I have them in my yard and living in the plants that I keep inside over the fall and winter months. I found a bunch of babies in the garden this year. I always move them to a safe place when I spot them.I just saw a big female sitting on my citrus tree that I keep in my basement.I started helping them a little and I find them all over the place now.
One day I was outside on a walk, and heard a cicada in a tree buzzing repeatedly, I looked up and a praying mantis has captured the cicada and was slowly devouring it. Nature is cruel, yet beautiful.
I found a one armed mantis I took her home and fed her water from my finger tip and let flies in and they went to the window screen i put the mantis on the screen and closed the window so she and the flies were trapped an watched as she caught the flies one handed , she lived until November after foaming up a pod. I buried her, and her kids were let loose in the spring. Her name was Joan
you did great, a true form of passion and care the mantis soul is watching over you, as you let her fulfill her role as an individual of her species, you let her perpetuate the cycle of life and i think mother nature is gonna be forever grateful for that act of kindness I think us, humans were created to help that cycle of life to be continued and you fulfilled your role as well, what do you think ?
I just found a praying mantis outside recently and he looked kinda weak so i brought him inside and put him in an aquarium tank with some substrate and other accomodations. I named him Jimbo. He is regaining strength and doing really well. Haven't decided if I'll release him back out into the wild or not. He is very interesting and enjoys sitting on my hand or shoulder and enjoys being talked to. This video helped me understand better how to care for Jimbo.
I've just found myself in a similar situation. May I ask how you managed to feed Jimbo? The praying mantis I came across (I named her Branch) Is still fairly weak and has yet to eat anything.
@@WesWes-p3s I place Jimbo on my hand and hold a cricket up to him, he usually grabbed it from my fingers and was able to eat. Now that Jimbo is all healed up, he enjoys hunting for his food again. At times he still let's me feed him.
As a child in Toronto we caught Mantis for pets, it was 1971. There was a round bug keeper with a slender neck that we could buy. Some lads had aquariums with screen on top. We would catch grasshoppers and crickets to feed them. My fondest memories.
@@Fyz-qz3bv she passed about a month ago from old age and she had a good life. I got her wenn she was L5 :) I got a Creobroter sp. "Yunnan" now who just reached adulthood! Very nice and easy species too
I am 11, and me and my siblings have been searching for days to try and find a Chinese mantis it’s so hard we still haven’t found any we have a tank set up and are prepared for the worst. This video was very helpful thank you and continue with the good work
@@beast20365 I saw them for as high as $31.00...NOT including shipping! I was SUPER lucky...I found 3 RIGHT in our VERY small yard. I put ALL in 1 bush...NOT knowing of the WORST. Next morning went right out to move them to SEPARATE places...but SADLY could find only 2. BOTH are female. I have each one in a 10 gallon tank & they are eating WELL. NO molting. HOW can I tell how OLD they are... I'm CONCERNED that they will PASS AWAY before I have them for a LONG time. THANKS FOR A GREAT VIDEO!
Orchids and Devil flowers are the most difficult to own and care for. I would definitely not recommend them for someone your age. They're also the most expensive.
I really like this guide. I would add that if you can get them Chinese and Carolina mantis are also extremely hardy. I personally start handling my mantis a couple days after their second or third molts so that they become comfortable with me and I suggest doing the same. It makes handling them as they get older much easier. By adult hood my mantis see me walk into the room and open their enclosure and they come out to me of their own accord. Even the males will fly to me. When I hold them if they are "cleaning" my hand I put just a little water on my hand for them. I have had babies that just hatched and the next morning are suddenly dead. I also had an adult male once that was acting perfectly normal one day and the next morning he was dead. The video is correct, sometimes they just die. Though I would say avoiding feeding them crickets or wild insects are good precautions though in my experience not needed. My mantis gladly eat crickets, mealworms, and especially flies or wild caught moths. I only get crickets from a couple pet stores though because I know their crickets are kept clean and they get them from a reputable seller. If you choose to hand feed them I would not do it too often because I have had many mantis that will refuse to hunt if I fed them by hand too much. Also white paper towels are great substrate for baby mantis when you are feeding them fruit flies. Makes it much easier for the babies to find the flies. One last tip I can say is if you keep a mantis don't be surprised if they get very comfortable with you and not so much with other people. I have mantis that was walking from hand to hand on me and my mom put her hand next to mine and the mantis froze. She did not recognize the hand. They will recognize the people who take care of them. Just cause they are bugs doesn't mean they can recognize their owners. If you want them to be comfortable with someone else as well make sure you have that person interact with them at least a couple times a week.
I agree with everything here. Absolutely nothing wrong with crickets and the occasional wild caught moth. I’ve never once had a problem with bad feeders and I’ve owned 3 mantids.
I've always wanted to keep an orchid mantis, but I told my husband that I want to start off with a more simpler and easy mantis, one more for beginners, before I work my way up to taking care of an orchid mantis. Mantis's are just so beautiful. I find so many outside and I always want to take them home, but I fear of taking them away from a habitat that they are already adapted to. Thank you for this video. I will be taking notes and no doubt be revisiting this video many times to make sure I am doing everything right.
We found a Chinese mantis last October in the bush near our front door. We took it in because she was going to freeze as it was getting too cold. We got 2 more months with her before she passed. From there we were hooked! I want an orchid too but we decided to buy a Chinese mantis oothca. We had it hatch the other day. Have 10 nymphs to raise and release all but 2 and the rest went out into my flower beds. I suggest the Chinese mantis first as you get comfy with care then move to the exotic species!
Not that you're wrong at all but the comedic timing of "they make great pets for children" as the close up on this tiny fuckin alien monster eating a fly's face whiles its alive couldn't have been better. Thank you for that.
Absolutely brilliant, I’m raising my first mantis. I got three egg sacks they hatch. I let them go in the garden except for four and one made it I call him George yes after the Beatles he is beautiful. Thanks for all your information I subscribed
This is still one of the best presentations on mantids, used it couple years back and have had a decent mantis community ever since, only this year going for another bought ootheca to boost population so it's nice for the refresher 👍
Just had a bunch of babies hatch on my porch this morning from 2 different sacs. It was so cool seeing all the babies. Kind of want to collect a few and breed them to release once they've gotten to mate 💜
Very helpful! We had an unexpected hatch in the house and since it's too cold for them to survive outside we're scrambling to find food for the babies. Just ordered some flies and will stop giving our adults crickets. I never considered some of the issues we've seen may be from pet store crickets.
I find a mantis in my back yard all the time. A few days ago I captured one. It was one of the more unique ones I’ve seen here in Colorado. It’s brown with black spots and not very big maybe 3ish inches head to tail, not sure if it’s just young or a smaller species. This video was very helpful because I’ve been so entranced with it since I captured it. I was happy when you said flies are best because that what I fed it! I was think about a wasp but figured it was better to feed it something that can’t fight back.
Thank you for this great video! My daughter and I found a mantis and have been catching grasshoppers to give her. I will buy some fly larvae for her now.
I remember making the mistake of giving my mantis a cricket I found in the garden. Although it put up a great fight, the mantis basically ate Jiminy's head and used his face as a mask. I did notice the cricket bit the mantis a few times which was sad. Little drops of mantis blood were kinda leaking out from between its limbs. I felt bad overall.
Thank you for the valuable info! My oothesa just hatched this morning. I thought I researched everything I needed to know, but you had some great tips (Exepically the crickets) . New fan
I found a baby praying mantis on my couch today inside my house. 😱 Right now I went to my local Pet Smart and bought some forest flooring and some other stuff for humidity. Also some fruit flies. Right now she/he is in a plastic container bigger but not too big. I put a hole in the top with a tissue over it. I also have a paper towel in the bottom and some twigs for her to call on. She has not ate the fruit fly yet. What do I do…?? I don’t want her to die!!! 🥺
it sounds like you're doing everything right! Sometimes if theyre preparing to moult they may not take their prey and can sustain for quite a while without eating. It can depend on the species but id just continue to give it a light mist of water on the side of the container every few days to keep it at an average humidity and have the option of drinking then hope for the best! With luck it might go through a moult and then i'm sure it will munch on the fruit flies!
@@Wade_Wiley thank you. After posting this my praying mantis is now eating. She doesn’t eat the whole ff but she nibbles on it. She finally crawled on my finger for the first time. 🥺 She hasn’t molted yet but I figure she will soon. I have now had her for 1 week. 🥰
I’m thinking about introducing a few in my yard to take care of a massive grasshopper plague I’m dealing with. They are so cool though, I might keep a few for myself 😂. Thank you for all of the useful information
I’m thinking of getting some mantises. That was so thorough - but more important to me was that it was accessible, understandable. I feel i could DO what you’ve said because of your clear simple and comprehensive instructions. Thank yoi
I was actually wondering if the bite would hurt at all . That’s cool that they don’t nip at you very much . I really want to get a ghost mantis and orchid mantis . They’re so beautiful
I just got my mantis, and before i got her i watched this video, it helped me SO much with what type i should buy, along with what i should get and how to care for my new ghost mantis! unfortunately, i couldnt get a humidity gauge since it pushed the price over my budget. This also helped me identify Thistle was a female! shes currently settled in and recently had a meal of a small cricket! (hopefully it doesnt hurt her, the cricket was small and farmed though)
thank you for this vid!!! very helpful caring for one our puppy found trying to get on our hummingbird feeder [again]. caught her in a jar as soon as i misted her she drank up the water, then i gave her some sticks to climb on and now shes hanging upside down on the holey lid. we're gonna release her at the park tomorrow♥
@@tech_critter no, the most commonly seen one in the US, is the European mantis, it has the two black markings on its arms. The Chinese mantis has brown wings with a green line.
This was a fantastic video! Thank you so much, I’ve kept reptiles and amphibians for 10 years but only just started keeping inverts so this video was perfect :)
I've got these egg sacs everywhere here, inside my house, outside in the sheds and on objects. It's an old house I am renovating at the moment. I was just wondering what they were. Thanks.
i thought you might like to know the following story involving crickets and a preying mantis. many years ago when i was still at school, our maths teacher use to bread mantises with her sister. long story short, she gave several out to raise to adult size with the aim of breeding them. Anyway, she provided us with crickets as food for our mantis. several months down the line, after feeding my mantis dozens of crickets, this one fatefull day ended with the cricket biting the head off my mantis and subsequently killing it. so , do indeed keep away from feeding crickets.
🌹💙 New Subscriber here; this video was fascinating and informative. I’m a senior citizen in the USA (Mojave Desert) who is thinking to start this hobby. I’m very interested in the Orchid Mantis, but understand the importance of starting with a hardy breed. Thank you kindly for these videos. Bright Blessings! 🌞🙏
I found a baby mantis a long time ago, and kept it up for a while. But I made the terrible mistake of feeding it crickets when it got so big. Poor thing got sick within a few days and I haven't had the heart to care for one in a long time.
I found a female mantis in my apartment in Arizona. I put her in a paludarium I had vacant. When I came home from work the next day to prepare a proper home for her she had actually climbed up the glass. They’re a beautiful creature
We had a patient in the Psych ward I was working in about ten years ago who caught a mantis and fed it liquid methadone. I wasn't surprised they ended up in Psych.
Its a contentious topic, I personally think its better to just be on the side of caution. If they were crickets that were bred and raised yourself im sure it might be fine but from my experience of buying crickets from pet shops they often come with parasites, and cannibalise which will lead to a lot bacteria. I've never had any issues with fly feeders so just find it the safest option personally :)
Found a bunch in my backyard but I think they came from one of my neighbors yards since they all have a bunch of plants & they really take care of them. Took 3 in, it might be the start of something for me or I might just completely fail but regardless I’m ready for the experience. Wish me luck lol
Good luck! if you get stuck on anything pop a message in here and i'll try and help - or even better check out some of the mantid groups and forums, some really knowledgeable people in those
I had pet scorpion which I was advised by pet store to feed crickets too. The scorpion died, something ate it from the inside - I suspect parasites from the crickets it was eating.
Thinking on getting one, but I have a few questions that I need addressed before getting one (mainly just for advice) If I were to get one, (and this would be my first time raising a mantis) what gender of mantis should I go with? I feel like I should go w/ male because I don’t want a bunch of baby mantises crawling around after the female lays the eggs. Also, should I look at a certain brand for cages/habitats? Not sure if the cage that I was going to get would be a good fit for the mantis. (Last question) what type of flooring should I use preferably? (Coconut husk, soil, etc…)
One showed up at my doorstep and I left it hanging in my patios in one of the plant's and it's just chilling, hanging upside down, i kind of want to keep it in a tank but also just keep it outside and hope it stays.
I wish to know where I could find opposite ventilation containers for them, or if there's a manual for your own hand made containers cause they look so good.
With crickets, as I understood it the risk is that you don't know what store purchased crickets have been fed, so it could include carrots (toxic) plus the risks caused by them cannibalising each other. I guess it depends too as if you breed them yourself, and theyre well kept its a bit different, but in general I think its better for new keepers to just avoid the potential risk. Things might have changed now so correct me if that's the case and i'll pin it :)
I was just outside burning branches and saw movement in the ashes a few centimeters away from the embers. Looked closer, it was a tiny praying mantis (maybe 10cm long). I scooped him up before he became absolute toast, but a few of his legs are awfully crispy… he’s in a 10 gallon terrarium with some branches for now to hopefully rehabilitate. Any advice on food? Should I put some old fruits & veggies in there to attract small flies? Thanks in advance xx
@@lightup6751 I jumped the gun on commenting 😅 I kept the mantis for a few days before it looked significantly better & released it. Hope it’s living its best life out there now!
Cool video there, I have a question if you don't mind, I live in Scotland and it's not as warm over here so i was just wondering if i would need a heat mat for under my substrate ?.🙂👍👍
