best feeder mantis

[Canny Chams]

hey, i found someone in canada who supplys feeder mantids, and he has a large variety, i was wondering which type of mantis is the most nutritious or best as a feeder, i also have limited space so if they require relatively alot of room and maintenance, i cant get them

 

[Canny Chams]

just bumping it up....

 

[Whatcamo]

My guess would be the European as they from what I've read seem to be the best

 

[Canny Chams]

hmmm, do you know why?

 

[Whatcamo]

From what I've read most mantids have the same nutritional content and European mantids I've seen recommended more and used more because of ease of breading and think I saw quoted somewhere they produce more offspring as well

 

[xanthoman]

mantis feeders

if you are talking about buying an egg case to raise as feeders imo, regular chinese (tinodera sinensis) are probably your best bet.
they are usually the cheapest and most widely available, if you buy an unspecified mantis ooth off of the web, thats probably what you will get.

chinese mantis are one of the easier mantids to raise and usually hatch at least a 100 mantids, maybe as many as 300. there is a picture of a chinese tinodera sinensis hatch in my cf public albums.

some mantids are pricey and some mantids are hard to care for especially in the first few days. some mantids only hatch about less than 30 nymphs

but there are alot of locally available mantis throughout much of the country, chinese mantis is kind of misleading because they are one of the more commonly encountered species in the us
but many of the southern states have more localized mantis, California texas and the se all have their own local varities of mantis so, if you have local ooths that you can collect, by all means go for it.

cf member psssh (spiffybugs) sometimes has mantis ooth, if not they are all over the web jan-june after that they can be hard to find in the fall .

the only mantids i have ever raised are chinese and orchids. ive probably raised at least 3 dozen chinese ooths over the years so if you get a tinodera sinensis ooth,or any ooth for that matter, shoot me a pm and ill give you some pointers.

if you collect local ooths, some mantids require diapause or a cold period before they will hatch. chinese will hatch without diapause but most commercially available tinodera sinensis ooths have already been refrigerated for at least 3 mths. this is usually done in the fall, thats why they are not usually available then.

many cf members are also mantidforum members.
chinese mantis get quite large. and would also make a good project for any one who was looking for a trippy pet but maybe wasnt quite ready to make the leap to chams.

a common misconception about mantis is they are mean. some species can be a little nippy but chinese are fairly docile, they can bite, but usually dont without a reason , if they are under 2-1/2" it usually doesnt hurt anyway, its like getting nipped with a pair of tweezers that has rubber tubing over the ends. there is a picture of me about to get bit (see xanthoman taste test) in my cf public albums.youll notice that i was accidentally pinching her leg, ive found that raised chinese will usually back off once they realize its a human. i think they realize that you have they potential to squish them. mantis are very preceptive, if you put a bug in with them they like a creepy looking spider, they can instantly tell whether or not they can over power it, if not, they will avoid it at all cost. imo they are true survivalists.

raising mantis is a trip and i highly recommend everybody try it at least once probably one of the easiest cham feeders to raise. an entire chinese clutch can be raised in a 10 qal aq for the first 2 weeks, but after that you need to start thinking about separating them out or feeding them off.
if you are thinking just hatch an ooth and feed them off immediately you should be aware that there is almost no substance to newly hatched mantis. sort of like anorexic mosquitos. takes at least 2 weeks to get any real substance to them. either way, they will be xantho guaranteed to be a welcome diversion for your cham

mantis have personalities, many are curious and some species even like to hang out and watch tv, there are lots of trippy mantis vids on you tube including some excellent vids of the largest and trippiest mantis of all, idolomantis diabolica, (giant devils flower mantis from the congo, a must see for anyone who has never checked them out before by my friend precarious333

before everyone asks what does instar and the L#s mean, mantis go through several larval stages (molts) L1-L2 ETC, each molt/stage is called an instar.
his idolos have a fondness for hanging in the window and watching the cars go by lol
jmo

 

[Canny Chams]

thanks for the helpful post. Rep points

 

[patrickfraser]

I raise praying mantis and feed my mismolts and excess of any species. I don't think any species is "better", but a lot of differences in sizes of adults. All nymphs(babies) take quite a bit of care to get much "meat" on them to make a good feeder. I started with mantids and upgraded to include chams in my menagerie. I already had a colony of dubias for my mantids, so it was an easy addition. Now I have started raising silkworms for the chams, but the mantis like them too. WIN WIN

 

[mcleodschams]

ok where can i order these things???? i cant find em grrrr...

 

[pssh]

I hate feeding silkies to mantids. They make a mess!

 

[xanthoman]

where to find mantis ooth.

ok where can i order these things???? i cant find em grrrr...

they are all over they web just google mantis egg case or mantis ooth. also google organic pest control. mantisplace.com usually has ooths for sale as well as many garden/grow supply shops. private breeders can be found at the mantidforum.net

i just bought 2 ooths at a local garden store. if you are in continental us, pm me your address and i will send you a free ooth, cant guaranty it wont hatch before you get it though. xantho
edit sorry just noticed you are in ca. im short on time right now but if you still have a problem finding some let me know and ill try to shoot you some more links

the spare ooth is still available and will send to the first person in the continental us that wants to pm their address to [email protected]
ps please post ooth claimed immediately afterwards so i dont have dozens of addresses in my husmail. i only have one ooth and it will go to the first person who wants to claim it.

 

[SSimsswiSS]

The two species I use the most for feeding are Madagascan marble mantis, and the smaller soft bodied Egyptian mantis. African twig mantis seem to be a favorite of the Parsons, and the quads go nuts for a particular green south american species I keep (pictured below).

 

[venessa214]

Ooth claimed. Thank you!

 

[mcleodschams]

they are all over they web just google mantis egg case or mantis ooth. also google organic pest control. mantisplace.com usually has ooths for sale as well as many garden/grow supply shops. private breeders can be found at the mantidforum.net

i just bought 2 ooths at a local garden store. if you are in continental us, pm me your address and i will send you a free ooth, cant guaranty it wont hatch before you get it though. xantho
edit sorry just noticed you are in ca. im short on time right now but if you still have a problem finding some let me know and ill try to shoot you some more links

the spare ooth is still available and will send to the first person in the continental us that wants to pm their address to [email protected]
ps please post ooth claimed immediately afterwards so i dont have dozens of addresses in my husmail. i only have one ooth and it will go to the first person who wants to claim it.

thanks for the help i found them yayy@ but thank you i just had to oothe search lol

 

[xanthoman]

ooth hatch folder

for those that are interested, have recently started a hatch folder in my public cf albums "this years ooth" .
will include basic instructions and update as called for.
there are a lot of ways to raise ooths, this just happens to be the way i am doing it this year.