Mantis'

[Drago]

For those that use them as feeders...where do you guys purchase your Praying Mantis' egg casings from?

Do they make good feeders when they are newly hatched? They don't look like that would have much meat on them.

Do you gut load them? With what?

How do you keep them after they hatch? The pictures I've seen, looks like there is a bazillion of them when they do hatch...but tiny.

Finally, is it worth the effort?

Mantis' are the chams of the insect world IMHO, one of the coolest and most interesting bugs.

 

[camimom]

For those that use them as feeders...where do you guys purchase your Praying Mantis' egg casings from?
I bought mine from Pssh.. a forum member. i also collected a few wild ones
Do they make good feeders when they are newly hatched? They don't look like that would have much meat on them.
they make good feeders for small chams, like babies. when hatched, they are the size of a pinky nail.
Do you gut load them? With what?
I wouldnt call it gutloading, so much as jsut feeding them. Fruit flies, strawberries, bananas, honey.
How do you keep them after they hatch? The pictures I've seen, looks like there is a bazillion of them when they do hatch...but tiny.
there can be hundreds from one ooth. Once fully hatched, I seperate into groups of 10-20, since they will eat each other.
Finally, is it worth the effort?
its worth it. so long as you dont get attached. I did, and i know have one female as a pet..
Mantis' are the chams of the insect world IMHO, one of the coolest and most interesting bugs.

comments in red.

 

[Drago]

Terrific reply, thank you!

 

[camimom]

Welcome!

I think you can also try some garden nurseries, they oftentimes sell them for pest control in gardens.

 

[maxttu]

Welcome!

I think you can also try some garden nurseries, they oftentimes sell them for pest control in gardens.

yes! I picked up two oothecas from a nursery awhile back. Only one hatched out...

 

[camimom]

yes! I picked up two oothecas from a nursery awhile back. Only one hatched out...

how long ago?

 

[maxttu]

how long ago?

April 18th...I thought that it looked funny when I purchased it.

 

[BocaJan]

You can also get them from SswimsS (or however he spells his name, LOL)

 

[camimom]

April 18th...I thought that it looked funny when I purchased it.

It can take a while to hatch them sometimes.

or it wasnt warm enough for it.

 

[maxttu]

It can take a while to hatch them sometimes.

or it wasnt warm enough for it.

the 1st ooth hatched in less than a week. they have been in my warehouse where it is anywhere from 80-90 degrees depending on the time of the day. I still have the 2nd one hanging in the deli cup, but it does look like an expired ooth...

 

[camimom]

the 1st ooth hatched in less than a week. they have been in my warehouse where it is anywhere from 80-90 degrees depending on the time of the day. I still have the 2nd one hanging in the deli cup, but it does look like an expired ooth...

well temps seem right. guess it wasnt meant to be. im sorry.

i got 3 from pssh, one hatched within 3 days of arrival. i didnt even have time to get them strung up in a cage before it started hatching in the envelope it came in!

the others i put in the fridge.

im actually abotu to remove one to let it hatch.

 

[maxttu]

good deal! I wonder if they're still in season? I bought the last two that the nursery had in April. Hmmm...

 

[camimom]

good deal! I wonder if they're still in season? I bought the last two that the nursery had in April. Hmmm...

they might be.

if not.
look on forsythia bushes, and lilac bushes.. for some.

 

[Raffi]

keeping them alive

I had difficulty keeping them alive to get to their next growth stage. I put in crickets with the mantis' but non were eaten. My guess is that they were too big. But they are definitely one of my chameleons favorite treats. i need to get my hands on some more. I had two and both hatched within weeks of one another. So as i tried to take care of 500+ matis' i was overwhelmed. You need to be prepared to have enough cups and what not to store and care for them separately even though they are going to be fed to your cham.

 

[Action Jackson]

I have about 125 mantis in individual deli cups right now. Talk about a lot of work! Having the right size crickets really helps. I have 5 different size crickets mostly to feed my mantis. Also I usually change their cups to clean ones two or three times as they grow to adulthood, that's a lot of cup washing. The chameleons love'em though.

I had difficulty keeping them alive to get to their next growth stage. I put in crickets with the mantis' but non were eaten. My guess is that they were too big. But they are definitely one of my chameleons favorite treats. i need to get my hands on some more. I had two and both hatched within weeks of one another. So as i tried to take care of 500+ matis' i was overwhelmed. You need to be prepared to have enough cups and what not to store and care for them separately even though they are going to be fed to your cham.

 

[Raffi]

wow

I have about 125 mantis in individual deli cups right now. Talk about a lot of work! Having the right size crickets really helps. I have 5 different size crickets mostly to feed my mantis. Also I usually change their cups to clean ones two or three times as they grow to adulthood, that's a lot of cup washing. The chameleons love'em though.

jesus! where are you keeping the mantis cups? I ran out of room quick. Plus i used large dixie cups with 10 matis' each.

 

[maxttu]

I have about 125 mantis in individual deli cups right now. Talk about a lot of work! Having the right size crickets really helps. I have 5 different size crickets mostly to feed my mantis. Also I usually change their cups to clean ones two or three times as they grow to adulthood, that's a lot of cup washing. The chameleons love'em though.

That's sick! I couldn't keep up with 10 cups, let alone 125! You da man!

 

[Action Jackson]

Ha ha. It's a pain in the butt. Almost all of them are at L4-L5. I feed and spray them every two days and go through a bunch of crickets. I pretty much have to do it for my Parson's, they get bored with thier food and need/want variety.

I keep them on a bakers rack with the crickets. If I get a chance I'll take a picture.

I hatched a ton of ooths this spring and had over a thousand mantis but due to predation and die off this is what I have left. I wonder if I could have got the same amount if I would've just hatched out one or two ooths and separated the nymphs into individual cups at the beginning.

 

[Solid Snake]

You can also get them from SswimsS (or however he spells his name, LOL)

He spells it G-O-D.

 

[Action Jackson]

Steve's the man!

I picked up bugs from him last night.

He spells it G-O-D.