Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Catching the grasshopper
• Method 2 of 4: Prepare the habitat
• Method 3 of 4: Grooming your pet
• Method 4 of 4: Identifying the species of praying mantis
• Tips

One of the most beautiful and peculiar creatures in the world, the praying mantis makes a wonderful pet. It's fun and easy to catch and keep as a pet. Simply take a pot large enough to house the grasshopper and place it in it. Make it easy for your new pet by providing him with a larger habitat and plenty of food at home.

To step

Method 1 of 4: Catching the grasshopper

1. Look for a mantis in flowering shrubs and near woody plants. It's impossible to know exactly where to find a mantis, but they prefer areas of flowering shrubs and woody plants. Take a good look at nearby shrubs and plants as praying mantis' spindly bodies and green color allow them to hide easily in their environment.
   • Search around your house and make sure to check damp spots and plants and other greenery as well.
   • Look for places where there are many insects and other critters, especially areas where you have seen a praying mantis before.
2. Wear gardening gloves to catch your grasshopper. Praying mantises are not poisonous, but they do bite. To avoid getting bitten, put on gardening gloves.
   • If you are bitten by a praying mantis, quickly shake your hand up and down to ease the pain.
3. Gently pick up the mantis by its belly or chest. The belly of the grasshopper's body sits just behind its hind legs. Its chest is the area between the front legs and middle legs.
   • You can use your hand (in a glove) or pliers to pick up the praying mantis.
   • Be careful not to squeeze the grasshopper too hard or you will crush it.
4. Place your praying mantis in a pot. A large, empty jar of 473 ml or more should be fine. Place a piece of cling film over the opening of the jar and secure it with a rubber band. Punch several holes in the foil, so that the grasshopper gets fresh air.
   • A large peanut butter jar or kim chipot should be fine.
   • If possible, use a plastic jar, as plastic is less likely to break than glass.
   • When you are out in the open to catch your grasshopper, you can temporarily put it in a small jar. However, for the long term it needs a larger habitat.

Method 2 of 4: Prepare the habitat

1. Provide a habitat that is at least three times the length of the grasshopper's body and at least twice the width of its body. A habitat of this size ensures that your grasshopper has plenty of room to move. A mesh top aquarium tank is probably your best option, as these types of containers allow good ventilation.
   • The height of the habitat should also be at least three times the length of your grasshopper.
2. Add a substrate to your grasshopper's habitat. You can use shredded tissue paper, vermiculite, potting compost, sand, wood chips, or shredded bark. These materials absorb water well, then release it slowly. This keeps the humidity level in your grasshopper's habitat relatively stable.
   • There is not a single correct volume of substrate to add to your locust's habitat. Two and a half to five inches should be enough to keep your pet healthy and happy.
3. Place plants and twigs in your grasshopper's habitat. Include plants that you would also find in the grasshopper's natural habitat. In addition to small plants, you can also place twigs, reeds, branches, artificial plants and flowers or decorative plastic branches.
   • Artificial plants and branches are often used in lizard habitats, so should be available for purchase at a pet store.
   • If you are using artificial plants or branches, make sure they are free of glue and insecticides.
   • Add to the habitat at least one branch that is three times the length of your grasshopper's body. Your grasshopper will use this branch when it sheds.

Method 3 of 4: Grooming your pet

1. Maintains the appropriate temperature and humidity. The appropriate temperature and humidity levels will vary depending on the specific species of praying mantis you have caught. Place a thermometer and hygrometer in or near your grasshopper's habitat to make sure you create the ideal environmental conditions for him.
   • If your pet is in a room that is too cold or too warm, consider moving it to another area where the temperature can be more easily regulated.
   • To increase the humidity, spray the substrate with water. The more you spray on it, the higher the humidity in the habitat will become. You can also increase the humidity by reducing the amount of ventilation from the top of the habitat.
2. Feed your grasshopper flies and other insects. Praying mantises love to eat flies, cockroaches, other grasshoppers, mosquitoes and other small insects. You can drop these bugs into your praying mantis habitat. You can also feed them directly to your grasshopper by holding them with tweezers and serving them to your grasshopper.
   • Your grasshopper will not eat dead bugs, so you will need to buy live insects from a pet store or catch some yourself. You can find the bugs in forests and on grassland.
   • If you are feeding your grasshopper live critters, wait until you actually see your grasshopper catch and eat them. Otherwise, the bugs could escape and your grasshopper will starve.
   • The amount of food your grasshopper needs will depend on the species. Some species only need to eat every four days, while others need to eat once a day.
3. Clean your grasshopper's habitat once a month. Move your grasshopper to a small pot the same size you originally caught it in, then remove all substrate and wash the habitat with hot water. Do not use dish soap as it can harm your pet. Add new substrate and replace the plants and branches.
4. House your grasshopper individually. Praying mantises are not social creatures. If you put two together, they will attack each other.

Method 4 of 4: Identifying the species of praying mantis

1. Identify the grasshopper species based on your location. Different types of grasshoppers live in different natural habitats. The Carolina mantis, for example, is not found in England, as it is only found in the U.S. occurs. Consult a book on the different mantis species and their natural habitats to find out which of the 2,400 mantis species you have.
   • The Carolina mantis is in the U.S. can be found from New York down to Florida, and from the east coast through Utah, Arizona and Texas.
   • The black-toned or eight-spotted praying mantis is found in Australia and New Guinea.
   • Theopropus elegans is a species found in Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.
2. Measure your praying mantis. Use a ruler to measure the length of your grasshopper. Different species usually have different body heights. For example, the Chinese praying mantis can grow to 11 inches long while the Carolina mantis grows to only five to six inches. Use a book describing the differences between the many mantis species and compare the length of your mantis with the length of different species to find out which species it belongs to.
3. Do not try to use color to determine the species of your praying mantis. Praying mantises are usually green or brown, but even grasshoppers of the same species often have different colors.
4. Ask an entomologist. Entomologists are insect experts. If you are having trouble identifying the locust species, a trained entomologist could help. Contact an entomologist at the local university or an entomologist society and ask if he or she is willing to identify your praying mantis.

Tips

• It is better to let praying mantises sit where they are. They make an important contribution to local ecosystems and gardens.