Fortunately Mantids do not need elaborate housing and will do as well in nothing more than a plastic sweet jar or pint pot. Ideally the height should be at least 3 times the size of your Mantis. Some form of netting, tights, voile or just kitchen roll can cover the top and can be held in place using an elastic band. A small feeding hole can be made somewhere in the jar or the top of the netting just big enough to push food through and can be bunged with a piece of sponge. A small twig stood at an angel for climbing can be added but make sure it doesn't hinder the Mantis when it moults, a mantis needs to hang without any interference. Also a piece of kitchen roll placed from the top to bottom will provide an additional place to moult and enable non flying live food to climb.
Substrate is optional but humidity is essential in many species to aid moulting and can be achieved by lightly spraying the housing 2 - 3 times a week, check on your species requirements.

Below is a simple guide for making a cheap and effective mantis enclosure.

Firstly you will need a clean plastic pint or half pint pot depending on how big your mantids are, remember that they will need enough room so that they can hang and moult without difficulty.





Melt a feeding hole in the pot using a soldering iron, use one with a rounded point. I pefer to do this near the bottom but allow enough room for any substrate that you might use. Make the hole slightly larger than an aquarium airline pipe.







Cut a small piece of sponge larger than the hole so it fits the hole snuggly and tight enough to stop any feeders escaping. The hole can also be used to moisten the substrate.



Cut a piece of fabric mesh, net curtain or even kitchen towel to cover the top of the pot, this needs to be fine enough to so that fruit flies cant pass through and secure it over the top using an elastic band.





Thats about it, just add substrate if you wish and a stick, remember to place it at an angle so not to hinder moulting.

another form of cheap, readily available and useful housing is standard storage boxes from your local poundstretcher/pound shop. the only adjustment needed is to cut out most of the lid (leaving the "frame"/"outline") and to gluegun some mesh in its place, giving a complete mesh roof. not only is this alot cheaper (if we compare equivalent sizes/capacities) than buying those faunariums/tanks sold specifically for reptiles, the roof material is also better than the vented plastic found in those, and you have alot more choice of size/shape (pound shops usually carry a pretty wide variety of these plastic storage container, not to mention loads of sizes and shapes of sweet jars). only drawback is the material the storage boxes are made from is usually not very clear. but i think the convenience and price more than make up for this.

yup i mentioned earlier on, everyone should check out wilkinsons for cheap plastic viv's, i use them for keeping mantids in and my crickets although when they get big i usually feel something a bit higher is necessary... this can be achieved by tiping the container on its side

i found these great pots with LIDS cos i hate elastic bands. from poundland

yeah i dont like lacky bands either, i always worry if the mantis is on the mesh that it will get squashed by the band or contracting mesh as it comes off

How many do you get and are they the same size as them ones above ?
I might nip into poundland tomoro.

Cheers

i use them pots from pound land u get 6 in a pack ,i just cut out the lid and put mesh/netting over the top then put the lid on ,job done lol ,i have about 150 of them to keep all my nymphs and mantids of different sizes in ,i find them realy good and they are dishwasher proof as well ,great for cleaning ,

paul if u want some its the poundland under the old palace night club in town

their the ones im talking about lol their great and crystal clear

THE COLLECTION
Sphodromantis lineola
Creobroter elongata
Phyllocrania paradoxa
Tenodera Aridifola Sinesis
Rhombodera basilis
pseudempusa pinnapavonis
Hymenopus coronatus
hierodula membranacea

check out my pics at flickr!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisboytiger/

they are great some species u can keep in them as adult like my c.gemmatus and other smaller species ,u cant knock them at that price

Would i be able to keep ghost mantids in them as adult ?
And what about c.pictipinnis ?