Praying Mantis (Ghost) — Accessories & Essentials

A fine mist spray bottle is the single most frequently used accessory in ghost mantis keeping. You will use it at least once or twice daily to maintain enclosure humidity and provide drinking water for your mantis. The quality of the spray bottle matters more than most keepers realize — a bottle that produces a coarse spray will dump large water droplets that pool on the substrate and promote mold, while a bottle with a true fine mist nozzle creates the delicate bead-like droplets that mantises prefer to drink from.

Look for spray bottles with adjustable nozzles that can be set to the finest mist setting available. Bottles marketed for plant misting or hair styling often produce a finer spray than general-purpose cleaning bottles. Glass bottles with brass nozzles tend to produce a more consistent, finer mist than their plastic counterparts, though either will work if the nozzle quality is good.

For keepers maintaining multiple enclosures, a pressurized pump sprayer designed for garden use can save time and produce an exceptionally fine, consistent mist. These sprayers are pumped up to pressure and then deliver a continuous mist stream at the press of a trigger, allowing you to mist several enclosures efficiently during your daily care routine. Choose a sprayer with a capacity of one to two liters, which is more than enough for a mantis collection without being unwieldy.

Always use dechlorinated or spring water for misting. Tap water in many municipalities contains chlorine and chloramine, which can leave mineral residues on enclosure walls and may be harmful to invertebrates over time. Letting tap water sit uncovered for 24 hours allows chlorine to dissipate, or you can use a water conditioner designed for aquarium use to treat tap water immediately before misting.

Soft-tipped feeding tweezers or forceps are an essential accessory for ghost mantis keeping. These allow you to offer individual feeder insects to your mantis in a controlled manner, which is useful for monitoring intake, preventing feeder insects from escaping into your room, and providing the targeted feeding enrichment discussed in the enrichment section. Look for tweezers with rounded or silicone-tipped ends that can grasp a fly gently without crushing it, preserving the movement that triggers the mantis's strike response.

Standard metal tweezers from a pharmacy or hobby store work for most feeding tasks, but they require a delicate touch to avoid squishing the feeder insect before the mantis can strike. Dedicated reptile or invertebrate feeding tongs, typically made of bamboo or stainless steel with blunted tips, offer better control. Bamboo feeding tongs have the additional advantage of being lightweight and less likely to startle the mantis if they accidentally bump against it or the enclosure walls.

A small catch cup or transfer vial is invaluable for moving feeder insects from their culture container to the mantis's enclosure without escapees. A clear plastic vial or test tube with a foam stopper works well for transporting individual flies. For fruit flies, tapping the culture container to knock flies to the bottom, then quickly uncapping it inside the mantis enclosure, is the most efficient transfer method, though it takes a bit of practice to avoid releasing more flies than intended.

Keep a small soft-bristle paintbrush on hand for gently nudging a mantis that needs to be repositioned during enclosure maintenance. A size four or six watercolor brush is ideal — soft enough to touch the mantis without harming it, firm enough to guide it onto your hand or a temporary holding container. Never use the brush to push or prod the mantis forcefully, as this can damage its delicate limbs and wings.

A digital thermometer and hygrometer combination unit is a must-have accessory for any mantis enclosure. These compact devices measure both temperature and relative humidity simultaneously and are available in models small enough to fit inside even the most modest nano terrarium. Accuracy matters here — cheap units can be off by several degrees or ten or more percentage points of humidity, which in a small enclosure can mean the difference between healthy conditions and problematic ones.

Look for a unit with a wired probe rather than one that measures only at its own location. A probe allows you to place the sensor inside the enclosure while keeping the display outside for easy reading. Position the probe at the mantis's typical perching height, which is usually in the upper third of the enclosure, since temperature and humidity can vary significantly between the floor and ceiling of even a small habitat.

A small magnifying glass or jeweler's loupe is a surprisingly useful accessory for mantis keepers. It allows you to inspect your mantis for signs of health issues such as parasitic mites, leg injuries, or early indicators of a bad molt. It also comes in handy for sexing juvenile mantises by examining the underside of the abdomen to count segments, which is difficult to do accurately with the naked eye on a small species like the ghost mantis.

Keeping a simple care journal — either a small notebook or a note on your phone — allows you to track feeding dates, misting schedules, molt dates, and any behavioral observations. This data becomes invaluable over time, helping you predict molt timing, identify feeding patterns, and troubleshoot any health issues by reviewing what changed in the care routine leading up to a problem.

Regular enclosure cleaning is essential to prevent mold, bacterial buildup, and the accumulation of frass and prey remains that can attract pests. A basic cleaning kit for mantis keeping should include a set of small sponges or cotton swabs for wiping down enclosure walls, a pair of pointed tweezers for removing boluses (the compressed remains of prey that mantises drop after feeding), and a small container of clean water for rinsing.

Avoid using any chemical cleaners, soaps, or disinfectants inside the enclosure. Even residues from so-called natural or organic cleaners can be toxic to invertebrates. For deep cleaning between substrate changes, rinse the enclosure thoroughly with hot water and allow it to air dry completely before reassembling. If you need to disinfect due to mold or disease, a solution of one part white vinegar to four parts water is the safest option, followed by extensive rinsing with clean water.

Substrate should be replaced entirely every three to four weeks, or sooner if you notice mold growth, persistent odor, or excessive moisture retention. During substrate changes, transfer the mantis to a temporary holding container — a clean deli cup with a ventilated lid works perfectly — while you disassemble, clean, and reassemble the enclosure. This is also a good opportunity to inspect and replace any decor items that have become soiled or moldy.

Keep spare substrate, a few backup deli cups, and extra ventilated lids on hand so that you can perform emergency enclosure swaps quickly if something goes wrong. A mantis that needs to be moved due to a sudden mold outbreak or a broken enclosure should not have to wait while you run to the store for supplies. Having a small maintenance kit prepared and ready to go is a hallmark of responsible invertebrate keeping.

Transporting a ghost mantis safely requires a small, secure, well-ventilated container that prevents the animal from being jostled during movement. Clear deli cups with ventilated lids are the standard transport container in the mantis community. Line the inside of the lid with a piece of paper towel or fabric so the mantis has a gripping surface, and place a small twig inside for the mantis to hold onto during transit.

For longer transport — such as trips to an exotic pet show, a veterinary appointment, or shipping to a new owner — the container should be insulated against temperature extremes. Placing the deli cup inside a small insulated bag with a heat pack in cold weather or a cool pack in hot weather protects the mantis from temperature shock. The heat or cool pack should never touch the deli cup directly; wrap it in a layer of paper towel or place a buffer of crumpled newspaper between the pack and the cup.

Temporary housing situations arise more often than new keepers expect — during enclosure cleaning, when introducing new decor, when isolating a mantis before or after a molt, or when separating communal individuals showing aggression. Having two or three clean deli cups with prepared lids ready to go at all times saves stress and prevents rushed decisions. Label each cup with the mantis's name or identifier, the date, and a note about why it was moved.

If you are shipping a mantis to another keeper, use a sturdy cardboard box with the deli cup secured in the center using crumpled newspaper or packing material on all sides. Include a clearly visible label marking the package as live animals, and ship using an overnight or express service to minimize transit time. Never ship during extreme weather, and always coordinate with the recipient to ensure someone will be available to receive the package promptly upon arrival.

If you plan to breed your ghost mantises, a few additional accessories become essential. A separate, larger enclosure for mating introductions gives the male and female space to interact without the male being cornered if the female becomes aggressive. This mating arena should be well-furnished with branches and perches to provide escape routes and visual barriers, and it should be large enough that the male can maintain distance until the female is receptive.

Ootheca incubation requires its own setup. Ghost mantis oothecae — the foamy egg cases that females deposit on branches, walls, or the enclosure ceiling — need to be kept at stable temperature and humidity to develop properly. Many keepers remove the ootheca from the adult's enclosure and place it in a dedicated incubation container with a moist substrate layer on the bottom and the ootheca suspended or attached to a branch or the container wall above the substrate.

A small net cup or mesh sleeve placed over the ootheca inside the incubation container serves as a nymph containment device. When the ootheca hatches, dozens of tiny nymphs emerge simultaneously and will scatter in all directions. The mesh sleeve keeps them contained until you can sort and transfer them to individual nymph cups. Without this containment, recovering all the nymphs from a hatched ootheca is nearly impossible.

Nymph rearing supplies include a stock of small deli cups, a reliable fruit fly culture system, and micro spray bottles or pipettes for providing appropriately tiny water droplets. Each nymph needs its own cup once it reaches the second or third instar to prevent cannibalism, so a breeding project can quickly scale up your container needs. Plan for the possibility of 20 to 40 nymphs per ootheca and have housing, food, and rehoming arrangements in place before the hatch date arrives.