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Hey guys! I went to a local reptile expo today and was hoping to find one of two special lizards I've been looking for for quite some time and while I couldn't find either of them the diversity of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates was fantastic to see and I was fortunate enough to find yet another creature I've been looking for and thinking about getting for probably about a year now. I'd like you guys to meet my new hierodula membranacea or giant Asian mantis! She's probably just under 2 inches now but could potentially grow to over 5 inches and really beef up in the process. I'm assuming she's female because according to the care sheet they gave me females have short wings that stop just before the abdomen while males have long wings that extend beyond the abdomen. She's still young though so I assume it's hard to tell at this point. I'll get better pictures sooner or later as sometimes apparently they can change color if they want and can range from green to yellow to brownish. I've done research on keeping mantids before but I have a lot to learn still as we go along and I'll have plenty of time to do that as this is a long lived species and can sometimes make it to 16 months! Tomorrow I'll put a twig, some leaves and maybe a few other decorations in there for her. There's a few tiny red runner roach nymphs in there right now that they gave her but as she just molted (I found the molt stuck to the lid next to her) and doesn't seem hungry I'll wait a few days before actually giving her anything to eat personally as I know that tarantulas at least have to wait awhile after they molt. There's also wet paper towel in the bottom that she can get water from but I'm thinking about giving her some water gel cubes like crickets get. One thing she still lacks, though, is a name and it's been tricky trying to think one up.