I found her last week and asked what kind of mantis she was and people told me she's a carolina mantis and a female!!! So i see her everyday on these flowers and I've named her betsy!!

Hello everyone,

This 1cm sized mantis was sold to me as an african flower mantis (pseudocreobotra wahlbergii). Upon Google research the pictures and the descriptions about african flower mantis doesn't really match it. So is that really an african flower mantis or is that a different type of mantis? Because to me it looks more like an orchid mantis.

Exactly 1 year ago i got her, most stubborn little mantid i have ever seen. It felt only right to let you guys know, after all you gave me many tips on keeping her. She got to 12/13 months.

I am very new to keeping mantis and recently got a giant shield mantis (rhombodera stalli) last month on the 13th from a reptile expo. I received a paper with all of its molts, and the paper had said that the mantis molted 4 times, up until 7/14.

Since I’ve had it though, the mantis has not molted a single time. I’ve kept it in a decently sized vertical enclosure for its size with branches for it to climb on, been misting regularly, and feeding regularly. It had yet to reject any food.

But this morning, I had woken up to it laying on the substrate of its enclosure, so I gently took a twig and made sure it was still moving, and it was, so I left for school. Whenever I came back though, it was still in the same place, so I gently took the same twig and put it under it to lift it out in case it had somehow gotten stuck. It clung onto the branch just fine, but whenever I sat it onto the table outside of the enclosure, it flopped down to its side. I decided to mist a small clear plastic cup and place it over the mantis, so I could watch it. It did eventually start laying upright for about 20 minutes, but then flopped down back to its side. It’s been like that now for the past 3 hours and I just lifted the cup to check if it was still even reacting to touch, and it is.
I am very curious if anyone by chance knows what could be wrong and how I could avoid this issue in the future. I have a feeling that this one is going to eventually die and I am pretty bummed about it :(

Apologies if my explanation wasn’t the greatest and was a bit sporadic.

Hi! I am starting my journey as a mantis keeper. I decided to plan for a ghost mantis (Phyllocrania paradoxa) and am gathering supplies now.

For general supply, I have some tongs for feeding/feeder transport/enclosure adjustment, and a small misting bottle. Any other suggestions are welcome!

I understand that in the early life stages you should keep them in an appropriately-sized smaller container. Is this something that will come with a mantis from a breeder (like a deli cup) or could I properly prep a 9 x 9 x 9.5 cm acrylic case (to be reused with each baby I get)?

Will Organza mesh work for these guys?

For feeding, how do you guys contain flies once you are feeding? I understand, from what I've read, that Ghost Mantes are more attracted to flying prey, how does feeding go for L4 and below?

Please help 🥺🙏

That it all, hanging on the wall right next to the door as I walked in this morning

I will miss my lil lady!

I like to bond with an animal and enjoy them for a nice bit of time.

im worried about the mesh, how well does an enclosure like this hold humidity? ive also heard that metal can be bad for them, is there a way to replace that with something softer or do i need a new lid? im very new to mantis keeping so any general care tips are definitely appreciated.

It's my first time holding a Mantis. I already adopted her as an adult and she was very chill towards me. Well I prepared her home and bought some insects to feed her. I feed her like every 2-3 days and it seems to be enough. Anyway when I opened her box today she instantly climbed on my hand and started to eat pieces of skin from my finger. No big deal since it was dead skin anyway but at some point she started really chewing on my thumb like in the video and I think she was after my blood. She was carefull enough to not hurt me but I got worried and sat her down. I sat some of her food insects in her box and hope she actually catches it since she seems to be hungry. She already had some of my blood now and I'm a little worried she might get sick or something. Is it normal for a Mantis to do that? Do they need more food in the cold season? Is it dangerous or did she actually get a good meal like that? Thanks for y'alls help 😊

Nw Ohio