How to Take Care of a Praying Mantis

A Praying Mantis can make a fascinating and easily-cared-for pet. Hatching your own Mantis is easy as well as educational. Simply buy or find a Mantis egg case, known as an ootheca, and place it in a Critter Keeper cage. Ootheca usually hatch in June or within a few days of the last frost. The most difficult part of caring for a Praying Mantis is in supplying it with sufficient live food. With newly-hatched Mantids this problem can be easily solved by simply dropping an aphid-covered leaf or two into the cage. As your young Mantises grow they will shed their skins and become a darker color.

Things You'll Need

  • Critter Keeper cage
  • Ootheca (egg sack)
  • Twigs
  • Small spray bottle of water
  • Aphids or other small live insects for food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Put a Praying Mantis egg case, or ootheca, into a Critter Keeper cage which has a very fine-mesh screen. Your ootheca should hatch in early to mid June. An ootheca will usually produce between 30 and 300 young Mantid. Your newly-hatched Mantids will be a very light color and not easy to see.

    • 2

      Cut two or three small twigs that are approximately 1 inch shorter than the height of your habitat. Leaving a few leaves on the twigs is O.K. Place the twigs into the cage so that your tiny Mantises can climb them.

    • 3

      Drop an aphid-covered leaf or rose bud into your Critter Keeper, as young Mantid are extremely hungry. Small flies, caterpillars and other soft-bodied insects can and will be consumed. Water is not necessary, although a light misting from a spray bottle every couple of days is an excellent idea.

    • 4

      Thin your Mantis population. As your tiny Mantises grow they will shed their skins and become a darker color. At this point they will begin to eat each other. Choose the healthiest specimen to keep and release the others into the wild--or buy additional Critter Keeper cages in which to raise additional Mantid, one per cage.

    • 5

      Feeding your Mantis can be a full-time job due to the Mantis' almost insatiable appetite. Add live insects to your Mantis' cage on a daily or every-other-day basis. You may wish to catch crickets, grasshoppers, flies and other soft-bodied insects yourself to feed to your Mantis, or you may wish to purchase live crickets or other soft-bodied insects from your local pet shop.