My new pet

Deadbeat · 27 Apr 2010 at 12:12

McDaniel said:
She is only young - September 09 - about 2foot long

She is wicked

A dude in uni halls had one for about 3 months before it got found out and sent home. The moron called it Monty, he was about 3ft at the time. I put him down my trousers once and trundled off to scare my ex witless with my massive moving trouser snake. Little darling poked his nose through the zipper at exactly the right time.

Raikiri · 27 Apr 2010 at 13:20

Ghosts came, they're tiny!

Makunouchi · 27 Apr 2010 at 13:29

G18241 said:
You need to make sure it can be well ventilated so probably better with a plastic tub as you can dirll holes in it

Check the UK mantis forum http://www.ukmantisforums.co.uk/

Was browsing about here but there doesn't seem to be a very good FAQ or sticky that lays out requirements such as environment, feeding etc. Unless I'm missing it.

Can anyone else suggest a good online resource?

Hunders · 27 Apr 2010 at 13:31

Makunouchi said:
Was browsing about here but there doesn't seem to be a very good FAQ or sticky that lays out requirements such as environment, feeding etc. Unless I'm missing it.

Can anyone else suggest a good online resource?

Here

Just find the care sheet for the species you are looking at getting.

antran · 27 Apr 2010 at 13:32

I want one, where can I get them in the UK? thanks

andy

Raikiri · 27 Apr 2010 at 13:44

antran said:
I want one, where can I get them in the UK? thanks

andy

I've bought all of mine from members on Bug Nation, no issues so far and quite cheap.

Here we go, proper pic of the ghost:

Robbo · 27 Apr 2010 at 14:43

How big do they tend to get? In optimal conditions and so on.

I remember when we were in France at an outdoor restaurant quite a few years ago, a very large one flew and landed on my dads shoulder :eek:

He thought it was awesome, everyone else was stunned (even the French people)

It was a generic looking green one if my memory serves correctly.

Raikiri · 27 Apr 2010 at 14:56

Depends on the species, both the Ghost and Orchid I've posted are very small. Males grow to about 2-3cm, females 4-7cm tops.

Others get really large, up to 15cm or so.

Random_23 · 27 Apr 2010 at 15:53

Having kept snakes for the past 7-8 years, pythons, boa's false water cobras and tri colour hognose I would advise on changing that bark for Aspen, or BIG bark chips. I found my snakes would often have trouble eating due to bark sticking to fur and often going in the mouth when the jaw is dislocated. End results are big vet bill!

G18241 · 27 Apr 2010 at 15:56

Totality said:

Is your green one a european mantis? Where do you buy them from? I can't find a classifieds page on that forum?

Click to expand...

As far as i know it is an african mantis or Sphodromantis aurea for its posh name.

Not sure wether you need to join up to the forum to see the classifieds but i actually got mine from a reptile shop in Sheffield, only went in for some frozen mice for my snake and came out with her Most reptile shops will keep inverts as well

Hunders · 27 Apr 2010 at 16:02

Random_23 said:
Having kept snakes for the past 7-8 years, pythons, boa's false water cobras and tri colour hognose I would advise on changing that bark for Aspen, or BIG bark chips. I found my snakes would often have trouble eating due to bark sticking to fur and often going in the mouth when the jaw is dislocated. End results are big vet bill!

Or just do what I used to and feed in a separate container

G18241 · 27 Apr 2010 at 16:04

Raikiri said:
I've bought all of mine from members on Bug Nation, no issues so far and quite cheap.

Here we go, proper pic of the ghost:

Ha ha she? is awesome

Cant wait to find some decent tubs and get buying some more

Just realised the other free locust i got has snuffed it :/ i need to find that spider that was running around my living room

Random_23 · 27 Apr 2010 at 16:06

There is always that too! I didn't have room for that though with around 12 snakes and 18 lizards! god I was addicted about 3-4years ago!

Totality · 27 Apr 2010 at 16:12

G18241 said:
As far as i know it is an african mantis or Sphodromantis aurea for its posh name.

Not sure wether you need to join up to the forum to see the classifieds but i actually got mine from a reptile shop in Sheffield, only went in for some frozen mice for my snake and came out with her Most reptile shops will keep inverts as well

Cheers. I was looking at buying some Rankin Dragons a while back but decided they were just too expensive and required proper heating, etc. I'm scared of spiders so ruled that out as an option because if I ever came across an empty container I would have to move house.

The ghost mantis looks like it could eat your face in the night, but the normal green ones look cool!

How long does a tub of food last? I'm assuming the tub of food will die before they all get eaten if you only have one of the beasts, but could you just let the food live in the container too?

Hunders · 27 Apr 2010 at 16:33

I found crickets to be a complete nightmare when I had a gecko... I had to put the small tub of crickets inside a massive storage container then, while keeping the lid mostly on, open the cricket container and try to grab one before they all escaped.

There was one occasion where a cricket escaped and I couldn't catch it. Later that night I was awoken by the loudest cricket chirping I have ever heard! Queue me angrily searching for the little **** for 30 minutes at 3:30am! :mad:

G18241 · 27 Apr 2010 at 16:35

Totality said:
Cheers. I was looking at buying some Rankin Dragons a while back but decided they were just too expensive and required proper heating, etc. I'm scared of spiders so ruled that out as an option because if I ever came across an empty container I would have to move house.

The ghost mantis looks like it could eat your face in the night, but the normal green ones look cool!

How long does a tub of food last? I'm assuming the tub of food will die before they all get eaten if you only have one of the beasts, but could you just let the food live in the container too?

You have to look after the locust as well, feeding them but 1 tub they will probably die before you have used them all with only 1 mantis

D18241 · 27 Apr 2010 at 16:47

Hunders said:
I found crickets to be a complete nightmare when I had a gecko... I had to put the small tub of crickets inside a massive storage container then, while keeping the lid mostly on, open the cricket container and try to grab one before they all escaped.

There was one occasion where a cricket escaped and I couldn't catch it. Later that night I was awoken by the loudest cricket chirping I have ever heard! Queue me angrily searching for the little **** for 30 minutes at 3:30am!

Yeah crickets are a pain tbh why i normally chuck a box in a time for my lizard due to he is fat and eats them all...

locust>crickets due to they move slow

locusts and crickets will last till there old enough to die if you feed and give them water

KnightStalker · 27 Apr 2010 at 17:02

Just a thought, could you put them in a fridge or freezer before feeding, so they will be sleepy and generally slower..once in with the mantis they should liven up again.

G18241 · 27 Apr 2010 at 17:06

KnightStalker said:
Just a thought, could you put them in a fridge or freezer before feeding, so they will be sleepy and generally slower..once in with the mantis they should liven up again.

Yeah you can do this, chuck em in the fridge for half an hour before feeding and they become more docile

KnightStalker · 27 Apr 2010 at 17:09

Hmm ok then, im tempted to get one now, probably asked before, but how mobile are these usually? i.e can you put them on your desk and it will sit there for a while or will it try and make a great escape lol.