ARE THEY THE RIGHT PETS FOR ME?

Mantises, or mantids, are really cool creatures! They are known for their spiked front legs (raptorial legs) which help them catch prey. Mantises are relatively low-maintenance pets, which is applicable for most insects. They are really fun to feed (trust me!) and to observe in their enclosure. They also have wonderful colors, which help them camoflage. Sadly, most of them only live upto a year...

If you want a beautiful carnivorous insect in a wonderful display terrarium, a mantis is the right pet for you.





WHERE DO I GET MANTIDS?

Mantids can be acquired from exotic pet shops and from outside. It's highly recommended to get a mantis from a pet shop, as the seller has a track of its age, species, date of feeding, potential parasites on it, etcetera. If you cannot contact a pet shop, you can look for them in the wilderness. Mantises are generally found on plants, branches, bark, flowers and shrubs in forests, meadows, gardens, and some deserts. They are distrubuted over many tropical, subtropical and temperate countries. 

It takes a good eye to spot them, as they are masters of camoflage- with some species being able to mimic leaves (veins and all), twigs, bark and even flowers! 
Anyway, after you find a mantis, you can GENTLY AND TEMPORARILY catch it in a jar or some other container before setting up its enclosure!


WHAT SETUP DO THEY REQUIRE?

Mantises are arboreal animals, meaning that they live the high life on trees and plants above the ground. Their enclosure needs to be escape-proof, humid, well-ventilated, tall and big enough for the mantis.
Ideally, you can use a tall plastic jar or tub or tiffin box for the mantids' home. A small fish tank, critter keeper, or small aquarium can also do. If your container does not have holes for ventilation, poke small ones on the sides and the top of the container, which provides cross-ventilation. 
The enclosure needs something for the mantis to climb and hang from in order to moult (grow via shedding their exoskeleton). Twigs, sticks and plants provide this, and are found in their natural habitats. For decoration, you can add soil, plants, small rocks, etcetera. 

The size of the enclosure should ideally be:
Length = approx. 3x the length of the Mantis
Height = approx. 2x the length of the Mantis

Remember, if the mantis grows out of its enclosure, you can rehouse it into a bigger one!

NOTE: If you want multiple mantids, DON'T KEEP THEM TOGETHER!!!

To learn more about setting up a mantis enclosure, watch this video:



 















WHAT DO I FEED THEM?

Mantises are predators, meaning they eat live prey. They generally eat anything they can grab with their front legs. This is mainly insects and other invertebrates, which are packed with protein needed for the mantis to survive. 
You can get feeder insects from exotic pet shops, or you can get frozen insects (which should be thawed before fed to the mantis). Preferably use tweezers to feed it. If you are feeding frozen-thawed insects to the mantis, grab them with your tweezers and move them around in front of the mantis, so it thinks its prey is alive...
As an alternative, you can feed the mantis insects from the wild. This is not preferred, though.

Mantises will mostly eat insects smaller than or equal to their size. Smaller species, and baby mantids (nymphs) will eat flies, ants, small worms, small moths, small caterpillars, small roaches, etcetera.

Larger species will mostly consume crickets, big roaches, superworms, grasshoppers, butterflies, moths, large caterpillars, beetle larvae, etcetera.

Remember, MANTISES DON'T EAT PLANTS!!!


 

WHAT ABOUT MAINTENANCE?

Mantises are easy to care for, if you are okay with feeding them live prey. There is little maintenance when it comes to caring for a praying mantis. 
Their enclosure needs to be watered or misted about thrice a week, and prey leftovers should be cleaned up (that's not a problem though, as mantids will mostly eat the entire prey item). The mantis should be fed around 2 or 3 times per week, or less if its abdomen is really fat.

Mantises also moult (shed their exoskeleton) in order to grow, and it is noticeable if it wants to do so. For instance, they stop eating, move around very little, may be darker in color or may have fatter abdomens than normal. If they show signs of moulting, lightly mist their enclosure to provide extra humidity for them to easily moult. 

That's pretty much it!                                                       







HOW SHOULD I BREED THEM?

Mantises are pretty cool creatures, and are predators from the start of their lives. If you want to breed your mantis, get another one of the opposite gender.

Only adult mantids can breed, and they can be distinguished by having wings.
Male mantises are generally smaller and skinnier than females. They also tend to have longer wings.

After you have put the mantises together, they may start breeding. The female may also eat the male sometimes! They tend to do this as they need nourishment to lay their eggs.
Some mantises don't even require males to breed! Those species can reproduce on their own, which is known as PARTHENOGENESIS.

Anyway, mantis eggs are grouped together into something called an OOTHECA. Do not disturb the eggs if you see them! The ootheca contains around 20 to maybe even about 100 eggs!

If you don't want so many mantis babies, which are called NYMPHS, wait for the eggs to hatch first, and then release them if the mantis is a native species or give them to a pet store or a friend who's willing to raise them. 
If you don't want mantis nymphs AT ALL, then don't breed them! As some species are parthenogenic (do not require another mantis to breed) they might lay an ootheca (egg cluster).

Remember, DO MORE RESEARCH FIRST before doing anything!