids any kind of fruit fly or insect you want, big or small.
Feeding your mantids is a bit tricky, especially when they are young and small. The first week or so, you will probably want to buy fruit flys from a pet store since, in my experience, they have been smaller than any others that I have purchased from other businesses. Once they have molted (I’ll go over that in a second) and are a bit bigger, you can speed up the molting process by feeding your nymphs larger fruit flies or insects. You can do this by buying fruit flies from Josh’s Frogs as his flies are bigger than the ones you find in the large ‘box store’ pet stores. A general rule of thumb is to feed mantids food that is 1/3 of their size, and as long as you follow that rule, you can feed your mantids any kind of fruit fly or insect you want, big or small.
Molting
Since Praying Mantises have no bones, a nymph will shed its skin, also called an exoskeleton. As they eat, the exoskeleton stretches, until it can’t stretch anymore. Then the mantis stops eating. Once that happens, the mantis will hang upside down, either on the roof of the container, or on any other place that a mantis may be able to comfortably hang. You should make sure that where your mantid chooses to molt will allow him or her to be a safe distance from the ground — at least about an inch — so that after the molt when it is larger, its head won’t be rubbing the ground. After a mantis molts he will be wet and delicate, so make sure to not bother him for one or two hours after the molt.
It is impossible to not end up with a molt that went wrong. It’s just nature. Poor hydration is the main reason for bad molts. You should decide if the kindest thing to do is to put your specimen in the freezer. Though you may feel bad, you are doing a huge favor to the mantis for the long run. I find that if the mantis can eat, he will survive, though there is a pretty good chance that the mantis will get stuck during the next molt. I had a few mantids that had bad molts, and one out of three of them survived for the next few molts.
A mantis will generally molt seven times as a male and eight to nine times as a female until adulthood.
It is impossible to not end up with a molt that went wrong. It’s just nature. Poor hydration is the main reason for bad molts. You should decide if the kindest thing to do is to put your specimen in the freezer. Though you may feel bad, you are doing a huge favor to the mantis for the long run. I find that if the mantis can eat, he will survive, though there is a pretty good chance that the mantis will get stuck during the next molt. I had a few mantids that had bad molts, and one out of three of them survived for the next few molts.
A mantis will generally molt seven times as a male and eight to nine times as a female until adulthood.