A praying mantis may be an unconventional pet, but these curious creatures have become quite popular insect companions. The praying mantis is an incredible hunter with strong jaws and spiky legs to grab prey. While they can be aggressive toward other insects, they rarely bite and are easy for humans to handle. Praying mantises as pets are friendly, calm, and interactive with their owners. Here are five tips for keeping a pet praying mantis.
1. Understand Your Pet Insect’s Behaviors
Before bringing a praying mantis home, research its behaviors; that way, you can provide a suitable habitat. While not dangerous to humans, a praying mantis should be kept alone; these insects are cannibals! These leggy insects live solitary lives and will consume their tank mates if they’re housed together. If you group mantises, they need a spacious tank but even then, there’s a risk of cannibalism.
When provided a safe habitat, praying mantises are quite active and interesting to watch. If you want to tame them, take them out of their enclosure and allow them to walk across your hands. Yet, always ensure the doors and windows are closed because this insect can fly and jump at least two times its body length. They’re fast movers because they’re ambush predators; always keep an eye on them if you let them walk about.
2. Mantises Need Appropriately Sized Enclosures
Once you’ve decided that a praying mantis is a suitable pet insect, prepare for their arrival with the right habitat. You’ll need a small glass or plastic container with a fair amount of ventilation. Some hobbyists use a mesh lid on the container for airflow, while others construct an entire mesh cage. The ideal size enclosure is double the mantis’s width and three times its height.
You may feel it’s better to give your adult mantis a large container, but here, they’ll struggle to find their prey. A pet praying mantis should be able to find its food quickly, and too large an enclosure increases the risk of insects hiding and avoiding being eaten. In addition to having easy access to food, your mantis needs well-regulated heat and humidity levels. It will be much harder to control heat and humidity in a large terrarium. Lastly, the ideal habitat for a mantis consists of plants and perches. A mantis feels safe when it can climb up a branch or stow away between leaves. It should be able to climb to the top of the cage and make its way to the floor of the container with ease.
3. Feed Your Praying Mantis Live Insects
The praying mantis is a predator and should be fed live insects. A variety of flies, crickets, moths, and mealworms are suitable for adults; however, young mantises feed on aphids and fruit flies. A simple way to ensure that your pet mantis receives the proper nutrition is to gut-load insects. This means that insects are fed a vitamin-enriched diet before being fed to the praying mantis.
Despite the predatory nature of a praying mantis, don’t feed them bees, wasps, centipedes, and spiders. Venomous insects could hurt the mantis, and any wild-caught bug may transmit parasites to your pet. The safest way to maintain their health and well-being is to stick to a diet of feeder insects sourced from your local exotic pet store.
4. Use a Moisture-Retaining Substrate
The ideal substrate for a praying mantis must retain moisture. Add coco fiber, which is excellent for moisture retention and helps the mantis with shedding. You only need to apply a thin layer to the enclosure, which will manage the ideal humidity levels. Soil mixed with vermiculite for aeration and drainage is another superior choice because it retains a fair amount of moisture. The soil should be slightly moist but never wet. Wet soil increases the risk of algae formation and bacterial growth.
A cost-effective alternative is paper towels that are easy to remove and replace––although they don’t hold moisture well. Peat is another good option, but most pet mantis owners prefer coco fiber because it is easy to maintain and helps replicate the insect’s natural environment.
5. Maintain 60% to 70% Humidity Levels
A praying mantis needs access to water, but it won’t typically drink from a dish. When you have a pet praying mantis, a regular spray bottle is a great investment. It not only helps provide your pet insect with water, but it also helps control humidity levels. To keep a mantis hydrated, lightly spray the plants and branches in the terrarium with water once a day. This simple application will help all types of praying mantises with molting, making it easier for them to shed.
These beautiful green bugs thrive in humidity of between 60% and 70%, and they prefer warm environments. Be sure to add a few live plants where possible as they support moisture levels in the enclosure. To check the humidity, you can use a hygrometer, which is a measuring tool designed to test moisture levels. Adding a humidifier in the room is another good option for maintaining humidity levels.
Conclusion: Praying Mantises Make Good Pets
The praying mantis can reach a length of six inches, and it has a relatively short lifespan depending on the species. Some mantises can live to a year, while others have a lifespan of only a few weeks. To make the most of your new pet, provide them with a clean habitat consisting of branches and small plants. Gently interact with them by letting them move freely between your hands, but don’t bathe them or try to pet them as it creates stress.
A diet of live insects is best, and be sure to add crickets and moths that are easy for mantises to see and capture. In addition to a good diet, pay attention to their humidity as this supports normal molting. Once you’ve got the basics, keeping a pet praying mantis should be easy, and you’ll be thrilled with a close-up view of their unique behaviors.
