How to Keep a Praying Mantis As a Pet

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One of the most beautiful and unusual creatures in the world of bugs, the praying mantis makes a great pet. Catching and keeping one is fun and easy. Just grab a jar large enough to accommodate a mantis and drop it in. Make your new pet comfortable by providing it with a large enclosure and an adequate amount of food.

Section 1 of 4:

Catching the Mantis

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  1. It’s impossible to know exactly where you might find a praying mantis, but they tend to favor areas with flowering shrubs and woody plants. Look closely at shrubs and plants near you, since the spindly bodies and green color of praying mantises allow them to easily blend into their surroundings. [1]
    • Look around your house, making sure to check humid places and plants or other greenery.
    • Look in places with lots of insects and bugs, especially areas where you’ve seen praying mantises before.
    • Be sure to wear gardening gloves before catching your mantis. Praying mantises aren’t poisonous, but they do bite.
  2. It should climb right on. Make sure not to pinch it. [2]
    • You could use gloves to pick up the praying mantis. [3]
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  3. A large empty jar that can hold 16 fluid ounces (473 mL) or more should work nicely. Place a piece of plastic cling wrap over the top of the jar and secure it with a rubber band. Punch several small holes in the plastic wrap to allow the mantis to get fresh air. [4]
    • A large peanut butter or kimchi jar should work nicely.
    • Use a plastic jar if possible, as it is less likely to break than glass. [5]
    • When you’re out in the wilderness capturing your praying mantis, you can temporarily keep it in a small jar. For long-term care, however, it will need a larger habitat.
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Section 2 of 4:

Preparing the Habitat

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  1. Provide an enclosure with a length of at least three times the length of your mantis’ body and a width of at least twice the length of its body. An enclosure of this size will guarantee that your mantis has enough space to move about. An aquarium cage with a mesh top will probably be your best option since an enclosure of this sort will allow for proper ventilation. [6]
    • Additionally, the height of the enclosure should be at least three times the length of your mantis. [7]
  2. You could use shredded tissue paper, vermiculite, potting soil, sand, woodchips, or shredded bark. These materials will readily absorb water and release it slowly, ensuring the humidity of the mantis habitat remains relatively stable. [8]
    • There’s no one “right” volume of substrate you must add to your mantis habitat. 1 inch (2.5 cm) or 2 inches (5.1 cm) of substrate should be enough to keep your pet healthy and happy.
  3. Add plants like those that you found your mantis among to its habitat. [9] In addition to small plants, you could add twigs, reeds, branches, artificial plants and flowers, or decorative plastic branches. [10]
    • Artificial plants and branches are often used in lizard habitats and should be available at your local pet store.
    • If you use artificial plants or branches, ensure they are free of glue and insecticides.
    • Add at least one branch to the habitat that measures three times the length of your mantis’ body. Your mantis will use this branch when shedding its skin. [11]
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Section 3 of 4:

Caring for Your Pet

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  1. The appropriate levels of temperature and humidity vary depending on the particular species of mantis you’ve captured. Place a thermometer and a hygrometer in or near your mantis habitat to ensure that you’re housing it within ideal environmental conditions. [12]
    • If your pet is housed in a room that is too cold or too hot, consider moving it to a different space where the temperature can be more easily regulated.
    • To increase the humidity, spray the substrate with water. The more you spray it, the more the humidity levels of the habitat will increase. You can also increase the humidity level by reducing the amount of air ventilation at the top of your mantis’ enclosure.
  2. Praying mantises love eating flies, roaches, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, and other small insects. You can drop these bugs into your mantis’ habitat. Alternately, feed them directly to your mantis by gripping them gently with tweezers, then presenting them to your mantis. [13]
    • Your mantis won’t accept dead bugs, so you will have to buy live insects from a pet shop or catch some yourself. You can find these bugs in the woods or on farmland.
    • If you feed your mantis live bugs, wait until you see it actually catch and eat them. Otherwise, the bugs might escape and die, and your mantis will go hungry.
    • The amount of food your mantis needs depends on its species. Some species only need to eat once every four days, while others need to eat once each day.
  3. Remove your mantis to a small jar of the same size you used to capture it initially, then dump all substrate out of its habitat and wash it with hot water. Don’t use detergent, as it might harm your pet. Add new substrate and replace the shrubs and branches. [14]
  4. Praying mantises are not social creatures. If you house two together, they will attack each other. [15]
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Section 4 of 4:

Identifying Your Mantis' Species

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  1. Different mantis species have different natural habitats. For instance, the Carolina mantis will not be found in England, since it only lives in the U.S. Consult a book of praying mantis species and their known native habitats to discover which of the 2,400 species your praying mantis belongs to. [16]
    • The Carolina mantis is found in the U.S. from New York south to Florida. It is found from the east coast through Utah, Arizona, and Texas.
    • The black barrel or eight-spotted mantis is native to Australia and New Guinea.
    • Theopropus elegans is a species native to Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.
  2. Use a ruler to measure your mantis’ length. Different species tend to have different body sizes. For instance, the Chinese mantis reaches 4.5 inches (11 cm), but the Carolina mantis reaches only 2 to 2.5 inches (5.1 to 6.4 cm). Using a book describing the differences between the many mantis species, compare the length of your mantis against the lengths of the other mantis species in order to identify which one your mantis belongs to. [17]
  3. Mantises are typically green or brown, but even mantises of the same species often have different colors. [18]
  4. Entomologists are bug experts. If you’re having trouble identifying your mantis’ species, a trained entomologist could help. Contact entomologists at your local university or entomological society and ask if they would be willing to help you identify your particular mantis species.
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  • Question
    How do I tell if a praying mantis is dead or just molting?
    Community Answer
    When it is molting, it will be hanging upside down, and you'll be able to see a thin layer of clear-ish "skin" coming off it.
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  • Question
    Are you sure that I can find a praying mantis near my house?
    Community Answer
    It does depend on where you live. Check an insect guide for your geographic area to find out which species of praying mantis, if any, live in your area.
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  • Question
    Can a praying mantis eat a cricket?
    Community Answer
    Yes, when they are about medium-sized. They can also eat spiders and houseflies.
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      • It’s better to leave praying mantises where you find them. They provide important benefits for local ecosystems and gardens. [19]
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      The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
      • Look for mantises in humid, overgrown areas with lots of leaves, branches and flowering plants. Carefully scoop one up with gloved hands or let it crawl onto your hand. Move slowly to avoid startling it.
      • Identify species through geographic location, physical traits like size, and consulting insect experts if needed. There are over 2,400 species globally so narrowing it down can be tricky.
      • Handle your new pet gently and consistently so it becomes comfortable with you. Never squeeze or injure it. With regular, delicate handling, mantises relax and will crawl onto your hand.
      • Use an escape-proof enclosure at least 3 times as long as the mantis itself, with added branches, plants and proper temperature regulation. Proper habitat setup keeps mantises healthy.
      • Mantises are solitary creatures. Housing two together risks them attacking and killing each other. Always keep mantises separate in their own enclosures.
      • Feed live insects captured in the wild or bought from a pet store. Mantises only accept living, moving prey. Present bugs with tweezers for convenience.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/caresheets/praying-mantids.html
      2. ↑ https://www.prayingmantisfacts.net/catching_a_praying_mantis.html
      3. ↑ https://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/bugfun/collecti.htm
      4. ↑ https://senecacountycce.org/agriculture/praying-mantis
      5. ↑ https://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/bugfun/collecti.htm
      6. ↑ https://www.pests.org/praying-mantis/
      7. ↑ https://entomology.unl.edu/scilit/praying-mantis-caresheet.pdf
      8. ↑ https://www.cpp.edu/respect/resources/documents_kinder/pa_lessons_1-3/lesson-1/gr0.kpa_lesson1a_ho1.1_terrarium_and_mantis_care_tm.pdf
      9. ↑ https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/praying-mantids/
      1. ↑ https://www.pbspettravel.co.uk/blog/keeping-praying-mantis-as-pets-the-beginners-guide/
      2. ↑ https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/praying-mantis
      3. ↑ https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2021/10/should-i-release-praying-mantis-my-garden
      4. ↑ https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef703
      5. ↑ https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2021/10/should-i-release-praying-mantis-my-garden
      6. ↑ https://agr.wa.gov/departments/insects-pests-and-weeds/insects/hornets/faq
      7. ↑ https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/ent-67
      8. ↑ https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/ent-67
      9. ↑ https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/five-things-know-about-praying-mantis/
      10. ↑ https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Praying-Mantis

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      If you want to keep a praying mantis as a pet, keep it in an enclosure that’s at least 3 times longer than its body, 3 times taller, and twice as wide as the mantis is long. Place 1-2 inches of potting soil, sand, or woodchips onto the bottom of the habitat, and place small plants and twigs from your mantis’ natural habitat into the container. Once your mantis is established in its home, feed it flies, grasshoppers, and other small insects, and mist the substrate with water to keep your mantis hydrated. Keep reading for tips on how to identify the species of your mantis!

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