Hi, I save few newborned mantises.. they are eating fruit flies properly. When should they molt for first time? This is 13th day now and still nothing.
I have a mantis nymph coming they normally come in a tiny container. And they normally molt after arriving. Should I leave the mantis in the tiny container to molt and then transfer to the enclosure?
Sorry for the late response. Did your mantis nymph arrive? For me, when the mantis nymph is small; I prefer housing it in a smaller container. The reason, it is easier to monitor and you make sure it catches its prey insects.
Sorry for the late response. If the molt is stuck you can try to remove it by wetting it a bit. I hope it all turned out positive for your orchid mantis. I have never raised an orchid mantis but want to try it at some point, such a beautiful insect.
I'm raising Mediterranean Mantids from birth. A surprising number of them are dying. I think the problem may be their inability to digest food. One just ate a fly for more than an hour and its abdomen doesn't seem to show any food in it. It's like it's not fully swallowing the fly and can't finish eating it, as if it's like a human being trying to eat a hamburger with no liquid to wash it down. I'm in Las Vegas. They've survived 120 degrees and months without rain. I was told that they didn't need to drink any water because they got enough from their food, so I haven't been giving them any water. They don't seem to be molting as often as I had expected. Could lack of water explain their difficulty molting and swallowing?
Do you have some that are performing well? Yes, I have read that about Mediterranean Mantises. I actually have two of my own and they don't really get interested by water droplets. I do spray them while they are eating; like their prey item gets a few drops and they continue eating. How often have yours molted? Mine take about 2 weeks and they don't eat as often as my Chinese mantises.
@@maestromantis8583 I still have more than 50 out of about 100 which have hatched, but almost none of them have molted every 2 weeks. None have molted 3 times. How hot do you keep them? My latest theory is that I have deprived them of the heat they need by keeping them inside at a constant 81 degrees. I started keeping them outside in 110 degree heat 2 days ago. A few died on the first day, but the only death yesterday was 1 which tried to molt. I believe what you wrote about them not eating as often as Chinese Mantids. I had a Chinese Mantis egg case hatch in April. I left them outside. I was looking forward to seeing many of them because I watered near where they hatched many times a day. I only found 1, which I fed a lot. I assumed it could go as long as a Mediterranean Mantis before its next meal, but it starved to death.
@@tomrobertson6747 I can't confirm the temperature, but it's been warm over here (I'm in CA) and it ranges 85-90+ degrees this summer. I do keep them inside for t=most of the day and I take them all out in the evenings. What I mean by that, their enclosures come outside as I mist and feed them. Yes, they don't eat as much as the Chinese mantis. Chinese mantises can eat like 3+ flies and Mediterranean at most 1 per day. My Mediterraneans are about L5 and L4. I'm not sure how many molts they go before adulthood. My Chinese eggs hatched late April/early May. I saw them for a few weeks after the initial release but now they have either scattered or got eaten by birds/lizards. I never find adult Chinese mantises from the ones I release; I feel they don't survive well in the wild in CA. You are correct! Chinese needs to be feed constant; Mediterranean can go without days for sure.
@@maestromantis8583 I wonder if there's a connection between feeding and molting. I was only feeding my L1 Mediterraneans 1 small fruit fly every 5 days, but you say they can eat 1 per day. I found 1 a few days ago that was maybe 2 molts from maturity and it had a huge stomach and molted a few hours later. Maybe I'm feeding them enough to survive but not enough to molt.
@@tomrobertson6747 I will say feeding is related to molting. Yes, they can eat 1 a day. Do keep in mind the more they eat the faster they will grow; which means you'll have to consider how long they'll be adults. Nice find and a great way to compare.
So my mantis just moulted for the first time. I’ve been feeding it flightless fruit flies for now. Should I start feeding it bigger insects since it’s bigger now? Also where can you buy containers?
You can keep feeding it flightless fruit flies right now. When it molts again (second time) your mantis will still eat fruit flies but may ignore them. I feed mine aphids up to the third molt. Right now I have a fair amount at fourth and fifth; small insects are no longer their interest. Try finding slightly larger flies or moths. For containers, I use used up medicine tubes (the ones shown in the video) for L1-L3. At L4 and on you may need to find larger enclosures. You can look at pet stores or even dollar stores; or just get creative and make one from a sturdy cup in your house. Hope this helps and any questions just let me know, take care!
Does mantises normally look dead if their molting
Hi, I save few newborned mantises.. they are eating fruit flies properly. When should they molt for first time? This is 13th day now and still nothing.
They should have molted at least once by now. Have they? Sorry for the delayed response, hope all is good with your mantises.
I have a mantis nymph coming they normally come in a tiny container. And they normally molt after arriving. Should I leave the mantis in the tiny container to molt and then transfer to the enclosure?
Sorry for the late response. Did your mantis nymph arrive? For me, when the mantis nymph is small; I prefer housing it in a smaller container. The reason, it is easier to monitor and you make sure it catches its prey insects.
I got a l2 orchid mantis and it has molted overnight but the molt is stuck at the abdomyn should I wait for it to fall out or try getting it of?
Sorry for the late response. If the molt is stuck you can try to remove it by wetting it a bit. I hope it all turned out positive for your orchid mantis. I have never raised an orchid mantis but want to try it at some point, such a beautiful insect.
I'm raising Mediterranean Mantids from birth. A surprising number of them are dying. I think the problem may be their inability to digest food. One just ate a fly for more than an hour and its abdomen doesn't seem to show any food in it. It's like it's not fully swallowing the fly and can't finish eating it, as if it's like a human being trying to eat a hamburger with no liquid to wash it down. I'm in Las Vegas. They've survived 120 degrees and months without rain. I was told that they didn't need to drink any water because they got enough from their food, so I haven't been giving them any water. They don't seem to be molting as often as I had expected. Could lack of water explain their difficulty molting and swallowing?
Do you have some that are performing well? Yes, I have read that about Mediterranean Mantises. I actually have two of my own and they don't really get interested by water droplets. I do spray them while they are eating; like their prey item gets a few drops and they continue eating. How often have yours molted? Mine take about 2 weeks and they don't eat as often as my Chinese mantises.
@@maestromantis8583 I still have more than 50 out of about 100 which have hatched, but almost none of them have molted every 2 weeks. None have molted 3 times. How hot do you keep them? My latest theory is that I have deprived them of the heat they need by keeping them inside at a constant 81 degrees. I started keeping them outside in 110 degree heat 2 days ago. A few died on the first day, but the only death yesterday was 1 which tried to molt. I believe what you wrote about them not eating as often as Chinese Mantids. I had a Chinese Mantis egg case hatch in April. I left them outside. I was looking forward to seeing many of them because I watered near where they hatched many times a day. I only found 1, which I fed a lot. I assumed it could go as long as a Mediterranean Mantis before its next meal, but it starved to death.
@@tomrobertson6747 I can't confirm the temperature, but it's been warm over here (I'm in CA) and it ranges 85-90+ degrees this summer. I do keep them inside for t=most of the day and I take them all out in the evenings. What I mean by that, their enclosures come outside as I mist and feed them. Yes, they don't eat as much as the Chinese mantis. Chinese mantises can eat like 3+ flies and Mediterranean at most 1 per day. My Mediterraneans are about L5 and L4. I'm not sure how many molts they go before adulthood.
My Chinese eggs hatched late April/early May. I saw them for a few weeks after the initial release but now they have either scattered or got eaten by birds/lizards. I never find adult Chinese mantises from the ones I release; I feel they don't survive well in the wild in CA. You are correct! Chinese needs to be feed constant; Mediterranean can go without days for sure.
@@maestromantis8583 I wonder if there's a connection between feeding and molting. I was only feeding my L1 Mediterraneans 1 small fruit fly every 5 days, but you say they can eat 1 per day. I found 1 a few days ago that was maybe 2 molts from maturity and it had a huge stomach and molted a few hours later. Maybe I'm feeding them enough to survive but not enough to molt.
@@tomrobertson6747 I will say feeding is related to molting. Yes, they can eat 1 a day. Do keep in mind the more they eat the faster they will grow; which means you'll have to consider how long they'll be adults. Nice find and a great way to compare.
Thanks man, I subbed
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So my mantis just moulted for the first time. I’ve been feeding it flightless fruit flies for now. Should I start feeding it bigger insects since it’s bigger now? Also where can you buy containers?
You can keep feeding it flightless fruit flies right now. When it molts again (second time) your mantis will still eat fruit flies but may ignore them. I feed mine aphids up to the third molt. Right now I have a fair amount at fourth and fifth; small insects are no longer their interest. Try finding slightly larger flies or moths. For containers, I use used up medicine tubes (the ones shown in the video) for L1-L3. At L4 and on you may need to find larger enclosures. You can look at pet stores or even dollar stores; or just get creative and make one from a sturdy cup in your house. Hope this helps and any questions just let me know, take care!
@@maestromantis8583 great thank you so much! Where can you buy Aphids?.
@@CrochetByYulia I'm not sure about buying; but you can find them outside on various plants and weeds.
@@maestromantis8583 are you not worried about parasites?
@@zil7618 Very rare.