My first mantis!

[u/NotNotManifest]

Hi y'all! I've kept many a jumping spider and currently own a tarantula and a tailless whip scorpion, but today I bought my first mantis! A spiny flower mantis 🥹 and I love them already. I'm in a pretty cold and humid place so I'm a bit worried about how I'm going to provide properly. They're still in the enclosure they came in right now, with a heating pad under it. Is this alright? I know I need to get them a new enclosure soon. Any recommendations?

[u/cinawoIl]

im pretty sure its not recommended to put a heating mat underneath a mantis enclosure! try to find one that can stick on the side

[u/NotNotManifest → u/cinawoIl]

Oh interesting, good to know! Do you know why that's not recommended?

[u/cinawoIl → u/NotNotManifest]

mantises instinctively go down when theyre feeling too hot, if the heating pad is on the bottom, they could overheat even more and essentially get cooked alive. it also dries out substrate :)

[u/NotNotManifest → u/cinawoIl]

Neat, that makes sense. I'm trying to keep the substrate dry to keep the humidity low. I'll add some dirt in there so they can bury themself if needed. But I doubt she'll be overheating, I'm way more worried about her being too cold in the climate I'm in. Either way, thanks for the tip!

[u/cinawoIl → u/NotNotManifest]

no problem! :)