Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
I am new to the board. We just found a Chinese Mantid and my daughter is very attached to him/her. I just need to know how to take care of it. Like what size container should it be in? It looks about 4" long. How do we give it water. Also, it likes crickets, but my bug book dosnt list them as something that it eats. Is it ok to feed it crickets? And is there anything else I should know about keeping a Mantid?

Thanks,
MLP Junkie

Make sure the mantid got plenty of room, like 5 1/2 gallon tank. They drink water off the screen so you have to mist the tank everyday. They love crickets and mealworms, moths, and anything you can find outside.

The 5 1/2 gal tank will work with screen lid. You can go bigger if you want. Also get some artificial plants for it to crawl on. Even though it will mostly stay on the lid. Mist the cage with a spray bottle at least once a day. Get some substrate for the bottom of the tank too. I use sphagnum moss. You can buy it at Lowes or Home Depot. It comes dried. Get it wet and ring out the water and place it on the bottom of the tank a couple inches deep. When you mist the tank also mist the moss really good. The moss will hold the water and provide the humidity the mantid needs to live. Also it is a good idea to mist the mantid a little bit too. That way they can drink the water of their front legs. They get most of their water from food though. Crickets are fine as food. They wil lbasically eat anything that moves and is not too big. I don;t recommend mealworms though. You would probably have to hand feed those which can be a pain and probably not necessary. Stick with crickets or any grasshoppers you can find outside. Also read some of the threads on this page to help you answer some additional questions.