Surprise mantids for christmas...

[Pirate Science]

A friend found an egg case in their christmas tree and popped it off into a jar. The warmth and humidity caused them to hatch. They (my friend) kinda freaked out and didn't know what to do with them. I volunteered to adopt the nymphs but I'm worrying that I might not be able to get them through to spring.

Here's what I'm doing. 20gal tank with plastic wrap over the lid since the holes are big enough to let the babies walk through without ducking. Garden soil that I'm seeding with grass and clover. A water dish with stones to help prevent drowning. Fruit flies are ordered and on the way.

Anything else I should be doing? I know they should be separated better than the tank will allow but it's not really an option.

 

[pannaking22]

Some cannibalism won't be the end of the world when it happens. It'll weed out some of the weaker individuals, which is a good thing. Be ready to start several fruit fly cultures to keep your original going since they eat a lot. You'll want to poke a lot of little holes in the plastic wrap since stagnant air will kill all of them. A mesh container would probably be best, but as long as you poke a lot of small holes in the plastic that should help ventilate the enclosure.

 

[Fruchtpudding]

Mantids don't actually squeeze through things, they don't like it. I'd try to see if they do actually get through the ventilation or not, if not you can take the wrap off.

All mantids want and need good airflow, I'd replace that wrap ASAP. You can get finer mesh (like flyscreen) at any hardware store, just make sure it isn't metal.

Water dish is unnecessary, they won't use it and they don't come down to the ground anyway. Just mist them regularly so they can drink.

Lastly put some sticks in there. Fine branches, a whole bunch. They need a way to get back up to the ceiling (where they will all sit) if they fall down. For ones that small you can pack quite a few in there and it gives them room to avoid each other. Make sure to not pack the sticks too tight though or they won't have places to molt.

Cannibalism shouldn't be an issue for the first few molts.

 

[Pirate Science]

They must have been a bit dehydrated from the jar because a good many drank directly from the dish when they came out.

We put all the sticks we could find in but right now the snow is hiding most of them.

 

[Fruchtpudding]

I'd mist in there lightly to make sure they all get something to drink. Careful though, if they're really small they may get stuck against big water droplets.