Howdy from Texas!

by proserpina Mon 22 May 2017, 4:23 pm

Hello all! I just wanted to quickly introduce myself.

I'm a brand new member from Texas who is planning to get some mice soon. I usually just raise praying mantises but I've loved mice for so long and I feel like giving their care a shot Smile

Given that they're not the animals I typically raise I wanted to learn more about them before I got any, since I don't want to risk caring for them incorrectly. I'll be lurking for quite some time.

I'm glad to have found such a goldmine of information! Are there any caresheets here on the forum?

Thank in advance!

by Peachy Mon 22 May 2017, 5:17 pm

Welcome! In each section we have care info stickies, but you can find a list of all the stickies under "Pet Mouse Info" on the side panel. Smile

by Rodents rock! Mon 22 May 2017, 7:48 pm

Hi, welcome! Glad to hear you are considering mice. They are lots of fun and so sweet. Can you send some photos of your praying mantis?

Welcome Sign

by CallaLily Mon 22 May 2017, 8:22 pm

by proserpina Mon 22 May 2017, 11:43 pm

Thank you all for the warm welcome! Very Happy

Also, thanks for the link Peachy! I've been reading the info throughout the day and I'm super relieved to have some accurate information!

Rodents Rock, here's one of my little guys. I have 10 mantises of 4 species and I decided to take pictures of my biggest one. I'm still not sure of its sex as he's still a nymph but he/she will be named either Cronus or Tethys Smile

by scaredymouse Tue 23 May 2017, 4:59 am

Well, you don't see that every day! I don't think I've ever known anyone that kept them as pets before.

Welcome to the group, glad you found us. Most of our basic info is in the care sheets but we know all kinds of other stuff, so feel free to all questions.

by Rodents rock! Tue 23 May 2017, 9:02 am

proserpina wrote:Thank you all for the warm welcome! Also, thanks for the link Peachy! I've been reading the info throughout the day and I'm super relieved to have some accurate information!

Rodents Rock, here's one of my little guys. I have 10 mantises of 4 species and I decided to take pictures of my biggest one. I'm still not sure of its sex as he's still a nymph but he/she will be named either Cronus or Tethys

Very cool, thanks for the photo! I remember, as a kid back in Maryland, always seeing praying mantis outside. I even remember seeing the nests of eggs (not sure if that's what its called) attached to branches in bushes in our back yard. How did you get into keeping them as pets? What type of set ups do you have for them. This is very interesting to me Very Happy

by Peachy Tue 23 May 2017, 9:07 am

Ha, that's possibly the most unique pet here! Interesting!

by proserpina Tue 23 May 2017, 1:41 pm

Wow, I'm glad you guys like him so much! Part of the reason why I've decided to look into keeping mice is because most mantis species are so low maintenance that I still have tons of free time and money. Notice how I said most since I spent 80$ on Cronus/Tethys new enclosure and supplies yesterday Laughing

I keep them all in 32 oz deli cups with a cloth lid so their food (fruit flies) doesn't escape, and they have a bit of foam at the bottom for humidity and a popsickle stick to climb on/molt from. Cronus/Tethys however is about to move into a bigger enclosure with substrate and fake flowers to climb on since he's getting a little too big for his cup! I got into them because they're the only bugs I can actually tolerate seeing/handling and they look like cool little aliens (plus they groom themselves like cats, which I find absolutely adorable).

Here's a picture for reference--mantises don't need a lot of space as long as they have food, water, and a place to molt from! Btw, the eggs are called oothecas and can hatch hundreds of babies! If you have aphids in your garden, set up an ooth and sit back and watch the pests be eradicated Very Happy

by Rodents rock! Tue 23 May 2017, 8:38 pm

proserpina wrote:Wow, I'm glad you guys like him so much! Part of the reason why I've decided to look into keeping mice is because most mantis species are so low maintenance that I still have tons of free time and money. Notice how I said most since I spent 80$ on Cronus/Tethys new enclosure and supplies yesterday I keep them all in 32 oz deli cups with a cloth lid so their food (fruit flies) doesn't escape, and they have a bit of foam at the bottom for humidity and a popsickle stick to climb on/molt from. Cronus/Tethys however is about to move into a bigger enclosure with substrate and fake flowers to climb on since he's getting a little too big for his cup! I got into them because they're the only bugs I can actually tolerate seeing/handling and they look like cool little aliens (plus they groom themselves like cats, which I find absolutely adorable).

Here's a picture for reference--mantises don't need a lot of space as long as they have food, water, and a place to molt from! Btw, the eggs are called oothecas and can hatch hundreds of babies! If you have aphids in your garden, set up an ooth and sit back and watch the pests be eradicated

So interesting and cool! I agree, they do look like little aliens Very Happy

in a cute way! When you get Crocus/Tethys in his/her new enclosure can you send a photo? What is the average life span of a praying mantis? About how many different species are there. I don't know if this is true or an old wives tale, but do the females really kill and eat the male after mating? Do they have distinct personalities. Do they like human interaction? Sorry so may questions. Very Happy

by proserpina Tue 23 May 2017, 9:35 pm

Rodents rock! wrote:So interesting and cool! I agree, they do look like little aliens in a cute way! When you get Crocus/Tethys in his/her new enclosure can you send a photo? What is the average life span of a praying mantis? About how many different species are there. I don't know if this is true or an old wives tale, but do the females really kill and eat the male after mating? Do they have distinct personalities. Do they like human interaction? Sorry so may questions.

Don't worry about the questions, I love spreading the mantis knowledge. I'll definitely send a photo once everything comes in! Very Happy

Everything should be in by Friday so hopefully I'll be able to completely settle him/her in by Saturday. Some mantises can live a little over a year though for females it's usually maybe 10-12 months for her lifespan, with the males usually not reaching a year and dying before they hit 12 months, I've heard of some males dying of old age at 7 months (which is why I'm hoping that my little guy turns out to be a female!). There are over 2300 species of mantises worldwide (and curiously none native to the Americas), my dream species would be either an idolomantis diabolica or an pseudocreobotra wahlbergii.

Also, it's true! That's a problem that pretty much every breeder has, and by that I mean ensuring that the female doesn't eat the male when they breed. It doesn't happen 100% of the time but it definitely is a problem Laughing

Male mantises are usually smaller and slimmer than the females for that very reason so they can fly away/escape more easily if she decides to turn him into lunch.

The mantises themselves don't have individual personalities (with the exception of Cronus/Tethys who is ridiculously aggressive towards me for some reason!), but there is definitely a difference between species. I have 2 phyllocrania paradoxa (Ghost mantises) who are a lot more skittish than the tenodera sinensis (Chinese mantises) I have. Funny enough, Ghosts can be housed together as long as there's space and enough food, but Chinese mantises are so cannibalistic that they'll try to attack each others' shadows! For reference, Cronus/Tethys is a polyspilota aeruginosa (Madagascan Marbled mantis) but I also have some of his younger siblings from the same breeder and while they're all aggressive eaters, he's the only one that lashes out at me whenever I handle him :/ I guess I just got a really angry mantis!

I try not to handle the smaller ones because they do like to kamikaze off of my hand (a lesson I learned when one of them jumped off my hand and fell about 6 feet onto a tile floor...), but my two Ghosts are super mellow when I hold them and like to just rest on my arm. The Chinese mantises haven't given me any issues either but they are very fast and I've had to stop them from running up my sleeves Laughing

by Rodents rock! Wed 24 May 2017, 8:55 am

proserpina wrote:
Rodents rock! wrote:So interesting and cool! I agree, they do look like little aliens in a cute way! When you get Crocus/Tethys in his/her new enclosure can you send a photo? What is the average life span of a praying mantis? About how many different species are there. I don't know if this is true or an old wives tale, but do the females really kill and eat the male after mating? Do they have distinct personalities. Do they like human interaction? Sorry so may questions.

Don't worry about the questions, I love spreading the mantis knowledge. I'll definitely send a photo once everything comes in! Everything should be in by Friday so hopefully I'll be able to completely settle him/her in by Saturday. Some mantises can live a little over a year though for females it's usually maybe 10-12 months for her lifespan, with the males usually not reaching a year and dying before they hit 12 months, I've heard of some males dying of old age at 7 months (which is why I'm hoping that my little guy turns out to be a female!). There are over 2300 species of mantises worldwide (and curiously none native to the Americas), my dream species would be either an idolomantis diabolica or an pseudocreobotra wahlbergii.

Also, it's true! That's a problem that pretty much every breeder has, and by that I mean ensuring that the female doesn't eat the male when they breed. It doesn't happen 100% of the time but it definitely is a problem Male mantises are usually smaller and slimmer than the females for that very reason so they can fly away/escape more easily if she decides to turn him into lunch.

The mantises themselves don't have individual personalities (with the exception of Cronus/Tethys who is ridiculously aggressive towards me for some reason!), but there is definitely a difference between species. I have 2 phyllocrania paradoxa (Ghost mantises) who are a lot more skittish than the tenodera sinensis (Chinese mantises) I have. Funny enough, Ghosts can be housed together as long as there's space and enough food, but Chinese mantises are so cannibalistic that they'll try to attack each others' shadows! For reference, Cronus/Tethys is a polyspilota aeruginosa (Madagascan Marbled mantis) but I also have some of his younger siblings from the same breeder and while they're all aggressive eaters, he's the only one that lashes out at me whenever I handle him :/ I guess I just got a really angry mantis!

I try not to handle the smaller ones because they do like to kamikaze off of my hand (a lesson I learned when one of them jumped off my hand and fell about 6 feet onto a tile floor...), but my two Ghosts are super mellow when I hold them and like to just rest on my arm. The Chinese mantises haven't given me any issues either but they are very fast and I've had to stop them from running up my sleeves

Thanks for answering all my questions and all the info! I love learning about this. I think because as a kid I was always fascinated by the praying mantises I would see in our yard. I look forward to seeing your new set up when it's ready. Do the more aggressive praying mantises bite you?

by proserpina Wed 24 May 2017, 11:23 am

Rodents rock! wrote:
Thanks for answering all my questions and all the info! I love learning about this. I think because as a kid I was always fascinated by the praying mantises I would see in our yard. I look forward to seeing your new set up when it's ready. Do the more aggressive praying mantises bite you?

I'm glad you like them so much (and that you've seen wild ones before, there are almost none in my area so I have to buy them all!). Cronus/Tethys is the only super aggressive one, but yes he has certainly tried to strike my fingers when I get him out of his cup for cleaning day. Since he's getting big very fast, I do my best to avoid getting pinched lol.

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