The praying mantis is a very interesting looking creature. Usually, you can't even see them in the wild because they blend in so much with plants. The African Mantis is becoming very popular as a pet and is relatively easy to keep.

A praying mantis can grow to be up to ten centimeters long. They come in many different color variations that range from bright green to dark brown. Occasionally, they also are a cream color. The adults have full wings and can see extraordinarily well.

If you are going to keep these creatures, you must be very careful to keep them in the correct temperature and humidity. They need to be kept in an aquarium that is pretty tall because they need height for molting. Make sure the tank is sealed so that they cannot get out, but use a well-ventilated lid so oxygen can get in. Many people end up sealing the tank so well than oxygen cannot get in and the creatures die.

At the bottom of the tank you will need to have some kind of substrate as well as twigs and branches. Make the substrate ten millimeters thick. You don't need to make the aquarium that humid because the praying mantis gets the moisture it needs from what it eats. It is recommended that you lightly mist them though. A younger mantis needs more humidity than an adult. If you see dew on the side of the tank, then that means that the there is too much humidity in there. Don't let the humidity get too high or your praying mantis can die. Also make sure the humidity doesn't get too low.

In the wild, the praying mantis eats mainly insects. When you keep these animals in your home, you need to feed them every two to three days. You should feed an adult mantis crickets and grasshoppers. A younger mantis can be fed smaller insects like pinhead crickets or drosophilae. If you have more than one mantis housed together, be sure to keep them well fed or they will eat each other.

If you plan on breeding the praying mantis, the first thing you need to know is how to tell males and females apart. The easiest way to tell is to count the abdominal segments. Males have eight and females have six. Once you get a pair, feed them very well for two weeks before breeding them. If you don't feed them enough, one will probably eat the other instead of mating. The only thing recommended for a breeding tank is a piece of diagonal corkboard. Put the breeding pair together once they have been fed for the two weeks. Watch them very closely and make sure the female is not aggressive towards the male. If she is, take out the male immediately. If they mate, the female will lay several hundred eggs. Be careful, because right after they mate the female will try to eat the male.

It doesn't take that much work to keep your praying mantis healthy. Getting their environment right is the hardest thing to do. Once you do that, you can just enjoy watching these fascinating creatures.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Animals Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell