Praying Mantis, The Best Pet Insect?
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- Опубліковано 10 чер 2024
- The praying mantis might be the coolest insect on the planet. They are alert, interesting, and terrifying little creatures. They are even known for eating the heads off of their would-be lovers. Could an insect be any more awesome? Yeah, they also come in a wide variety of colors and shapes, and best of all, they make really good pets. But the question is clear, is the praying mantis the best pet insect for you?
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Hi Clint can your team make video about Zootoca vivipara the common lizard, love your videos! 🦎❤️
Sounds good to me. I love the lacertid lizards!
@@ClintsReptiles Awesome!
I would like your expert opinion on scorpions
My marbled mantis is brutal it tortures its prey instead of going for the head it nibbles it prey for a few minutes then slowly eats the cricket legs body then head
"possibly the most terrifying animal in the world"
*Mantis proceeds to flail arms trying to get off its back on the table*
zRep Imagine being an inch tall and coming across one. I think that would be relatively terrifying.
Human: *hears slight tapping* oh cute
Mantis: *enraged alien screams warding lesser species under the apex with arm flails*
@@vina.5832
''This just in: tired format is tired.''
That was so fun.
I couldn't believe the timing of that, it was so perfect
This channel is slowly turning into “Clint’s Exotic Animals”
Is that okay? There are just so many cool creatures!
Very okay
Clint's Reptiles we LOVE it !
@@ClintsReptiles It's not just ok, it's stinkin' rad.
@@ClintsReptiles love it, can u do macaw for next?
As someone who accidentally brought an praying mantis egg sack into my house on a thing of wood. I can confirm when they hatch they are small enough to stand on your fingernails and are little tiny versions of adults. They are very friendly and very cat like
I once had one land on me that was maybe half an inch from tail end to stretched out claws. Just the cutest little thing ever.
I always say praying mantis are the cats of insect world. They appear very inquisitive and playful. I love the way they turn their heads and clean themselves. I play with them whenever I get a chance.
I raise over 30 species of mantids and I couldn’t agree with you more!
Let me buy some. I’ve been thinking about this for years. I’m considering getting rid of everything I got besides my cats and building a mantis display vivarium in my bedroom.
I have had many pet praying mantis's & I have even seen them play with their food like a cat! They are magnificent creatures. If you ask me, they are the best pet insect there is. They dont repulse most people like spiders & centipedes do, which makes it a hobby that is easy to share with other people.
And just like cats, they are a very deadly predator >:)
"Approaching a female is a very dangerous game"
Yet another common ground for both the human, and the mantis.
My dad's head too was eaten by my mom
Bebico Kebabini We all make mistakes in the heart of passion, jimbo....
@@luzonhunter6073 He heard she gave "killer head", but misunderstood.
Survive, or get laid...
Best strand ever
"What would possibly...."
*bonk*
"...be the scariest predator..."
*_arms flailing_*
"...if we were smaller."
"ₕₐₗₚ"
Time stamp?
José Rojas 0:33
*be afraid, peasant*
@@non-binarycoding5505 I'm confused
Edit: ohh, it's 0:32
Time stamp for when I get back to where I originally was
This is going to sound fake, but I swear it's true:
I once had a praying mantis that..well, he (I think it was a he), wasn't my pet, but almost like a room-mate. We found him in my bedroom, and we pulled out a little enclosure we had for a previous insect, got some water in there, and just never put a lid on it. And he made himself at home, and stayed with us for a little over a week, always crawling on us and coming to see us in between hunting the bugs that found their way in.
One day, while he was crawling on me, I noticed he had gotten a spider web caught in his mandibles, and he actually held perfectly still, watching me as I pulled it out of his mouth. (Carefully as all hell, as you can imagine.)
He finally decided he wanted out (By raising his arms when I held him near the window), so I brought him back out, let him find his way to a tree, and went on my way.
I abject *refuse* anyone saying insects can't tell humans apart. Edit: Fun fact, those claws STILL hurt if you're a human. I made the *brilliant* idea to poke his claw, and while it didn't draw blood, it did leave a mark.
I saw a video of a mantis chewing on a woman's nipple, drawing blood.
same thing happening to me right now, im feeding her till shes fully matured then ima release her to head some mantid dudes heads off : 3
@@tomrobertson6747 thanks Tom Robertson
God dangit Tom Robertson
they can eat smaller rodents, birds or reptiles. wouldn't expect most insects to do that.
so i wouldn't want to get bit by them
I had a really cool interaction with a praying mantis a while back. I found him in the back of a delivery truck and it was obviously super hungry as he immediately death gripped my finger when I tried to pick it up to move him elsewhere. He immediately started gnawing on my skin and carving up little chunks to eat from my finger as I moved him to a bush and i could feel him tugging and cutting up the outer layer of my finger. It was really cool watching his mandibles go to work on it so close, but I had to stop him chewing any deeper before he got into an area that actually had nerves.
He was seriously strong for an insect and I had a difficult time prying him off my finger without hurting him as he really wanted to hold on and eat more of my finger, but eventually I managed to release him onto a bush. He left a little shiny spot on my finger from all the skin he carved off, so he definitely would have chewed my finger to the bone if I had let him.
They're awesome little critters that are amazing to watch.
I’ve had a similar experience with a water scorpion.
He was hungry, now it has a taste for human flesh
it has a taste for human flesh, you've doomed us all
maybe he had parasites 👻🙀
@@Alex-rx2cm the fact he's let him chew to that degree ie bad enough no thanks
"Possibly the most terrifying-"
Mantis jumps off stick and can't get back up like an idiot
F
F
F
F
F
I am a simple man. I see praying mantis, I like.
You have good taste.
Bitch i effing subscribe!
What an original comment dude
Monkey Brain Activated: Oo he hunt good🤔
Hey :), if you like mantis then you may like my channel, its all about mantis lol :), if you take a look its greatly apprenticed!
Another handling tip: They like crawling in an upwards direction rather than down. So when on you, they will try to climb to the highest point. They therefore will try to climb to your head. They will also sometimes try to jump on your face/head if within range.
Also, only the males can actually fly. The wings on the female are too short, extending only about halfway down their abdomen, whereas male's wings are the length of their abdomen.
Can confirm, my mantis jumps on my face, walks on my face, he loves walking on my face
Ah that makes sense, I thought mine was trying to attack my face, kept turning the mantis away from my face but it's head kept turning to look at my face. Then it jumped on the top of my head. I was confused before but thanks for sharing this.
Worked at a Mobil gas station when I was in high school. One of the mechanics found a Mantis on the bumper of a car, and placed it inside on top of the cigarette rack. There it stayed all summer. You could hear the crunching when it captured and ate a fly, etc.
Clint: Is the praying mantis the best pet insect for you?
Me: I dunno. Tell me more.
Clint: When they come out of the ootheca.... they're already little horror shows.
Me: *SOLD!!!*
Atta girl
@@TeamLegacyFTW boy
@@DasAntiNaziBroetchen I'm in my 30s. Please address me as man. And elaborate. Ty
@@TeamLegacyFTW Atta boy
@@DasAntiNaziBroetchen lol'd
Those mouthparts are so messed up. Insects are metal
Hardcore and terrifying.
Brootal
Fooked up invertebrates indeed
I love their cute little mouth fingers!!! 🥰❤
I love mantises. They've always been one of my favorites. Did you know that a lot of them like watching cartoons? The bright colors with lots of contrast combined with motion just really gets their attention.
Omg yes, I put mine near my aquarium and it loves "hunting" The fish and snails, it's too cute
Especially those videos people make for cats on UA-cam. They love those.
I've loved praying mantises ever since I was a kid. My mom found an egg case in her garden and we put it in a special bug case, kind of like a jar with a fine metal mesh all around. After a few days, the egg case hatched into dozens, if not hundreds of tiny mantises and we let them all loose in her garden. It's one of my fondest childhood memories and one of the reasons that I still love mantises to this day. I also, much more recently, found a massive female on the side of the road just outside of my driveway. I took the time to gently corral her over into the bushes so she wouldn't get run over, and I managed to get a number of good pictures of her.
You're right in saying that they're alien. But they're truly beautiful aliens.
The orchid mantis is easily one of the most beautiful species in the animal kingdom.
i agree! Also, hey :), if you like mantis then you may like my channel, its all about mantis lol :), if you take a look its greatly apprenticed!
@@THECALEDONIANLAIR just subbed, underrated channel
@@randomgd8732 thank you buddy, and thanks a lot , appreciate it 🙏🙏
There’s a tiny species of tropical, coral reef shrimp called “Harlequin Shrimp” that look nearly identical to the Orchid Mantis. Their bodies are white with large spots ranging from deep purple to lavender, each spot outlined in bright lime green. They resemble tiny orchids and are “specialty feeders” who eat only starfish.
Love this. Had a female ghost mantis I had a great bond with, raised her from L2. I was absolutely shocked and mesmerized every single day how much intelligence and character there was in that little beast. I could take her out of her enclosure and she'd jump/fly back and forth between my hands. She used to sit and chill on the back of my hand and look at my laptop screen as I worked. Had her for 15 months, was absolutely heart-broken when I came home and found out she had passed during the day. Have a male orchid mantis now, totally different personality. He likes to "hunt" me, but as soon as I even open the enclosure he jumps away because he's the worst scaredy cat. Got him as an adult so I wonder if that's why there's less of a bond. He's absolutely beautiful though. I'd love to get a idolomantis diabolica next. Thank you for the great video, Clint, I'd love to see more people fall in love with these amazing creatures.
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with these two species. I love it!
it's amazing how different their personalities can be! i've had my female orchid for three months now, still a nymph, and she's definitely a scaredy cat compared to my chinese mantis who always chills on my hand and watches the moving images on my computer when i watch videos. i've learned only to offer my hand to my orchid when she reaches out with her forelegs to try and climb on me lol, otherwise she'll zip like lightning to the other side of her cup if i try to touch her. (she's so fast it looks like she teleports!) everything is on her terms, she's a beautiful little queen
did you get the devil's flowers? they sound like a pain to keep. Absolutely stunning but with a lot of upkeep needed. by all accounts, only screen enclosures, extremely finicky to humidity especially during shedding, generally skittish and extremely prone to stress, and the only eating flying insects. as L2 and maybe L3 they're ok cause drosophila hydei don't fly, but from L3 onward, a staple of blue bottle flies and silk moths is about the only relatively manageable food source I can imagine perpetuating at home. They can get really sick from eating terrestrial insects, and very seldom do they eat any. best way to feed them is to give them a number of fliers in the enclosure but not too many cause their flying around can stress them out. Everything with an idolo is a balancing act. rewarding if you can accomplish it, but not what i'd consider a pet for everyone. h. Memebranacea, S. Africana, and T. Sinensis are the most affordable and least fussy also very impressively sized. I took one to class and it stayed with me all day no fuss no muss. for the cryptic ones, D. desicatta, P. paradoxa, and H. coronatus have proved to me to be the easiest to keep and most fun to interact with.
I had a male mantis with a severed fore arm, i fed him pieces of ham, noodle, cheese, etc. by hand. his forearm regenerated, but it was not a perfect clone, it was gnarled, but it functioned for him. it took 3 weeks for his arm to grow back. another mantis would eat my strand of hair, which very few will do. they usually spit it out after a couple bites. but most would lock eyes with me and i had one that would jump onto my face after doing so, they seem to know what eyes are. they also love to eat hydro gel that you get at a pet shop that sells reptiles, it is like 95% water with vitamins in it. its to gut load crickets that you feed to lizards and manits must have a water source which it provides the mantis hydration + vitamins. i've been bitten a couple times but its not a venom and doesnt really break the skin but it was because i was trying to remove one from a bottle with one finger so after a minute it bit my finger, they dont stay biting its more of a quick strike- they use both claws and a quick bite it didnt really hurt tho. fed a cockroach to a female that was bigger than her, she ate a large chuck out of the roach, which the roach survived, but was missing 30% of its body, the roach began to heal up, but was caught again, survived, until the 3rd time.. took her like 2 weeks to eat the whole roach which wouldnt die. fed a large grasshopper to another who discovered inside a bunch of eggs, and chose to eat those pulling eggs out off the hopper. seen small parasite worm crawl out of grasshopper being eaten by mantis.
I am so sorry
Mantis is very special.
I did not expect to see an animator here. Also yes, much respect to mantis. I might get one in the future...
Hey :), if you like mantis then you may like my channel, its all about mantis lol :), if you take a look its greatly apprenticed!
@@THECALEDONIANLAIR
Go sub the best content
Mantises are very cool pets.
@@THECALEDONIANLAIR I subbed!
They're amazing. Especially if you raise them from hatchlings. Watching them go from tiny murdering machines to slightly bigger murdering machines is quite fun. Out of the "exotic" pets I own, they're by far my favourite. Though I must admit, watching them slowly devour their prey alive has made me google if insects suffer on more than one occasion. They certainly don't treat their food with any compassion. One of mine enjoys eating the limbs of her prey first. She tears them off and sucks them up like pasta. Absolutely glorious.
In my garden a praying mantis was eating a little lizard D:
Poor little lizard. That isn't how I want to go. My story has tigers!
Riccardo Rolgi how much did he pay?
Dedede The Great 😂😂😂
They have been known to eat hummingbirds (like hide on hummingbird feeders and catch them in the air), so the lizard doesn't surprise me too much.
@@raelonewolf a humming bird seems so big for them to eat the cricket even seemed like to much do they eat it all that's sad I love hummingbirds
From what i read in the past, a female mantis is actually a lot less likely to attempt to eat the male after mating if they are in a good territory with plenty of land and food/water.
Females are more likely to eat the male to give their offspring a better chance of finding their own territory, water and food if they are in less favorable conditions :)
A well-fed lady is a much safer potential mate 😉
@@ClintsReptiles that goes for humans too 😂
I mean, I still haven't actually eaten my boyfriend, but that may only be because he knows exactly when 'throw chocolate at Merlijn from a safe distance' is the only good option 😂❤😂
@@Merlijn1994 so adorable 🤣 my girlfriend is a lot like that
I actually successfully paired two mantis together without the make being eaten.
Back in college, I had a lot of plants at my place and one day I saw a beautiful green mantis. He/she kept my plants healthy and started coming out on a leaf with his/her front arms extended...so I put my hand there and it climbed up onto it! Had him/her for about a year and every time I walked by, the mantid would want to be held! Loved it!
7:19 I found a mantis on a fence when I was a kid and brought it into my house. I went to show my mom, she screamed then Mr Mantis surprised me with his flying skills as he flew off my hand onto the top of my moms head. She turned deathly pale and screamed louder than he flew onto a curtain. Caught him and put him back onto his fence. Was a hilarious turn of events.
"I'm here with what would be, if we were smaller..." [mantis jumps onto table, flailing around] "possibly the most terrifying animal in the world."
I once had a praying mantis land on the windshield of my car.... it actually hung on and stayed with me for the entire 20-30 minute drive! It flew off right after I got to my destination. I almost felt like it was watching over me somehow. I know, it's silly lol. But mantises are just amazing! There's a reason there's a style of Kung Fu formed after them. Majestic, terrifying, but amazing!
Thanks so much for sharing this rad video!
Have a great weekend! 🐍🐜🐸
"Thanks for the lift, pal!"
Love your story ❤️ Not silly at all! Once when I was having a tough time, I couldn't sleep and went to sit on my back porch in the middle of the night. A large white mantis was sitting over my back door, just watching me. I had a similar feeling, oddly comforting. She became a good friend and kept me company many nights. I now watch over all her pale babies in my garden. It's the best 💛💋
Maybe the praying mantas is your spirit animal
@@k421oasis i mean it is silly lol~that don't have to be an insulting thing
My beautiful wild-caught mantis Maple passed away earlier this September. She had a bad molt, and I had to euthanize her. While she was alive, she was an incredible animal, and I could tell from the way she'd look at me that there was a lot going on in her mind. She was so calculated sometimes; other times she was so aloof she wouldn't see her food, haha. She was the first mantis I found in person, and my first pet mantis.
Love this video; please keep doing what you do. :)
I had one who stayed on my table under the patio, he loved honey and blueberry scones….. He stayed there for around six days, came out and something killed him, his wings and legs were on the floor. I was tremendously upset, couldn’t believe my actions but it hurt. Every time I’d talk to him he’d turn his head and listened. They’re amazing creatures!
I hope you don't mind me asking, and feel free to totally disregard it if it's too painful to talk about, but I have to say I am curious about how one would go about helping a mantis cross the rainbow bridge?
Nothing is better than watching an expert explain a creature in lovely and practical detail before seeing it's antics and switching to Pet Owner and begin cooing at it in sheer delight. Absolutely adorable as well as useful. You've done amazing in ambassador-ing these critters, thank you!
When i handled a prey mantis, it will almost look at you with a sign of intelligence
I don't know how smart they really are, but they look smarter than I am when I look into their eyes. "Silly human, you should be thankful you are so large. That is all that is keeping you alive right now..."
there r a study where a male Hierodula actually visited a pond everyday for a week i believe just to catch guppies so it shows their memory.
"Could I bring this down? No...I'm gonna go get some friends" That's what it is thinking when it is looking at you.
@@wilhelmtan5301 i have a hierodula :)
One entered my home and forcibly did my taxes.
I remember my praying mantis Freddy Krueger. He was great fun, till his legs started to fall off. He got very old.
Good show, Clint.
It happens to the best of us...
aw thats a so sad poor little guy! but Hey :), if you like mantis then you may like my channel, its all about mantis lol :), if you take a look its greatly apprenticed!
@@ClintsReptiles I remember when my legs started falling off, it's the one experience that connects all humans.
@@dannydevito7000 love that we're all old enough to finally talk abt this without judgement
@@dannydevito7000 Help, I'm still young and my legs are starting to fall off too early.
Dang I bet Clint is like one of the best dads ever, he’s practically the Mr.Rodgers of the reptile community.
yep........
This is an old video, but I wanted to drop a comment thanking you guys for making it because this was a large influence on my decision to get a pet mantis and it's been such a delightful, rewarding journey keeping her. This was one of the handful of videos I watched on rotation in preparation for getting her and I still return to it sometimes just because the up-close footage of the mantises is so cute.
I caught I 3rd instar carolina mantis in my last year of university, man what a great pet she was! I had her for 9 months and while I was sad to see her go, I had the privilege of releasing her progeny into the same park I caught her in. Thats right, I mated her with a male I caught, and the story of the mating is wild! I introduced the male to the enclosure thinking I was gonna have me some baby mantids in a couple months, but as soon as the female spotted the male, she instantly grabbed him and started eating him. You see, in my rush to get me some baby mantids, I threw the male in as soon as I caught him, which I caught on my balcony 5 minutes before, not realizing that I hadn't fed my female for a couple days. Needless to say, the male was eviscerated, cut in half actually. Grasped in on of the female's limbs was his head, thorax, and two front limbs, in the other was his abdomen and 4 walking limbs. She began to eat his thorax first, and I thought for sure the mating was over, silly me not feeding her beforehand, so I went to bed. In the morning I checked the enclosure and surprise surprise, the males abdomen and 4 limbs was actually mating with the female! 8 hours after the fact if you can believe that! I knew males had a separate brain in the abdomen to allow them to continue mating in the event of being consumed DURING copulation, but I had no idea that a headless, eyeless, antennaeless abdomen could find its was to a female! Unreal, these creatures really are aliens man. She laid 3 ootheca and they hatched smack dab in the middle of finals week, I had plans to care for some but I was so busy that I just decided to release them. By now they've probably already produced a couple more generations of mantids in that park, I still miss mine sometimes.
That's crazy I had noo clie they had 2 brains why didnt Clint tell us all that
@@shellyb2042 Because they don't. The body will continue to 'live' for a while, but it will be as if it were a robot, entirely motorized by its central nervous system. There are no animals with multiple brains. (Excluding maybe an extremely obscure case I've never heard of)
@@CaptainDCap Another way to think of it is that the insect brain is a lot less "centralized" than ours, hence why the body can continue a lot of functions for a while even without a head, i.e. it still has a fair amount of "brain" left.
@@shellyb2042 Basically their central nervous system is very spread out, so even without contact from the brain they still have the hardware to perform various activities.
This is probably the most metal story I ever heard
After my wee boy turned sub adult and i put him in an exo tank. He used to watch tv with me. Go over to the side of the viv where his water bottle was to let me know he wanted a drink. He was so personable and intelligent. And their displays even on the relatively plain mantids are really something.☺💖
So cute and hey :), if you like mantis then you may like my channel, its all about mantis lol :), if you take a look its greatly apprenticed!
Idk if anyone will see this but if you are buying an exo terra tank you should always replace the metal mesh with something more plasticy or fabric bc the metal mesh can harm the mantis!
Definitely the coolest bugs. I love that they're expressive and their head is articulated. Like Betta fish, and jumping spiders, they will turn their head to observe you and look at you. They also seem to be unafraid of people. They might fly away once when you find them in the wild, but you walk up again and they just look at you and say "What's up?" and climb on your finger no problem.
These guys are definitely the best pet insect. It's just bitter sweet. Had the pleasure of having one as kid she lived her life on a plant on the porch where all her needs were taken care of
0:33 "Possibly the most terrifying animal in world" *Mantis helplessly fall like a ragdoll, squirming around for assistance*
yeah there awesome lol, Hey :), if you like mantis then you may like my channel, its all about mantis lol :), if you take a look its greatly apprenticed!
Love the Buzz Lightyear analogy: “falling in style” 😂
Like Batman
I love praying mantises because they look so pretty and innocent on the outside, but in reality they’re incredibly cannibalistic and honestly they’re just mini monsters. I think it’s so interesting that a creature can look so sweet on the outside and actually be very cruel and aggressive. I mean, a lot of animal species are cannibalistic and all that, but it’s a bit different with mantises. I just love them so much.
I’ve kept orchids and Creobroter before, and they’re both some of my most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had with keeping pets. Such charming insects, almost like cats, miss them so much.
That's really cool! I love them
Clints reaction every time they showed their wings they as great 🥺
Like little Buzz Lightyears 😁
:o so GROOVY
My wife recently had a baby, so I haven't been on UA-cam that much the last 6 months or so! I have a lot to catch up with on this channel. You've posted so much amazing content lately!!
It's been a great six months for both of us from the sounds of things :)
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
So, you're not a praying mantis.
@@geckofeet 😑 I see what u did there... However, the feast may be delayed...
Good for you
I’ve loved mantises since childhood. The way they turn their head to look at you or targeted prey is uncanny, as if they are thinking and planning. It matches their deliberate stalking walk. And they are spectacular to look back at.
23 years ago, my fourth grade classmates and I found a mantis on a field trip in Indiana. Gorgeous green, we took her back with us, and our teacher set up a terrarium and even found her a mate! It was one of my most memorable experiences coming back over the weekend too see a hundred babies eating her after getting to know and watch over her all spring! It made me a more empathetic person. And... nostalgic. And goth lol
Also this was just a nice vid to watch. Thank you 🙃
I found this little meadow a couple years back that at a certain time of year, is just covered in praying mantises, probably one adult per every 8" squared. They range from nearly green to yellow to brown to copper...and some of the brown / copper ones have bits of blue on them. I would lie on the ground and the would crawl all over me almost instantly. When walking around the meadow, the mantises would fly and land on you. And if you left the meadow by even 10 feet...no more mantises. I wish they had a longer lifespan.
I have had 20+ mantises and I can say they are amazing pets!! They are really easy to take care, and the only down side is that they are a bit delicate and they don’t live long. If you get one please take care of it well. Also my favorite species that I have raised was a ghost mantis. He was just really small
I just found an adult chinese mantis while brewing beer and after a couple quick searches I decided to capture her. This video is very true and accurate in my experience being a mantis owner for about 2 weeks so far!
I remember once when I was a kid I had a small (about an inch or inch and a half) brown mantis climb onto my hand and was content to sit there. While it was, I caught a fly with my other hand and held it to the mantis by its wings. The mantis snatched the fly out of my fingers and started eating it. It was so cool to watch up close and I'm pretty sure that memory is gonna be staying with me awhile
I've been thinking about getting a praying mantis for a while now. I feel like they are a great beginner type of exotic pet to keep, it's not a 10 year commitement and they are so frickin' cool! They remind me of the carnivorous plants I keep, harmless to me, but the most horrific nightmare mother nature could concuct for insects.
I could not agree more on the "they scream intelligence, even if they'r not".
I can't get one right now, because I'm probably gonna have to do a big move soon, but once my whole living situation is done I might get one for sure :)
This video was a spectacular help and well of information! Thanks guys
Even though filming the black widow is still my favorite, these little garden ninjas are a close second. Fun, inquisitive little beauties 😍 And as an avid gardener, LOVE all my little guardians that protect my beloved plants. Happy Saturday CRV fam! I CAN'T WAIT for you to see what we have coming out soon! ✌️😁💋
The future is SO EXCITING!!!
I have a green one, I found her yesterday and she’s so attached to me!! I feed her flies and other bugs, and likes to chill on my bonsai tree. She likes to be carried when I want
I recently went to a pet expo and bought a praying mantis. Very cool pet so far especially because my wife is terrified of most snakes and lizards (but not insects for some reason.
I love these videos so much, I’m so glad I found this channel. Clint, you’re stinkin’ rad.
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you found us too!
I've also been curious about the praying mantis's intelligence. They almost seem to be able to interpret human intentions. For instance, there was a praying mantis on the sidewalk, and I wanted to make sure she didn't get crushed, but like you said, you don't really want to grab an insect, so I just put my hand in front of her and she crawled right up. Then I moved my hand over to some grass, and she crawled right down. I feel like most insects would assume I wanted to eat them, but this one seems to know that I won't. They're really neat animals, and I'm glad I'm able to appreciate that at my size, because if I were a lot smaller, I would not appreciate their habit of eating things alive with their finger-mustache mouth.
I actually used to fear insects as a kid. My grandfather decided to help me with this by starting me with a little brown and black 'wooley bear' caterpillar, and the next year introduced me to Praying Mantises. I've loved these ever since, so fascinating to watch and handle.
My boys have kept a few Mantids over the summer in enclosures. I introduced a male to one of the females. Decapitation was instant and she threw him on her back to begin the process. Nightmarish is all I can say. I’m just glad the kids weren’t around for that, not something I particularly wanted to explain to them. 😂 Anyway, 2 females have produced 2 ootheca each so far! Cant wait for spring to see if they hatch. 😎
A couple of summers ago I was into keeping pet spiders so I would spend hours per day searching my yard for small insects to feed my spiders. One day I stumbled across an adult female preying mantis in my tomato plants, and I was delighted by her! I kept her and took great care of her. I have many videos of her catching and eating various insects from flys to caterpillars to spiders to centipedes. It turns out she already had mated before I found her and in the late summer she made 3 egg pods. She died not long afterward and I still have her dried up body. She was a wonderful pet. The egg pods dried up and become as hard as rocks but I kept them nonetheless. I kept them in a jar outside just incase they were to hatch. After a few months I was sitting outside smoking, only a couple of feet from the egg pods. It was an extremely humid spring afternoon. I noticed a few tiny mantises crawling on my chair. I grabbed up the jar and took a look and sure enough all three had burst open and very tiny mantises were crawling out of them. There must have been 200 of them. I took the jar and sat it under a hedge and the next day they had all made their way out into the world. A very lovely experience.
We had an orchid mantis and it was the most beautifully strange creature I’ve ever seen! Stinkin rad pets!
i love how clint compliments the mantis wings and movements, so kind to then.
They're not really pet material, but I would love to see you talk about dragonflies someday. Just amazing little predators with some very cool features
As larvae they make excellent pets,once they mature,they aren’t as easy to keep
That into was intense 😂😂😂
But you're right, they are super rad little aliens
I'm just glad they aren't enormous...
How is this from 3 days ago if it was posted 3 minutes ago
One of the perks of Patreon :)
[The comment]
Really, most of those are excellent starter pets.
They are not boring, and most are even easy to keep, and then wont hurt their owners
I mean, sure they need live food and they are often needed to be kept solitary, and some mantis species are in fact hard to keep, but besides that, no.
And yes, they are vicious....praying mantis eat their food as they grab it.
If the prey is grabbed with the head ending up closest to the mouth of the mantis, lucky him/her, because then they will die quicker, but often they are eaten with their backend going first.
They're terrifying and wonderful!
"Insects are special."
I really like that, it kinda warmed my heart for some reason
when i had a praying mantis it would happily ride on my shoulder for hours, even on walks
I used to breed mantis, my room was wall to wall pots and vivs full of thrm and I still have so much time for them.
Gutted I never got to breed idolos or gigas, but I bred pretty much every other species. Even got the claim to fame of being the first person to breed one species in captivity. 😁
Theyre amazing critters, start with a larger species like an African giant and have fun. :)
Great tip! What other advice do you have that could help people wanting to jump into the mantis world?
@@ClintsReptiles bigger and blander usually means easier to keep, don't go straight in for an orchid mantis!
Avoid feeding crickets, unless you've gutfed them for two weeks as they can cause "black death" due to bacteria in the crickets gut.
And if you want to breed them, feed the lady every day for a week, add the female to the males viv, with a cricket and make sure he's got room to escape. I only lost one male from mating cannibalism. :)
Hopefully they'll help.
So cool!! 😍 Devils flower are a dream! Have you thought of getting back into it??
@@Mr.Glitch As for the cricket part, some species take them MUCH better than others (e.g M. religiosa, Sphodromantis, and Hierodula dont usually have issues, while something like Idolomantis will), and also some species afaik get digestive/ molt/ ootheka bulding problems when being fed too many crickets.
Also, I'd like to add, orchids are actually not *that* hard to keep, I'm pretty sure a person well enough informed can raise and keep an orchid as first one too if they take good care of it, ofc its not as straight forward as your typical "beginner" species, but from my experience H. coronatus are really robust for flower (or otherwise "special") mantids, I had more issues with things like Gongylus or Idolomantis than with the orchids, plus for a flower mantis, at leas the females are REALLY strong and capable eaters, they can eat stuff like locusts perfectly fine, their strengh is more comparable to a M. religiosa or Hierodula than your usual flower mantis.
@@_YellovvJacket_ talking about generic mantis not the more cryptid species, they're always going to be harder work. Though I had amazing success with Gongys, love that species. :)
My dudes tend to be fed on locusts, mealworm or dubia roach. With the occasional silkworm as a treat.
And I'd never recommend someone buy an orchid or flower mantis as their first species, that's what I was getting at. Start with the easiest species and work your way up once you've got the basics down. Also feeding Africans etc is easier as they're not as fussy and don't demand flappy foods. 😁
Plus they're easier to find if they escape. 😅
6:44
"The mantis can be intimidating"
The mantis: dropping fire rap lyrics in mantese
There is a mantis hanging out on my porch and plants. I've been talking to it every day and saying hi. I put my finger in front of it but it hasn't reached out. Getting up the nerve to let him walk on my hand. They are so cool looking. Totally alien. I love how they look right at you.
I've always wanted a mantis, and thanks to Clint, I have now ordered one.
Thank you so much for putting info up about mantids. I had one and plan to get another. They are fantastic pets. Crickets can be dangerous for a number of reasons for mantids though so i feed other feeders to them. My wee dead leaf boy was a joy to have. I lost him recently after having him for nearly a year and i miss his happy bobbing but i know i gave him a good life and will definitely be getting more.
I love that you don’t cover just reptiles on this channel! I feel like a lot of people who are into lizards and snakes are also into amphibians, insects and other exotic animals so these videos are very enjoyable for us viewers. Please keep making them!
"possibly the most terrifying animal in the world"
*Help me i've fallen and I can't get up!*
I’m jelly at 3:37 when the mantis jumps up on Clint’s hand. Not only stinkin rad, but stinkin cute!
"Possibly the most terrifying animal in the world"
*Praying mantis derping on the table*
*smol confused screaming*
Love this video! My boyfriend has always loved praying mantis, and ive been considering creating a terrarium and keeping one for him. As always im doing my research and your videos are always simple and informative.
“Little horror shows” with “groovy” wings is a great way to describe the preying mantis. When I was about 10 I found a large (female?) preying mantis on the hood of my dad’s car - his car was black & the mantis was a brilliant green! I put it into a 10 gal tank with a few small potted plants and a screen cover on our shaded back porch. Every few days that summer I’d rally my friends together for an “insect posse” to find lunch for my new pet.
After collecting a few grasshoppers, crickets, bees, etc. we’d assemble for a feeding show (aka “Roman forum”) in my back yard. It’s amazing how quickly &!accurately they can snatch a flying insect from mid-air, it’s actually motion that triggers their feeding response. As my brother quickly discovered the preying mantis can deliver a painful pinch with its forelegs and then can also bite with their very sharp mouthparts.
They can also fly and small ones can be mistaken for grasshoppers when they take wing. They can travel a considerable distance when threatened and are nearly impossible to locate if they land in tall grass or twigs & foliage.
Consider, if you like, doing a video similar to this one on millipedes. I keep a millipede I found as a pet and it's been really enjoyable to have. It's also just about the easiest and cheapest pet one could possibly imagine. Not to mention he's also pretty dang cute and super handleable!
I like it!
Oh cool! We get to learn about praying mantises today!
*Clint proceeds to explain how females go about mating with decapitated males*
Hot dang, Mother Nature! 😱
😁
I currently have a darling little Giant Asian Mantis, about 4 months old, and I love him very much. It was this video that inspired me to get him a few months ago and I could not be more thankful
Clint is the ray of delight we don’t deserve. He is too damn pure. 🤗❤️🦎🐢🐍🦉
I have been keeping mantids for a few years I am considering getting my first orchid mantid now. I love em
Clint, 6 months ago when I found your channel I had never really thought about reptiles as animals, let alone as a pet. Now, after watching just about every single video you've put out, I'm the proud owner of the world's sweetest Bluey and a wonderful Fire skink. Thank you for showing me the wonders of reptiles, you're the most skinkin rad guy on UA-cam.
Dove into a UA-cam wormhole the other day and landed on your channel, been watching the past few days and am now a subscriber, this is the first video I’ve seen so far that you mentioned your kids and I laughed because during the first video of yours I watched I thought: I hope this guy has kids because he’d be the coolest nerdy(compliment) dad and I just pictured you talking to your kids the way you’re talking to us in your videos, awesome channel
How she turns her head gives me goosebubs.
Fun fact - the closest relatives to the mantids are, of all things, cockroaches.
Mantis=Good
Cockroach=Bad
Well I hope they eat their cousins indiscriminately
@@JehRoniMo11 they do,mine loves roaches,but her favorite seems to be baby house geckos.
Clint: loves mantids because they are scary, pugnacious and sanguinary.
Me: loves praying mantises because they are like tiny cunning people with a wide variety of body AND facial expressions while the rest of insects are literally like 🗿
Hello from a little village in England 🏴 I LOVE your channel and especially your obvious joy over each and every critter you show and talk about. You’re a wealth of information and your enthusiasm is infectious. Thank you! 😊
I have a volunteer mantis I've kept for a month or two now and I love him. Didn't know about this video until now (somehow) but glad to know I'm doing everything right. Such a fun bug to watch during my day
"Approaching a female is a very dangerous game." As in real life.
Yes indeed the only diffrence is that in our case the man sometimes cut he womens head of after being rejected.
I honestly think the YT Show should be named Clint’s Critters so that other pets (unusual or otherwise) can be involved, as well as the awesome snakes and lizards! 😀
Love how you say the gory details with such delight. The smile is fun..
ur enthusiasm and nice voice is a rlly nice background noise for when i draw.
its soothing and enjoyable
This was very helpful. I won't be afraid of these little "garden bouncers". I recently started a vegetable garden and realize that the orange tree had become infested with mealybugs. Looking into ways to get rid of the bugs without damaging the tree or fruit. I found ladybug and praying mantis as my life line. Lowe's had both for sale. One egg can have from 100 to 200 mantis in each one. I was going to let the egg hatch in the container it came in. But to now hear they eat one another. I'm going to tie it on to the actual tree. Thanks again
I've had a few mantids and I love them.
When I was still pretty much a kid I got a spiny flower mantis a few years ago but unfortunately I was not prepared and I took terrible care of it and it died.
I learned from that and got a few ghost mantids almost immediately after my spiny flower died which ended up living full lives and I took pretty good care of them.
After learning from both experiences I just bought an orchid mantis the other day which should get here in about a week or so.
One small note is that it's generally recommended to feed mantids only flies. Not only are flies usually cheaper for a large amount but things like crickets can easily get different diseases and whatnot which the mantis can get after eating it. Panterra pets (a website where you can buy mantids, feeders and habitat stuff) made an article explaining it much better than I did.
Great video, very informative! Our kids loved it :)
As a small kid I had a pet mantis that I caught in the garden. It lived for 2 months on my window sill and it was very tame. I handled it frequently and it never tried to run or fly away.
You should do a video on keeping ants. The colonies live for years and the longest documented queen lived over 40!!
could you do madagascar hissing cockroaches?? i love them so much 🥺
I would like that very much!
@@ClintsReptiles I second that suggestion. HC's are inexpensive and fun, and a great way to freak people out if you're into that sort of thing (I, of course, would never consider doing anything like that :)
HISSERS
DO HISSERS
THEY ARE CUTIES C:
Yes thankfully we are larger than them...
Still didn't stop one from trying to attack me though.
Was picking flowers and it snagged my finger.
Found it after I panic flung it (it was ok), caught it, made a home in a large tank with some of the dead brush for it, and routinely bought crickets for it to eat.
Had it for about a year and was sad to see it go.
in spain we get these guys all the time in the summer and spring sometimes i handle one in the wild they are very chill when handled love these things awesome to see them out side