Praying Mantis Go Down The Hatch!

CNorton

Avid Member
So I caught a praying mantis outside yesterday. I was a little hesitant to put it in with my 5 month ambilobe as he is not full-grown yet. The mantis was no shrimp and it had a nasty attitude.

I put the mantis on a branch close to the edge of the cage and quickly ran downstairs to get my camera. One minute later, I returned only to see Ollie triumphantly strolling back to his basking spot from the mantis branch.

Anyone else feed mantis to their chameleon? Is there another food item your chameleon goes bonkers for? I mean besides anything that flies, of course.
 
I was going to say House Flies. I never tried them until Chad threw me down with a culture at the Pomona show. After they hatched I put them in the fridge for a few minutes to put them to sleep, and poured some into the cage and closed it. Every single one of my Chams went crazy for them. Very few even warmed up enough to start flying they were eaten so quick. The few that did didn't last long in the cage as the chams were determined to hunt them down.

Aside from that... Anything in worm form never gets rejected over here.
 
mine goes crazy over blue bottle flies.
I fed them mantis as well. I bought the whole sac from the nursery and wait for them to hatch.
grow them a bit and feed the excess while keeping 2 or 4 to mate once again.
I am now culturing painted lady butterfly.
All of them are in coccoon phase and currently waiting for them to turned to butterfly. I'll let some of them mate and feed the excess.
 
i must have a picky panther..

won't touch roaches.
won't touch house/blue bottle flys
won't touch horn worms
won't touch crickets.

might eat 1-2 silkies.

and superworms are the only thing he wants
....


i want try try something else...
 
protected species...

yeah, you might want to be careful mentioning that you feed mantis to your pets. they are in fact a protected species in the US, and garden centers sell them as pest control to be put into gardens, not as pet food...its my understanding that you can be fined a hefty little amount per insect, should you ever be caught.
 
http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/mantis2.asp
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/30293/is_it_illegal_to_kill_a_praying_mantis.html
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2154.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/406216/the_truth_about_fines_levied_if_you.html?cat=44


In fact, i believe it's better to keep your common Chinese praying mantis inside captivity than to release it in the wild since the chinese mantis is indifferent to any insect and actually eating the local mantis since they are smaller in size.
But, again, it's just my opinion.

Mantis are not endangered species and i do not see why it would be protected under the federal law.
 
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They are protected because they are a beneficial insect which consume harmful insects a farmers friend also plant growers.
 
I understand the fact that they are beneficial insects.
Do you have a link to your state law that stating the status of the praying mantis being protected and it is considered a crime to kill one or keep one as a pet? As far as I know, NY does not have such law either.. (I could be wrong, though)
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1702/is-it-illegal-to-kill-praying-mantises


I have put some links up there that claim the statement of mantis as protected species is an urban legend.
As far to my knowledge, US has never released any law of such thing.
i am talking off course for the native species (such as carolina one and even the introduced species such as mantis religiosa and chinese mantis) not the non native mantis (such as orchid mantis and so on).

Animal can become protected if they are indeed endangered.
If mantis become one simply because of the beneficial nature, shouldn't S. Feltiae, BB Flies, silkworm, and lady bug be protected as well?
 
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I stand corrected they are not protected. So go right ahead and kill them all. Importation of non- native species without proper permit's is illegal.
 
I stand corrected they are not protected. So go right ahead and kill them all. Importation of non- native species without proper permit's is illegal.

Hi Dean.
I understand the benefits of mantis. As I am not insinuating people to kill mantis every time they see one.
But, instead of promoting misconceptions of law as way to protect one species, it would have been more effective by iterating fact-based reasons why we should not use mantis as feeder.

And, I agree with the importation of non-native species without proper permit is illegal. That is why I am only stating this fact to be valid for native mantis and the introduced one only.
 
yeah, you might want to be careful mentioning that you feed mantis to your pets. they are in fact a protected species in the US, and garden centers sell them as pest control to be put into gardens, not as pet food...its my understanding that you can be fined a hefty little amount per insect, should you ever be caught.

Not true.
They are protected in New Jersey (all native and non), but as far as I know there are no laws concerning mantids in the rest of the U.S.
They are fair game.

-Brad
 
Just as pets! :rolleyes:

Mine are of foreign origin, And they are going down the hatch. :D Sorry bug lovers.
 
ColorCham427---:D:D:D

Steve: --I beleive it, they look very nutritional for a Chameleon. and some Mantis are quite fat and juicy.
 
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