I Made a Terrarium For a STUNNING Praying Mantis, Here’s How!

In this video I'll be creating a jungle terrarium for an absolutely beautiful creature known as an orchid mantis. Don't be fooled by its stunning appearance as this mantis quite literally eats its prey alive. Let's waste no time and get straight into the build, it's gonna be a good one. Let's start right at the beginning by creating the glass tank. To build the tank I'm gonna use the glass from these frameless picture frames. They're very inexpensive and you can find them pretty much anywhere. Some frames come with glass that's one millimeter in thickness. Try to avoid these as it's just too thin and fragile. The glass I've got here is two millimeters which is much stronger and easier to work with. Now it's time to start cutting the glass down. You'll need a ruler, a marker pen and a glass cutter. If you've never cut glass before it's really not too difficult so don't be intimidated. I'm starting by marking down some measurements that I want to cut the glass down to. A really good tip is to place some pieces of blu-tack on the back side of your ruler. This stops it from slipping and results in much straighter cuts. I'm firmly pressing the glass cutter down and pulling it back in one continuous motion. With a nice straight score line created it's time to snap the glass. The easiest way I've found of doing this is by placing a long wooden skewer underneath the score line and then gently pressing down on both sides. It snaps with ease and you're left with a perfectly straight cut. I'll continue the same process until all the pieces have been cut out. Before sanding the glass down I'm going to do a quick test fit. I'm using electrical tape to lock the pieces together and being extremely careful as the glass is very sharp. I do this before sanding just in case I've made a mistake so that way I don't waste time perfecting a piece that's actually the wrong size. Because this glass was from picture frames the sides that I didn't cut are very smooth and don't need to be sanded. The only sides that need sanding down are the ones that were cut. It's important to wet the glass and sandpaper before sanding as this helps eliminate glass dust. With all the glass sanded, cleaned and dried it's time to start assembling. This is some aquarium grade silicone and I'm applying a thin bead along the glass. As a good rule of thumb the bead of silicone should be no thinner than the thickness of the glass, in this case that's two millimeters. I like to make it slightly thicker just to be on the safe side. With the silicone applied I can now start carefully assembling the tank. I'm applying a secondary bead of silicone along the interior of the glass and then going ahead and smoothening it out with my finger. It's been 24 hours and the silicone has fully cured. Obviously it still needs a front and top but I'm going to install something else first. I want this terrarium to have a background covered in moss that the plants can also use to grow up on. I'm going to use these sheets of egg crate to create a divider at the back of the tank with a small gap behind. This gap can then be filled in with the grower medium for moss and plants. I do think the holes in the egg crate are a bit small so I'm going to use some scissors to cut out some bigger ones. I should mention I'll leave links to all the materials for this build in the description below in case you want to try making something like this yourself. Now the egg crate's in I can start working on the lid. Instead of having one sheet of glass I'm attaching two separate pieces with a gap down the middle. The gap can then be covered with this window screen mesh which will provide some really good ventilation for the terrarium. I've already cut it to size so I just need to attach it in place. I'm attaching two strips of masking tape leaving a small gap where a bead of silicone can be applied. I'm now placing the window screen mesh on top and using a toothpick to gently press it down into the silicone. Another bead of silicone can then go on top to sandwich the window screen mesh in place and then I'm going to smoothen out the bead with a ruler. One important thing to note is to not push the ruler down as you don't want to be scraping the silicone off. I'm simply gliding it over the surface to create a nice smooth finish. The masking tape can now be removed whilst the silicone is still wet. The result is a clean looking vent that will provide some good air circulation for the terrarium. The tank is almost complete but it's still missing a door so let's sort that now. I've cut this glass to size to fit perfectly in the front opening. To start off I'm going to lock the door in place using some electrical tape. I'm leaving the left side clear of tape as that's where I'll be creating the hinge. I'm attaching a strip of masking tape ensuring that I leave a small gap along the side panel of glass. This small gap is very important as it's how the hinge is going to work. I'm attaching another strip of tape to be flush with the side of the door and then it's time for the silicone. With a bead of silicone applied I'm using my finger to spread it out to make sure that it's in contact with both panels of glass. I'll then go over the silicone with a ruler to get a nice smooth finish. Same as earlier I'm doing this really gently to ensure that I don't remove much whatsoever. I can now remove the masking tape and leave the tank to dry till the next day. The electrical tape holding the door in place can now be removed and then I can test how the door works. It's working perfectly and to some people's surprise this method is actually surprisingly strong. I'm giving it a good pull and it's not budging whatsoever and I can even hold the weight of the entire tank just by the door. With the glass tank complete all that's left to do is to tidy it up. After removing all the electrical tape I can clean up the excess silicone with a sharp blade. As this is a rimless tank a foam mat will help protect the glass against uneven surfaces. The last task before I can start building the terrarium is checking for leaks. This is easy enough to do by filling the tank up with water and then leaving it for a few hours. There was no leaks whatsoever so let's get into building this terrarium. I'm going to start off with the drainage layer also known as the false bottom. This is some fine grade leaker and it should work perfectly. Any small rocks, stones or gravel will work as a great alternative. The purpose of this layer is to provide a place for excess water to sit instead of it sitting in the substrate. This terrarium isn't massive so it doesn't need to be too deep but it does matter that it's nice and flat with no high or low points. Next I'm going to start working on the background. This is sphagnum moss and it's one of the best growing mediums for moss and plants. I'm gonna wedge it in the gap behind the egg crate. The reason it's so effective is because it's really good at holding water. This helps maintain high humidity and moisture inside the terrarium which is essential for tropical plants. The idea is to have the entire background covered in lush green moss with climbing plants growing throughout. Next to go in is this window screen mesh which will act as a substrate barrier. With that in place I can now pour in some terrarium substrate. I'm using my regular mix and I'll put all the components up on screen now. I have got a video on my tutorial channel showing you exactly how to make this mix if you wanted some more details. With a decent layer of substrate in I'm now going to start working on the hardscape. I've got these really cool cork bark branches and I think they're gonna work perfectly for what I've got in mind. I want to position them to look like an old branch of a tree that has fallen to the forest floor. After a bit of trial and error here's where I think they look best but they do need to be attached together. The easiest and strongest way of doing this is going to be the super glue and tissue method. I'm wedging some tissue between the contact points and then soaking it in some liquid type super glue. It dries fast and forms a really strong bond. I'm also attaching the cork bark to the egg crate to give it a bit more strength. Next I'm adding a layer of sphagnum moss on top of the substrate. I'm gonna be planting some quite fussy plants later and as they've already been grown on sphagnum moss I'm hoping this will give them the best chance of thriving. These are geo rocks and I think they'll add some really nice detail and interest to the hardscape. I don't want to add too many as I still want to leave plenty of room for the plants. That's the hardscape complete for now and I do really like how it's turned out. The next step is to start bringing this terrarium to life with moss and plants. This is fern moss and I think it's going to be the perfect species growing on the background inside this terrarium. It does stay in place on its own but just to be sure I'm going to anchor it down with some toothpicks. Whilst I finish up planting the background let me quickly tell you about my terrarium making ebook. It's absolutely packed with useful information and it's a great read for beginners or if you just want to upgrade your terrarium knowledge. If you've never made a terrarium before it will give you a massive head start and help you avoid some of the unfortunate mistakes that all beginners go through. If you're interested there'll be a link in the description as well as the pinned comment. I've crushed up some leaf litter and I'm adding it on top of the sphagnum moss throughout the terrarium. This will not only make the terrarium look more natural but it'll also serve as a place for microfauna such as springtails to thrive. I'm loving how this scape is looking so far but it's certainly in need of some more plants. I got these bromeliads for my giant vampire crab paludarium but they were much smaller than expected so I never actually used them. I do however think they're the perfect size for this small terrarium so it's worked out pretty well. These are epithetic plants so they don't need to be planted into the substrate. Once I'm happy with their placement I'll attach them in place with some gel type super glue. They'll grow their own anchoring roots in no time at all which will reinforce their positions. Another method of planting is to use thread to tie them to the hardscape. I've tied this one to a rock and I can simply place it inside the terrarium or even move it if I ever wanted to. I really like the jungle feel that these plants bring to the scape but there's still plenty more to come. This is an aquatic plant known as hydrophila. Although it's sold as an aquarium plant it does grow really well in terrarium conditions. So long as the humidity is kept high this plant will thrive. I'm mainly planting it in the background by wedging the stem through the fern moss into the sphagnum moss. Next to go in is this stunning cutting of ficus quercifolia. I think this plant will look great climbing up the cork bark. To hold it in place I'm going to use these stainless steel staples which I've bent to create small pins. These push into the cork bark nice and easy and help keep the cuttings in place. After a light spray down it's time to add the feature plant. This is a jewel orchid. Its leaves are absolutely stunning and they look like they've got lightning bolts shooting through them. I think the perfect spot for it is growing between the two cork bark trunks. These here are some cuttings of fotonia. Although they have no roots at the moment I'll plant them in up to the first set of leaves and they'll grow their own root systems in no time. This is a terrarium plant that's a bit harder to come by. It's got these beautiful iridescent leaves which are a dark red on their underside. This plant does like to climb so I'm hoping it's going to make its way up the background. This is another stunning begonia species which is a bit harder to grow so I'm hoping it's going to take off inside this terrarium. With the planting pretty much complete I'm going to add a few patches of moss to cover up any exposed glue and add a bit more detail. The terrarium is almost complete but there's still a couple more things that need to be taken care of. First off I'm giving the tank a really good spray down. As this terrarium has ventilation and it's not airtight it's going to need regular spraying. My best guess is that I'll be giving it a light spray down once or twice a week. These tiny bugs are known as springtails and they'll help keep the terrarium clean and healthy. They'll eat things like mold and decaying matter throughout the ecosystem and turn it into nutrients which the moss and plants can use to grow. Now before introducing the creature that will call this terrarium home I'm going to let the moss and plants grow in and establish. It's been four months since I set this tank up and as I'm sure you can see it really has been thriving. The moss and plants have grown in really well with only a couple exceptions that didn't make it. The begonia I planted in the foreground melted away in the first couple weeks and unfortunately it didn't bounce back. With that being the only exception everything else is doing really well. The photonia has grown some nice height and the oak leaf creeping fig is climbing up the cork bark just like I hoped it would. A highlight for me is the stunning dark iridescent leaves from this begonia. With that said it doesn't quite compare to the jewel orchid which has grown several new leaves each with beautiful coloration and detail. Before adding the inhabitant I do want to take care of some maintenance. The hygrophila has grown unbelievably well and it's pushing up right at the top of the glass. I'm going to trim it back as well as pulling out some of the begonia that has reached right to the top as well. With the maintenance taken care of here's the creature that will call this terrarium home. This is a tiny orchid mantis. Don't be fooled by its stunning appearance as this is a fierce predator especially if you're an unsuspecting fruit fly. This one is absolutely adorable and so unbelievably tiny. I'm unsure of the gender at the moment but as with most mantis species the females grow much bigger than the males. I'm really not sure on a name so I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments below. Now it's time to introduce the mantis to its new home. It wasted no time at all and jumped straight inside. A few days have passed and the mantis has settled in really well. Here's some footage I got of it hunting and catching some fruit flies. It's truly amazing just how fast and precise they are and I think it's safe to say that these fruit flies don't stand a chance. This terrarium has been an absolute joy to watch over the past 120 days and it's only going to get better and better as the mantis grows and the plants continue to establish. It's crazy to think that this tank started as just a few picture frames and now after four months it's turned into a thriving miniature ecosystem. Don't forget to leave your name suggestions in the comments below and as always thank you for watching.