Where can I find the best price on?

tglassburner

tglassburner

New Member
Where can I find the best price on mantids? All I seem to be able to find are expensive fancy mantids.

Also stick bugs. I cannot even find anyone selling those.
 
I always see posts mentioning that stick bugs are illegal in many places. This could be why you are not finding them.
 
join the mantid forum, you can get excellent deals on mantids in the classifieds section, JUST DONT TELL THEM WHAT YOUR USING THEM FOR! lol

Phasmids (except for those that are native to your state) are illegal. But If you search hard enough.........
 
try mantisplace.com you can get ooths really cheap and raise up however many mantis you will want to feed off. You get 200+ mantis for under $10, the only thing is you have to raise them. Stick bugs are illegal almost everywhere in the united states, you have to collect them and breed them yourself or know someone close enough to you to buy them from under the table without having to ship. I guess someone could ship them with no return address but I wouldn't advise that and the fines aren't worth it. Both of these are very easy to raise, the stick bugs just take awhile to mature as well as the mantis.



Justin
 
I think where I live mantis are protected and you're not supposed to kill them or feed em to other animals. I don't know how true that is for other states though
 
AReptile said:
I think where I live mantis are protected and you're not supposed to kill them or feed em to other animals. I don't know how true that is for other states though
Click to expand...

That only goes for the wild stock. If you get ooth sacks from someone who breeds them theirself then your not killing off wild bugs and everything should be fine.\.
 
best place for mantids ?

i found 7 orchid mantis from a person here for $80 shipped , that would cost like $400 elsewhere, there are many private breeders there and most mantids are available at any given time, lots of people with chinese or euro mantis for dirt cheap. its just like cf only for mantids http://mantidforum.net/
 
why spend so much on food? This is food correct? It seems as though 80 bucks is a little steep. Do these mantids offer super nutrition or something?
 
chondrotastic said:
why spend so much on food? This is food correct? It seems as though 80 bucks is a little steep. Do these mantids offer super nutrition or something?
Click to expand...

an orchid mantis is more of a pet, feeder mantids go for much, much less, an ooth (300) is about 6 bucks. However variety is key, and sometimes that can get expensive.
 
Are you reffering to me? Orchid mantis' are awesome looking. I think I'd feel bad if I ever fed one off (assuming I had the money to buy such expensive food for my chameleons! :D)

Normal 'feeder' mantis' are not expensive at all until you try to raise them! Then you start dipping into cricket money.
 
Yeah is probably not for everyone, but have heard of people on here needing to thin out colonies of different stuff. So for those this might be a option as they are already raising insects. For them the expenses should not be too high. Maybe just space concerns? idk just an idea :)
 
Mantids are an excellent feeder as they have a completely different diet than other feeders used here. Also for most feeders you arent buying feeders you are buying breeders and then feeding what they breed. When you do it that way the cost drops dramatically for any feeder over time. Often to the point where you you cant afford not to.

When we first obtained our Dubia colonies and started selling they were 3 dollars a piece. The price didnt matter because we werent buying feeders we were buying breeders and they have paid for themselves many times over.

We have found one of the most practical mantids to raise as feeders is Egyptian mantids. With sufficient amounts of food and space they can be kept together from nymph to adult. If you dont want to have mantis breeding going on then you can buy Chinese mantid egg cases. However seperating and feeding the babies requires more equipment and live insects as feeders for the mantids. Some people just let them eat each other as they grow until all are fed or eaten.

Digby Rigby _______________________
 
Digby has hit the toughest part of mantis raising, and that is cannibalism. Most mantis keepers use 32 ounce insect cups for each mantis, and feed Blue Bottle flies every other day. I clearly remember feeding 420 adult mantis one by one....

Most garden shops sell the Chinese mantis egg cases (called ootheca) for about $4-$5, although this year the harvest is down over 80%, so they may be tougher to find. That's why I have 25 in my refrigerator right now!:D

Nick
 
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