praying mantis

Insect or bug and a very pretty one indeed. They need allot of water so if you get another, which I hope you don't, you will spray it daily with a plant mister to keep it hydrated.
 
oh i took great care of him, i fed + sprayed him daily, cleaned his little cage daily, got him nice sticks and such, just bad luck for him in the end.
 
To bad he wasn't in his cage when he fell, otherwise he might have survived the fall. I hope you don't get another because these animals belong where they live , not all couped up in a cage in someones home. How would you like it if someone picked you up and put you into a cage that didn't know anything about how to take care of you? I don't think that you'd like it , would you? These are rare insects that live in only one part of the world, now you and others are removing them to areas where they cannot survive.
 
yeah I took him out of his cage to photograph him as he was molting, he was on a counter but he fell out of his molting when i moved it slightly. I dont think they are so rare that they would be sold in a petshop. For the record I was planning on releasing him into the wilderness near a creek once he was big enough.
 
yeah my species was from eastern/southern africa, which has a similar climate to my part of cali - there are pictures on the first page

heres the coolest species:
 
The type of mantis he has is found in another part of the world, not where he lives. If he would release it , it could start to multiply and create problems for other mantis' living in this part of the world. Again I just want to say that any wild animal being put into a cage for our viewing purposes is very disturbing to me. I wouldn't want to be caged in someones home who doesn't understand how to treat me or take care of me if I were any wild animal. By purchasing the animal then releasing it in an unknown environment you could also cause its death because it isn't familiar with its new surroundings at all.
 
what exactly would this particular species breed with? if the environment is similar, there are no problems, instinct takes over. and a bug is very different from a mammal. he was quite keen on living on his fake flowers and not being hassled by birds.
 
ahh yes they can, though they would all be female...which would be bad still

but as it is, in my area, i dont think they would be a problem, there are chinese praying mantids around which get huge, and would along with birds eat their young, etc. etc. An adult released would possible survive until it died of old age, but the young would be quickly devoured before they posed any threat to any indiginous species. They have plenty of predators.
 
Carnuth said:
well, unfortunately he had barely survived his final molting and when he fell it apparently gave him a crippling injury. So hes gone now, thanks for trying to help guys =)
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I hatch Chinese mantis every spring. This year I kept several. Last night I caught one attacking another one, but the attacked one lost an antenna. I held her for about two hours to see how she would do, and seemed fine so in a separate container she went. Today I looked in on her and she was hanging off the wall, acting normal. Not more than two minutes later she started one of the fastest molts I have ever seen and she is an L4. She had let go of the side of the container and fell onto moss about 2”. I immediately picked up the whole bug, molt and all since she wasn’t completely finished and held it upside down for the next hour until she was completely out of the exoskeleton. I know they have to hang upside down and tried to put her on a stick in the container but she didn’t want that, preferred me, so the next two hours she hung on me, crawling around a couple of times, and then I found a piece of window screen, hung it with her upside down so gravity could help her dry out. I will post how this ends if anyone is interested...
 
You'd better name him Ferris.

save-ferris-5a5dda3ae13fb.png
 
sideshowbob said:
Before I read your post I wasn't the slightest bit interested in mantises - but now I kinda hope the little guy is okay.
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They, at least I think are one of the coolest bugs, and I’m more of a dog / parrot person, but when I lived in Izmir Turkey, they were everywhere (not Chinese Mantis). Last year I had one make it to aL7, but something happened during her molt and she died a week later. Nearly 3 1/2” long and happy to lay on my arm. This year I have six in separate containers. Easier with one...
 
sideshowbob said:
Before I read your post I wasn't the slightest bit interested in mantises - but now I kinda hope the little guy is okay.
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Well she made it through the night and all day today, but I think her time is running out. She did hang all night on the screen I put her on, and she is walking around, but something isn’t right... haven’t seen her eat either, but I haven’t watched ever minute today either.
 
Dyane said:
Well she made it through the night and all day today, but I think her time is running out. She did hang all night on the screen I put her on, and she is walking around, but something isn’t right... haven’t seen her eat either, but I haven’t watched ever minute today either.
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Day two. Still alive, moving around and hanging. I don’t know if she has eaten anything

This is her, the one I held during her exomolt and after she was attacked by another...
 
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