What mantis should I get?

[SolFeliz]

Hey, not sure if this is the right category, please say if so.
So, I'd like a mantis or two and I've got two options so far (these are the ones currently being sold but they'll be more soon I bet):
1)Parasphendale sp. "Giant"
Giant Twig Mantis
and 2) Popa spruca
Twig Mantis
Does anyone have any info on these species e.g habitat, feeding, etc? And which one would you say is better? If you have any other species that are good (these would be my first mantids) please give me the names of them too. Thanks.

 

[SolFeliz]

Also, does anyone know any mantis species which don't have wings? Just out of curiosity.

 

[Patherophis]

Also, does anyone know any mantis species which don't have wings? Just out of curiosity.

For example Apteromantis aptera and Geomantis larvoides.

 

[Fruchtpudding]

Alright, first the two you're already looking at.

Parasphendale sp. "Giant"
Parasphendale in general are very easy to keep. They want it warm, with not too high humidity. Voracious eaters, always hungry. Quite aggressive and take down large prey, might even snap at your finger. Females sometimes guard ooths as a form of primitive parental care. All in all very fun to keep.

Popa spurca
They look cool and are surprisingly very confident, also taking down large prey. Can be kept under the same conditions as the Parasphendale. Is not going to move very much at all, they really rely on their cryptic appearance.

Other species that are good for beginners:
Hierodula spp., Sphodromantis spp., (Polyspilota or Plistospilota if you can find them). Basically all of the big, "normal" looking ones. The first two mentioned (the green ones) want higher humidity, though not excessively so, the latter two want it less humid and hotter. All of them get to an impressive size, eat pretty much anything that moves and are quite active (for a mantis).

If you want something that you can keep in groups: Phyllocrania paradoxa
They stay smaller than any of the others on this list. Their colors vary from green over brown to almost black and they should be fed flies in all stages. You can keep them in groups with minimal losses (some cannibalism always occurs) and they reproduce readily, so they should be easy to find and cheap.

Some more general mantis tips: Do NOT feed your mantis crickets. While some of them might take them and survive a cricket only diet they are just generally not good for them. Mantids that are fed crickets often start puking and then die shortly after. The most likely cause are internal parasites called gregarines, which pretty much all arthropods carry, but for some reason the ones inside crickets appear to be very harmful to mantids. Also crickets are just generally dangerous to mantids, especially molting or aging ones.
Always give any mantis good ventilation. Best done with plastic or fiberglass mesh, metal mesh can hurt their feet. Ideally the entire top of their enclosure should be mesh (they're gonna hang upside down from there anyway), and at least part of one side.
Give them enough room to molt. I know it's tempting to decorate the enclosure nicely, but they really do need a big, unobstruced place to molt somewhere. Mismolts are probably the #1 cause of death when beginners pick up a mantis.
And lastly, with very few exceptions you can NOT keep mantids at room temperature. Their development will be slowed and their digestion will not work well (which makes them more susceptible to parasites). Please give your mantis at least 25C during the day, and please don't do it with a heatmat but with a spotlight. That way you get a vertical heat gradient and the mantis can choose its preferred temperature itself.

Also, does anyone know any mantis species which don't have wings? Just out of curiosity.

Female Ameles spp.
Eremiaphila have only stub-wings.

 

[MantisGirl]

I started with a Chinese Mantis - one of the larger mantids and relatively easy to look after.
(The females have small wings but can't fly.)

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

In Yersiniops sp. both males and females are wingless.

 

[LawnShrimp]

I prefer Parasphendale because of the yellow arms in the threat display. They are quite cute in my opinion, especially males with their big eyes and antennae.

Do NOT feed your mantis crickets. While some of them might take them and survive a cricket only diet they are just generally not good for them. Mantids that are fed crickets often start puking and then die shortly after. The most likely cause are internal parasites called gregarines, which pretty much all arthropods carry, but for some reason the ones inside crickets appear to be very harmful to mantids. Also crickets are just generally dangerous to mantids, especially molting or aging ones.

Huh, that's weird. I've heard of this before but this is far more scientific, thanks. I often care for Chinese and Carolina mantids that I find in the garden and I feed them on a mainly cricket diet, though most of crickets are wild caught from the same area. The species are nemobiid ground crickets and Gryllus sp., as well as the occasional farmed Acheta or Gryllodes from the pet store. I've never had a single occurance of this before in three years worth of mantids. Then again, they are wild mantids that are used to eating a parasite-heavy diet, or maybe the wild crickets have parasite resistance. Whatever the case is, if I ever get real pet mantids again, I will make sure not to use crickets.

 

[Fruchtpudding]

@LawnShrimp Like I said, crickets seem to "work" for the big, robust mantids that eat pretty much anything in nature anyway, at least most of the time. It's when you try to give them to the more fragile ones that you really notice they aren't good for them, for example Creobroter, Hymenopus, Idolomantis and so on, which in nature eat mostly flying insects.

 

[Doc Ebola]

Hierodula spp. all the way for your first mantid. Voracious eaters yet very placid - I like to occasionally handle some of my mantid spp.

 

[Greasylake]

Make sure not give your feeders carrots as there are many reports of mantis eating feeders that ate carrots then starting to vomit and shortly after die. I don't know what it is about carrots but apparently they're mantis poison. Also my first mantis was a polyspilota griffinii and now I have two creobrotor gemmatus. They've done fine around 75 degrees and that's the same way I keep my tarantulas too, but to be fair I live in Texas and it gets pretty toasty in the summer. During the winter I just use a space heater to keep my room.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

You can never go wrong with a Hierodula, especially one like H. majuscula

 

[Doc Ebola]

Make sure not give your feeders carrots as there are many reports of mantis eating feeders that ate carrots then starting to vomit and shortly after die. I don't know what it is about carrots but apparently they're mantis poison. Also my first mantis was a polyspilota griffinii and now I have two creobrotor gemmatus. They've done fine around 75 degrees and that's the same way I keep my tarantulas too, but to be fair I live in Texas and it gets pretty toasty in the summer. During the winter I just use a space heater to keep my room.

You know, I've kept and bred mantids for years and never heard that. Not saying it's not true - I've mainly fed them hoppers and they pretty much don't like anything but greens. But have u got a link for that - I'm interested. Cheers.

 

[Greasylake]

https://www.mantidkingdom.com/are-crickets-bad-for-mantids/ This one is mainly about crickets but he also talks about carrots in there.
There were a few other links from other forums I found where people were talking about not giving their feeders carrots and I remember there being an arachnoboards post where someone was talking about their mantis vomiting after they fed their feeders carrots but I couldn't find that post again. To be honest now I'm starting to question whether or not carrots are actually bad for them. Personally I wouldn't take the chance unless I knew definitively one way or the other, but at the end of the day it's each keepers choice. If someone else has actually given their feeders carrots I'd love to hear what happened afterwards.

 

[Sarkhan42]

https://www.mantidkingdom.com/are-crickets-bad-for-mantids/ This one is mainly about crickets but he also talks about carrots in there.
There were a few other links from other forums I found where people were talking about not giving their feeders carrots and I remember there being an arachnoboards post where someone was talking about their mantis vomiting after they fed their feeders carrots but I couldn't find that post again. To be honest now I'm starting to question whether or not carrots are actually bad for them. Personally I wouldn't take the chance unless I knew definitively one way or the other, but at the end of the day it's each keepers choice. If someone else has actually given their feeders carrots I'd love to hear what happened afterwards.

I had two Heirodula nymphs begin vomiting and then dying for absolutely no reason, and I had never lost a mantis until that point, having kept Idolomantis and other more delicate species, so it shook me a bit. The only unique thing about them was that I fed them mealworms/bits of super that were fed carrots. I had never fed my feeders carrots until that point. I had no idea this could have been the cause until it came up now, and you bet I'll be sure to avoid that from now on, even if its just in case.

 

[Doc Ebola]

I had two Heirodula nymphs begin vomiting and then dying for absolutely no reason, and I had never lost a mantis until that point, having kept Idolomantis and other more delicate species, so it shook me a bit. The only unique thing about them was that I fed them mealworms/bits of super that were fed carrots. I had never fed my feeders carrots until that point. I had no idea this could have been the cause until it came up now, and you bet I'll be sure to avoid that from now on, even if its just in case.

You know, it's funny you say that. I fed my superworms some carrot the other night, but my T didn't seem interested in one. I was going to give it to a mantid instead but then I read the post from GreasyLake. I'm glad I did. This is news to me, but not worth the risk.

 

[Doc Ebola]

https://www.mantidkingdom.com/are-crickets-bad-for-mantids/ This one is mainly about crickets but he also talks about carrots in there.
There were a few other links from other forums I found where people were talking about not giving their feeders carrots and I remember there being an arachnoboards post where someone was talking about their mantis vomiting after they fed their feeders carrots but I couldn't find that post again. To be honest now I'm starting to question whether or not carrots are actually bad for them. Personally I wouldn't take the chance unless I knew definitively one way or the other, but at the end of the day it's each keepers choice. If someone else has actually given their feeders carrots I'd love to hear what happened afterwards.

My hoppers only seem interested in greens. But see my post above - you just might have saved a mantid. I'm not going to risk it just in case. Maybe I'll treat them all to a McDonalds tonight - no chance of any carrots there

 

[Doc Ebola]

I wonder how long it takes to pass through their system or if these super worms are now permanently tainted with some toxin? Goddamn.

 

[Greasylake]

I don't the superworms are permanently tainted as it should all pass through system eventually but chances are that one of your t's would be interested in eating it before it was safe for a mantis to eat anyway. I'd give it at least a week though.

 

[Mike Page]

Dead Leaf. Byfar my favorite.