A Few Questions About Breeding Mantids

[The Wild One]

So I've been looking into adding more of a variety to Coda's diet, mantids have really been catching my eye lately and I would love to breed and raise them. I've done some research already but it seems that on the forums, you all have little tips and tricks that makes the experience better and easier. So here are some questions.
1) How difficult is it to raise them
2) what are the concerns with feeding them
3) where do you get the ooths, and what source has the highest hatch rate
4) What is the easiest food for them to eat and to breed
5) What are yall's experience with them
6) what do the enclosures look like
7) what are other feeders your recommend

Thanks!

 

[Kaizen]

@jamest0o0 , this is all you bud.

 

[JoXie411]

1)they are difficult to raise because they need to be in there own containers or they will start to eat each other eventually
2)they eat friut flies at first then as they get bigger you can give them bigger pray like roaches, crickets, supers, ect
3)you can buy then at Lowe’s or on eBay for cheap.
4)fruit flies
5)I have non lol
6)you can do deli cups with moss at the bottom and a stick. They need the humidity to shed and they do it upside down so they will use the deli lid or you can do a butterfly cage. They sell those on amazon
7) try isopods they have a nice crunch but don’t feed to many

 

[JoXie411]

Forgot to mention ghost pray mantises are the only ones I’m aware of that can be housed together @jamest0o0 is that correct?

 

[The Wild One]

6)you can do deli cups with moss at the bottom and a stick. They need the humidity to shed and they do it upside down so they will use the deli lid or you can do a butterfly cage. They sell those on amazon

so when they are young can they be housed together? And then separated when they are older? or vise versa. And When I upgrade Codas enclosure I was planning on using that.

 

[jamest0o0]

Let me start by saying I haven't kept mantids. I did look into them for a bit, but haven't made the jump yet.

1) How difficult is it to raise them
Totally depends on species

2) what are the concerns with feeding them
Similar as first, some mantids will only eat flying insects, these usually happen to be the ones that have some success being kept together

3) where do you get the ooths, and what source has the highest hatch rate
Depends on species, probably some hobbyist that breeds them

4) What is the easiest food for them to eat and to breed
Not a simple answer, depends on species again

5) What are yall's experience with them
Other than native ones, not much other than the research and having friends that raise them

6) what do the enclosures look like
Generally screen, some need higher humidity though. Depends again

7) what are other feeders your recommend
For the mantids?

I would figure out a species you'd like to keep and then start this thread from there. Species like ghost mantids and some others have been successfully kept in groups, but if they are not well fed, they can still cannibalize.

Mantids are really not a good insect for offering regular variety. I would recommend them more for the person that just wants to offer their reptile a rare treat. If you look at them as a cool pet that can occasionally be fed off then that's great. If you're looking for variety, try something easier to raise with more nutritional value. Snails, grasshoppers/katydids, thousands of roach species, plasmids, etc come to mind.

 

[The Wild One]

as for the species, I would like to house them together, Ive found these species so far that can be housed together: miomantis paykulli, Phyllocria paradoxa, ant mantids, and gambian flower mantids and stick manids. are there any others?

 

[Tihshho]

I know you can get two types of oothes from Josh's Frogs. Some Retile show's I've been to have had arachnid vendors who also sell oothes.

 

[snitz427]

I think either @MissSkittles or @Rst_Cham have been raising them... might have that mixed up. I think @Brodybreaux25 has raised them, too. For me, it's too much work to separate them and feed them. Once my greenhouse temps are dialed in (and once @nick barta gets them in stock) I'm going to hatch them in the greenhouse. Large enough for nature to thin them out and to supply food naturally.

 

[MissSkittles]

I think either @MissSkittles or @Rst_Cham have been raising them... might have that mixed up. I think @Brodybreaux25 has raised them, too. For me, it's too much work to separate them and feed them. Once my greenhouse temps are dialed in (and once @nick barta gets them in stock) I'm going to hatch them in the greenhouse. Large enough for nature to thin them out and to supply food naturally.

Not me. I’ve just got discoid roaches & silkworms I’m working on breeding.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

I think either @MissSkittles or @Rst_Cham have been raising them... might have that mixed up. I think @Brodybreaux25 has raised them, too. For me, it's too much work to separate them and feed them. Once my greenhouse temps are dialed in (and once @nick barta gets them in stock) I'm going to hatch them in the greenhouse. Large enough for nature to thin them out and to supply food naturally.

Im more of a hunter but I have hatched a few... We catch a lot of adults in the summer so we occasionally get a female who lays before getting fed off.

Jox pretty much nailed it in post #3.

 

[The Wild One]

@jamest0o0, I've decided with the Egyptian praying mantis any thoughts?

 

[Multivitamins]

I just got done saying how much I want mantids for my garden / as a feeder option.

I've kept a giant Chinese in a jar before and fed it my black soldier flys as they hatched out and some crickets. Never fed as she got to be pretty large to be considered prey for my Cham.

I've got some nice glass jars that I can put mesh tops on drop some sticks and moss and leafs and your mantids will be happy yes they are going to eat each other if you keep them together but your ooth will normally hatch 100-300 baby mantids. Create a Colosseum and have some mantis battles if you get too many. My local nursery has them as well as Lowe's and h.d. for 7-15$

Feed while their smaller to protect your Cham from those scythes they have. I think I'm just repeating things already mentioned at this point. have fun and good luck ..


If you get a ghost or orchid mantis you probably won't want to feed them they are beautiful creatures

 

[Rst_Cham]

I think either @MissSkittles or @Rst_Cham have been raising them... might have that mixed up. I think @Brodybreaux25 has raised them, too. For me, it's too much work to separate them and feed them. Once my greenhouse temps are dialed in (and once @nick barta gets them in stock) I'm going to hatch them in the greenhouse. Large enough for nature to thin them out and to supply food naturally.

I have a mantid, but he's a pet, not a feeder. Agree with others, too much work to separate and feed separately. Also, they are awesome. Friends, not food! (just kidding! but they are super awesome and cool)

 

[Tihshho]

Where are you finding mantis oothes at Lowe's? I've seen two people mention that and it's sorta blowing my mind. Figured that would be more of a mom and pop nursery thing and even then not a regular thing to carry.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

eBay

 

[Multivitamins]

Where are you finding mantis oothes at Lowe's? I've seen two people mention that and it's sorta blowing my mind. Figured that would be more of a mom and pop nursery thing and even then not a regular thing to carry.

San Diego I moved here 8 years ago and am still surprised how spoiled we are to live here.
Found people in the hobby who raise their own dubia and silkies saves me time and $$$$ to get them local. Same for the ooth city farmer has them for a limited part of the year and they are real cheap.
Then on a random trip to Lowe's to use a 20% off coupon I found carnivorous plants and mantids

 

[The Wild One]

I found a entire kit in listing the flies and oothes from joshes frogs, has anyone tried this?

 

[Ambilobe123]

I currently have a female Chinese mantis, you feed them 100% crickets, mist once or twice a day, they thrive, although molting is a big problem. At each molt, 25% of them die, so if your ooth hatches 400, you end up with about 20 adults, but don't wait for them to fully grow, or feed to smaller or younger chams, as I have seen videos of mantids killing hummingbirds and lizards.

 

[Tihshho]

Is there an ideal enclosure for Mantids? Do they prefer a lot of ventilation with something screened or a little more stagnant with a glass enclosure? I've got a few extra enclosures sitting aside that I've been cranking out to prepare for Jackson's babies, wonder if one would suffice for an Ooth hatch for a while...