woo hoo got my mantis :)

got these gorgeous little fellas off of ebay they arrived today am so happy with them some of the pics are a bit rubbish one kept moving lol will add a little video later when it finally loads lol

Pics :

awwww!
you know, legally, if you buy them through ebay you have to feed them to your scorps....

well i just been reading that the larger mantis you can get and i quote.....
Mantises are exclusively predatory. Insects form the primary diet, but larger species have been known to prey on small scorpions, lizards, frogs, birds, snakes, fish, and even rodents; they will prey upon any species small enough to successfully capture and devour.
wow i never knew that one could take a scorpion lol

oh yeah, they can kill most things smaller than them.
when i had a chinese mantis ooth hatch i fed them fruit flies and a couple of big bluebottle fly things. they would grab the bluebottles which were probably 10times their size and would hold on trying to eat them while the fly was flying around.
fearless little killers, and they always have a look in their eyes that suggests they know a lot more than you...

you going to keep yours communally? if so give them room to get away from eachotther if they want to. they arent always communal...

im going to disagree with birds, fish and small mammals though. i cant think of any of these a mantis would catch...
oh, perhaps fish actually...

yup, they eat fish when the fish is trapped in a pint glass.. (youtube it, im not putting a link to it up).
it shows they could actually catch fish though...

dammit! now i have to get some!

nah got them seperate

lol i saw a pic of one taking a dead goldfish out of a goldfish bowl lol

Grats!

I would give them better ventilation in the enclosure if I were you. Some of mine have died probably because of too low ventilation.

Cut out a big hole in the lid and replace it with mesh. Its preferable to also cut one or more big holes in the sides of the container and replace that with mesh too


Also, they are very communal so you can have them together in the same enclosure with no problem. As long as they have enough space and food it wont bother them too much

Just saw your vid.. funny little creature.

They are indeed awesome!

A friend of mine has something similar, they're huge though, maybe aroung 10cm. Not sure if they're 100% the same, got to ask.

thanx

they have mesh over the top the lids were just put on to stop the fly from getting out. lids are off again now lol

oh yeah the vid......

I do like their looks, looking very alienlike. It was alread snapping at something. Does it snap at your fingers too?

Although they look freakish..........................and mantises scare me............how adorable & tiny with his little praying hands

Curious guys. How do you sex these things?

tell the sex by the segmants, 8 segments for the male, and 6 or 7 for the female. didnt snap at my finger sam no lol

Segments.

Do you mean their body?

yeah abdominal segments. females are larger than males, Males are shorter and narrower, Males can also be distinguished from females due to their long antennae and almost transparent wings

Ah!

Very cool

The males often have more evolved wings too, and they are longer.

DolbyR- Ghost mantids only reach 5 cm so it has to be another sp:)

where did you get these bex, i cant find any!

awesome little things

eBay

you must have got the last ones... i just bought 10 off of bugzuk anyway. i have no idea what 2 of the species are like, and the third i only got one of so its fine.
oh and while i was there i got a H. cyaneus because i want to see how blue they really are...

and its all your fault!