Arrival Day Checklist
Print this before your box ships. The first 30 minutes after delivery matter most.
Before the box arrives
- Enclosure set up: correct size, mesh top, a perch, humidity and temperature in range (see your species care card).
- Correctly sized live prey on hand (no more than 1/3 of the mantis's body length).
- Phone charged. The unboxing video is your proof.
- Track the delivery and bring the box in fast: within minutes in extreme heat or cold, within 30 minutes otherwise.
The first ten minutes
- Start filming before you cut the tape. One continuous take: the sealed box first, then every layer, down to the mantis in its cup. Keep the original file, unedited.
- Open the outer box slowly, on camera. No shaking, flipping or rushing.
- Open the cup right away, near the enclosure, and look it over. Most hang from the lid or mesh.
- Cold and sluggish? Let it warm to room temperature, never with direct heat or sun.
- Move it straight into the enclosure; there is no settling period. Tilt the cup so it walks out, or let it step onto a dowel or your hand. Never grab it.
- Take a dated photo: your arrival record.
Settling in
- Mist the enclosure walls lightly. Not the mantis. It drinks the droplets on its own time.
- Once it is on its perch and moving, offer one correctly sized prey item. There is no 24-hour waiting rule.
- Refusing food for a day or two after transit is normal. Remove uneaten prey and try again tomorrow.
- Threat displays and bolting are normal after a day in a dark cup.
- Handling is fine from day one. The only time to keep your hands off is around a molt.
Do not
- Leave the box outside or wait to open the cup.
- Shake or flip the box, or grab the mantis.
- Warm a cold mantis with direct heat or sun.
- Mist the mantis directly. Walls only.
- Push food on a stressed animal.
- Touch a mantis on its back; it may be molting.
- Edit the unboxing video.
When to worry and what to do
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Not moving | Give it time at room temperature. After 30+ minutes, mist near it (not on it). No response after an hour: contact us. |
| Missing a leg or antenna | Can happen in shipping. Juveniles regrow limbs over future molts. Feeding is rarely affected. |
| On its back | Maybe molting. Do not touch. After 30+ minutes with no molt, gently offer a surface to grab (finger, paper towel, twig). |
| Dead on arrival | File within 24 hours of unboxing at lobomantis.com/claim with your continuous video. Replacement, or a refund of the animal's price if we cannot restock soon. |
Live Arrival Guarantee. Covers dead-on-arrival on Priority Overnight orders only, opened the day delivered, with a continuous unedited video from sealed box to mantis, filed within 24 hours of unboxing. Post-arrival death is not covered. The claim form closes 72 hours after delivery.
Questions: lobomantis.com/contact or hello@lobomantis.com. A claim counts only when filed on the claim form, not by email or Discord.