The ootheca will keep just fine in the fridge over the winter or until you decide to hatch them.
Chinese mantis are fun to keep. They have a short lifespan of 1 year so you really have to breed them in order to enjoy them long term.
You can keep the adult in pretty much anything, a tub, tank or screen cage. Just make sure it had stuff to climb on. They are super fun to watch and to feed. Their heads turn and look at you and it cracks me up every time. Feed it crickets or roaches. He will probably last through the winter as a pet and then perish in the spring.
When it comes time to hatch the ootheca make sure you have a ton of pinhead crickets or a ton of fruit flies handy. Hundreds of babies come out of one ootheca and those babies eat a lot. Mostly they will start to cannibalize each other so you can separate some to ensure their survival.
That is if your wanting to keep some yourself and not throw them all in your garden.
You must have a wonderful garden for you to have found this guy still alive. I'm only one state over and it gets in the low 30s here already, not seeing many bugs out and about anymore.
Fun find! good luck!
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