terrarium plant ideas needed

[DoctaQ]

i have a terrarium, exact dimensions are unknown right now since im at work and i want to set it up for a praying mantis, it looks to be about 15x15x20tall

i wouldnt mind some flowering plants but i do also have a few jade bonsai snippings that i could also incorporate but i wouldnt mind starting from scratch as far as seedlings or something goes.

 

[TheHamr]

Easy plants for a terrarium that don't "require" high humidity since you'll be housing a praying mantis would include creeping fig, wandering jew, pothos, african violet, begonias, etc.

 

[bluekrissyspike]

i had a hard time keeping plants with my mantis's when i had them. they had a hard time finding their food and i always worried they wouldn't eat enough. i ended up having to put an entire breeding colony of flies in there with holes poked for flies to get out but mantises can't get in to completely eat the whole colony. the only problem with that was then they had too many flies and the fly colony container doesn't smell the best. mantises are super cool to keep as pets though and it's amazing to watch them hunt and eat.

 

[terrestrial_man]

For a Mantis I would tend not to plant it with much of anything. Needs plenty of branches to climb about on. the only living plant I would recommend is called Indoor Oak. While not generally used as a terrarium plant it has potential for cool temperate terrariums which I believe a Mantis is quite at home in. Here is a link that may give you more info:
http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week335.shtml

 

[DoctaQ]

is the problem with having lots of plants that the mantis will not be able to find food? what if i just had a lot more bugs in there, like mealworms or crickets all over the place? i really want to plant this.
i was thinking of bonsai-ing a maple in there and some short groundcover plants like blue creeper. not too many tallish plants for food to hide in, nothing too bushy i guess is what i mean.

 

[SubRosa]

I kept a Mantis for a season a few yrs back. While I was at work it lived in a plastic 2 gal aquarium, but when I got home I put the harness on that I made for her out of monofilament and tied her off on my front porch. When it got dark and the porch light came on the fun started. I kept her until mid Sept and then turned her loose.