moviemanmania
Avid Member
I am looking at getting started with a few breeding mantis pairs and wonder if all of the subspecies of Mantis are ok for Chamaleons? Are there any that i should avoid?
Mantis: All subspecies ok for Chams?
- Thread starter moviemanmania
- Start date
sdheli420
Avid Member
they should all be fine..however i have seen some VERY aggressive diablo orchid flower mantids..and ied say some like the twig or violin mantids just may not be much of a meal..most are pretty thin bodied..but chinese mantids, carolina mantids should all be fine..
moviemanmania
Avid Member
Great! I was thinking of starting out with the chinese as they are more simple i assume..
Texas Panther Man
New Member
Are these going to be used for babies or for adults? The only reason I ask is there are much easier feeders to use than trying to grow mantis to adult size and then use as feeders. But if your just feeding young chams then hatching ooths is easy and you can feed off a whole ooth in a day or so after gutloading them with ff's.
I was going to do the same thing but I realized its a time consuming thing to grow alot of adult mntis adn then to feed them off in 30 seconds. I just decided I'd stick to horns, silks, dubias, etc...
I was going to do the same thing but I realized its a time consuming thing to grow alot of adult mntis adn then to feed them off in 30 seconds. I just decided I'd stick to horns, silks, dubias, etc...
moviemanmania
Avid Member
I was planning on feeding the mantis to the chams at around l2 or l3 to add more variety. There just isn't much meat on them from what people are telling me and it may not be worth the care they require to add an occasional variant in the feeder source. Thoughts?
Citizen Snips
New Member
I've been feeding my 4m Panther baby mantis for fun because his eyes light up every time I put one on at leaf and the fact that mantis are climbers makes them excellent toys for chameleons.
icegecko
Established Member
sorry, I couldn't imagiine ever feeding a mantid to my cham....I like them too much!
I saw someone mention orchids,violins and idolomantids. Unless you are an accomplished mantid breeder or have boatloads of cash, forget those species. They are display/pet mantids only They are $45-60 bucks a mantid and pretty rare, especilaly Idolomantids. An adult mantid that comes from a larger species (Chinese mantids get to be 6 inches long) can cause damage at close range. Yes chameleons are long range hunters, but but but but but how could you feed a beautiful mantis to a cham? I see so many similarities between my mantids and my cham, I would never be able to feed one to another. I have both as pets. Ugh, I understand why people do it, but to me it would be like feeding baby deer to salt water crocs. You can do it, but....
All right, my childish little rant is over. Everytime I hear of people feeding off mantids it makes me très
I want you all to know that. I cry when a mantid has to die.
Ok, I don't. But hey, it rhymed!
I saw someone mention orchids,violins and idolomantids. Unless you are an accomplished mantid breeder or have boatloads of cash, forget those species. They are display/pet mantids only They are $45-60 bucks a mantid and pretty rare, especilaly Idolomantids. An adult mantid that comes from a larger species (Chinese mantids get to be 6 inches long) can cause damage at close range. Yes chameleons are long range hunters, but but but but but how could you feed a beautiful mantis to a cham? I see so many similarities between my mantids and my cham, I would never be able to feed one to another. I have both as pets. Ugh, I understand why people do it, but to me it would be like feeding baby deer to salt water crocs. You can do it, but....
All right, my childish little rant is over. Everytime I hear of people feeding off mantids it makes me très
I want you all to know that. I cry when a mantid has to die. Ok, I don't. But hey, it rhymed!
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moviemanmania
Avid Member
sorry, I couldn't imagiine ever feeding a mantid to my cham....I like them too much!
I saw someone mention orchids,violins and idolomantids. Unless you are an accomplished mantid breeder or have boatloads of cash, forget those species. They are display/pet mantids only They are $45-60 bucks a mantid and pretty rare, especilaly Idolomantids. An adult mantid that comes from a larger species (Chinese mantids get to be 6 inches long) can cause damage at close range. Yes chameleons are long range hunters, but but but but but how could you feed a beautiful mantis to a cham? I see so many similarities between my mantids and my cham, I would never be able to feed one to another. I have both as pets. Ugh, I understand why people do it, but to me it would be like feeding baby deer to salt water crocs. You can do it, but....
All right, my childish little rant is over. Everytime I hear of people feeding off mantids it makes me très
Ok, I don't. But hey, it rhymed!
LOL!! Yea I made the mistake and posted a similiar question on the mantid forum! Woops! Didn't stop to think people would be attached to their insects like that. I don't seem to become attached to my dubia, or superworms... Lol But everyone is different!
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
I'm all for adding variety. That said, mantids are certainly not the least effort/space/time choice to raise up to a decent feeder size. FOr me, I'm raising mantids anyhow as they are kewl, and I use many of them in the garden, so its no biggy to use also as a feeder (usually there are a few that dont shed well, and these make a nice treat feeder).
There are easier feeders to raise. Terrestrial isopods are beyond easy, and VERY well liked by chameleons, but takes awhile to get the colony going. Silkworms are a bit of work, but worth it. Superworms are extremly easy, although there is a delay up front while you wait for beetles to lay eggs and larva to grow big enough to be useable. Stick bugs are easy (possibly not legal where you are) and very well liked by chameleons. Roaches are easy, and there are multiple types to choose from, each with slightly different eating preferences and greatly different shapes.
There are easier feeders to raise. Terrestrial isopods are beyond easy, and VERY well liked by chameleons, but takes awhile to get the colony going. Silkworms are a bit of work, but worth it. Superworms are extremly easy, although there is a delay up front while you wait for beetles to lay eggs and larva to grow big enough to be useable. Stick bugs are easy (possibly not legal where you are) and very well liked by chameleons. Roaches are easy, and there are multiple types to choose from, each with slightly different eating preferences and greatly different shapes.
moviemanmania
Avid Member
How large do the isopods get when they are feeding size? I've never even thought about using them as feeders!
Leroux2008
Member
It was really neat.... I bought a mantid egg case and after a couple weeks I got to watch them come out of it.... then I moved them all to a bigger container and more hiding spots but they disappeared..... to this day... I have no clue where they went. -_-
CammieBaby
New Member
Its clear the Chineesse are the hardest of them all..
Lizardlover
New Member
They are not subspecies, they are species. A mantis refers to many species of insect. Yes all mantids are safe for a chameleon to eat.
ASublimeDay
Member
Any links for raising a mantis colony? Size of enclosure, feeding, female/male ratio, can mantis from the same egg case breed together?
Lizardlover
New Member
They need to be housed separately, do some research on mantis breeding and you should find your answers. The problem with mating mantids from the same ootheca is that the females tend to age slower (probably to prevent inbreeding in the wild), but there are ways around that (keeping males cooler, feeding females less, etc.). As far as ratio goes, you will obviously want a higher amount of females. They need to be well fed prior to mating so they do not make a meal out of their mates.
SSimsswiSS
Avid Member
I raise mantids up in deli cups while growing. Once sub adults to adult they get screen cage treatment, for breeding and space. You can inbreed for about 3 generations with most species, then the hatch rate of next generations starts rapid decline. You can see rough out line of how I hatch ooths on my facebook page: cricket crack. Look for photos taken May 31 on timeline.
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