Hashtag ChamLife
Avid Member
Pretty much any species is going to cannibalize. This is actually a good thing if you hatch your own. Once they hatch you break them up into groups of 20-30 and let them eat each other to both thin them down and provide food when they're so small. Afterwards, you can switch to fruit flies/crickets.
Other foods are mealworms, super worms, BSF/L, other flies/larvae, etc.
They're actually surprisingly easy to hatch from the ooth... but a major pain to breed (if you want the male to survive at least). More than likely you're going to want to feed off the females first as the get bigger and more aggressive. Males tend to stay smaller - which also means they can fly btw.
To hatch an ooth, just use a small container with some moss/leaf litter/ paper towel for humidity and a few sticks for the to grab when they hatch. Put a tight seal on them (Mason jars are great). Wait for them to hatch out. As stated, you'll probably end up with a few hundred. You can't leave them together for long unless you use a larger hatching container (such as gasket bin). You have 2 real options - allow them a bigger hatch area and let them naturally thin out and grow, or you can immediately break them up into small clusters and then feed them. I choose the latter as I like to micro manage stuff.
I personally use Mason jars/deli cups for hatching. Then move to bins with a fruit fly culture (they still eat each other, mostly because they need space to molt and/or feelinsecure molting when another is nearby). I'll then keep a few pairs [2-3], stored individually, in little acrylic boxes I picked up at repticon.
Also as stated above, if you chose to get orchid mantids or ghosts or violins, etc. you're better off selling them than feeding them... they're stunningly awesome. Stick to Chinese, Carolina etc. They're common and cool... but really cheap and easy.
I dropped mantids after a few generations as it's very tedious. I'd like to do Phasmids... but Florida is a pain in the fanny. Also, beware of their shields (hand claws). They're surprisingly feisty and sharp...
Other foods are mealworms, super worms, BSF/L, other flies/larvae, etc.
They're actually surprisingly easy to hatch from the ooth... but a major pain to breed (if you want the male to survive at least). More than likely you're going to want to feed off the females first as the get bigger and more aggressive. Males tend to stay smaller - which also means they can fly btw.
To hatch an ooth, just use a small container with some moss/leaf litter/ paper towel for humidity and a few sticks for the to grab when they hatch. Put a tight seal on them (Mason jars are great). Wait for them to hatch out. As stated, you'll probably end up with a few hundred. You can't leave them together for long unless you use a larger hatching container (such as gasket bin). You have 2 real options - allow them a bigger hatch area and let them naturally thin out and grow, or you can immediately break them up into small clusters and then feed them. I choose the latter as I like to micro manage stuff.
I personally use Mason jars/deli cups for hatching. Then move to bins with a fruit fly culture (they still eat each other, mostly because they need space to molt and/or feelinsecure molting when another is nearby). I'll then keep a few pairs [2-3], stored individually, in little acrylic boxes I picked up at repticon.
Also as stated above, if you chose to get orchid mantids or ghosts or violins, etc. you're better off selling them than feeding them... they're stunningly awesome. Stick to Chinese, Carolina etc. They're common and cool... but really cheap and easy.
I dropped mantids after a few generations as it's very tedious. I'd like to do Phasmids... but Florida is a pain in the fanny. Also, beware of their shields (hand claws). They're surprisingly feisty and sharp...
