Charlie Growout Thread -Ghost Mantis-

The Masked Shadow

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Jul 19, 2020
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Southern California (San Diego)
Phyllocrania Paradoxica commonly called the Ghost Mantis is a species of Praying Mantid. It hails from the Saharan Desert in Africa and is one of the most common mantis species in captivity. It is remarkable for its exclusive weathered leaf-like camouflage. This mantis only grows to a mere 2 inches and can be communal until sub-adult hood. The mantis can be held in a tank of 4 inches wide by 8 inches tall, by 8 inches long. In captivity, you can feed it Drosophila melanogaster as an L2-L3 nymph. As it gets older, they will eat Drosophilia hydei, then Green Bottle Flies, and lastly blue bottle flies. Those are the preferred food for it, though they will eat small crickets, small cockroaches, and the flightless fruit flies from PetSmart. Though living only 8 months, they are one of the longer-lived mantises. They are used in large Marijuana Plants for their major apetite. If anyone else is interested, I have provided a little basic care thing below.

Temperature: 20-30 degrees Celsius, or 68-86 degrees Fahrenheit (you can put a heater in the cage; I don't have one in)
Relative Humidity: 60-70% during the day and 70-80% during night
Recommended tank size: 20x20x30 cm or 7x7x8 inches
Aggression: Semi-aggressive
Difficulty: Easy
Molts until fully grown: 8 for female (L9 is an adult female), and 6 for males (L7 is adult male)
Sexually Mature: Female: L9 molt, 3-4 weeks after, Male: L5 molt, a week after
Duration in the ootheca (egg): ~6 weeks
Hatching rate: 20-30 nymphs
Feeding: 2-3 times a week

Mine:

Charlie is a Ghost Mantis. He lived in an 8 gallon terrarium with a lot of hiding spots, so I moved him into a smaller tank. The tank is 2.5 gallon, decorated with 3 rocks, a few sticks, orchid bark, gravel, and a little bit of assorted substrate (Oak Leaves, Seed pods, dandelion flowers, and even more). He is a little over 1.5 centimeters. Here he is:

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The Masked Shadow

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Jul 19, 2020
4,913
5,069
154
Southern California (San Diego)
So, Charlie molted. He is now an L3-L4 (I am not sure which one). He loves to be handled, and crawls around my hand like a madman. He loves the little flightless fruit flies.
 
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The Masked Shadow

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Jul 19, 2020
4,913
5,069
154
Southern California (San Diego)
Molted again. Eating like a hog. I am not sure, but I think he ate a piece of mango. I thought it could attract real fruit flies. and give the guy something to do, but there seems to be little bite marks. He is now around 2 cm.
 
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