Mantis

Every day spray inside the cage a few times with a plant mister to maintain the correct humidity. Do not spray the Mantis directly. Check the temperature every now and then to make sure it has not fallen or risen beyond acceptable levels. Offer the Mantis food three times a week, but don’t worry if it will not eat so often. The Mantis Cage rarely needs cleaning out since they are very clean insects but uneaten food and waste does need to be removed.

Crickets

Replace the dry cereal food every few days or as often as needed. Provide 3 or 4 slices of carrot or 2 or 3 slices of potato every other day and remove old slices. Check temperature is around room temperature, so they don’t overheat or freeze. Clean the Cage every week or so.

Cleaning of the cricket’s cage is necessary to remove waste and old skins that they leave behind from moulting.

Cleaning the cricket’s cage can be quite tricky. I have found a method that makes it a bit easier though. This method uses a tall waste bin like one from the kitchen :-) . It should be around 80cm High but the height is not so important for smaller crickets.

Empty the rubbish/bin liner out of the bin and make sure there is no waste left in. Remove any vegetable slices from the cricket cage. Hold the cricket cage half way down inside the bin and remove the lid. Pick up any egg carton pieces that have crickets on and place them at the bottom of the bin. Tip the cricket cage slightly downwards and to one side so that one of the bottom corners is facing the bottom of the bin. Now if you tap the side gently, the crickets will all jump out of the cage and into the tall bin where they cannot escape. When all the crickets are at the bottom of the bin, the cage can be emptied and wiped with a damp cloth or kitchen role to remove any waste. Keep the tall bin at an angle so the crickets do not fall too far!

When the cage is clean, place the cage on the floor and pick up the large bin. Tip the bin slightly downwards and to one side so all the crickets collect in the bottom corner. Now Gently tip them out of the bin and into the cage and quickly replace the cage lid. Make sure there aren’t any left in the bin.

The egg boxes will need to be re-arranged inside the cage. Provide a new batch of dry food and a few vegetable slices. I have often used this method for cleaning them out and I have not had any escapees or casualties.

Here is a weekly guide of what one might do to maintain the crickets and the Mantis.