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Allthingsterrarium

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Well guys. Unfortunately Shandong Lee, my giant Asian mantis and the reason I joined the forum, has passed. It's a been a bit over 2 months since his final molt on July 15th and I guess he's just completed his natural life cycle. I knew he was going to go today. He had been slowing down rapidly, could barely walk and cling to things and had completely lost interest in eating and drinking and last night it was at its worst so I just tried to make him comfortable. He had a great life, granted I thought he was a female for most of the 3 months I had him. You all were such a help in raising him as he was my first mantis and I appreciate that so much. He was a really friendly, fascinating and awesome guy with a great appetite and curious personality. Here's my last good picture of him taken when he was still strong on August 13th. He's sitting on the back of my hand devouring a cricket like a velociraptor. I'll miss this guy for sure and I'm so glad to have had him. I would love to get a much larger and slightly longer lived female if I can find one but they seem tricky to find in my experience. It might be time to look at what other types of mantids are available as well :) . He only flew one time in his life, it was really more of a short hover but I'm happy he got to use his wings once and I got to see it.

Lee eating cricket.JPG

 
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I am so sorry that he died. That is sad. Do you have others?

- MantisGirl13

 
Update guys! I don't know if he's quite dead as when I went to remove him I got some response and there's leg and arm movement but I know some insects such as roaches can move their legs for days after death due to residual brain activity or something. I think more or less though he could be functionally dead, he's certainly not going to last. No way he's going to eat or drink or climb so I think the most humane thing would just let him go in peace. I don't think there's much more that can be done. I would consider doing something to speed up the process and end any misery he might be in but I don't know if they feel pain or not with their less advanced arthropod brains. 

 
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MantisGirl13 said:
I am so sorry that he died. That is sad. Do you have others?

- MantisGirl13
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Thanks MantisGirl13! Unfortunately no he's my only one. I'll look around for other species though and of course other's of his kind. I think come next spring or summer I'll get some mantis egg cases for whatever species they are and hatch a bunch for the garden. I'm sure even the tiny newborns will keep the mosquitos down and the adults will destroy moths which freak me out big time and I don't want getting into the house. I think I heard you hatch them in mesh bags or something and then release them so if I do that I'll keep a couple and raise them. If I could find a young female giant Asian I would get her in a second. I also kind of want an orchid mantis or even better I found this picture here on pinterest of something called a dragon mantis that I don't know whether or not is available in captivity but looks extremely awesome and I sure hope so because I want one bad now! I certainly would like to learn what all the species people breed and sell are as I only know a couple of them. 

dragon mantis.jpg

 
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The dragon mantis is not usually available in captivity. If you do get ooths, get carolina ooths to release not the unnative Chinese. You should get another mantis soon! You should try ghost mantids. They are easy, communal, friendly and not a large species. 

- MantisGirl13

 
Allthingsterrarium said:
I would consider doing something to speed up the process and end any misery he might be in but I don't know if they feel pain or not with their less advanced arthropod brains.
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You can euthanize him by placing him in the freezer for a while. He'll gently and painlessly pass. Sorry to hear of the loss. ?

 
Synapze said:
You can euthanize him by placing him in the freezer for a while. He'll gently and painlessly pass. Sorry to hear of the loss. ?
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Thanks Synapze! He was completely gone this morning so there's no need, poor guy. I am starting to look for other species though. I found a breeder's website where I can get on a waitlist for several neat looking species. They have more Hierodula Membranaceas and the budwing Mantis looks really cool!

 
MantisGirl13 said:
The dragon mantis is not usually available in captivity. If you do get ooths, get carolina ooths to release not the unnative Chinese. You should get another mantis soon! You should try ghost mantids. They are easy, communal, friendly and not a large species. 

- MantisGirl13
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That's too bad. I hope more people start to breed them eventually! I also saw this thing called a Javan gold mantis I would love to see in captivity one day. In any case I definitely don't plan on getting Chinese mantis egg cases for releasing as I know they can become problematic but I'm sure the native Carolina ones will be easy enough to care for the couple I would keep and raise. I looked up the ghost mantis too. It's certainly neat looking but I'm currently thinking in addition to another Giant Asian (hopefully a female this time) I want my next species to be a budwing mantis.  

 
Allthingsterrarium said:
I found a breeder's website where I can get on a waitlist for several neat looking species. They have more Hierodula Membranaceas and the budwing Mantis looks really cool!
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I highly recommend H. membranacea! Easy to care for and handle. Budwings will eventually get added to my collection at some point. :)

If you haven't already done so, find the breeder's name in the Feedback section. You may save yourself A LOT of frustration. :)

 
Synapze said:
I highly recommend H. membranacea! Easy to care for and handle. Budwings will eventually get added to my collection at some point. :)

If you haven't already done so, find the breeder's name in the Feedback section. You may save yourself A LOT of frustration. :)
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Awesome! Lee was a mebranacea and he turned out excellently so I wouldn't mind getting another in addition to something else. I'm not sure of the breeder's name but the website is called mantidkingdom. 

 
If you are buying from DeShawn, you are getting good products! I got my first exotic nymphs from him. The budwings are awesome!

- MantisGirl13

 
MantisGirl13 said:
If you are buying from DeShawn, you are getting good products! I got my first exotic nymphs from him. The budwings are awesome!

- MantisGirl13
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She's right! He is great.

Allthingsterrarium said:
Giant Asian (hopefully a female this time) I want my next species to be a budwing mantis.  
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I have both now, they are so cute mine are nymphs still ? 

 
River Dane said:
@Allthingsterrarium PanTerraPets has H. venosa listed, but they’re currently out of stock. And as everyone else said, MantidKindom is a great place to order from in my experience. 

You can find all reviews for pretty much everyone in the Breeder Feedback section. 

Sorry for your loss, but have fun choosing a new mantis!
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Thanks River Dane! And Oh wow that's incredible! I'll keep an eye on their stock! That would be a gorgeous addition to have one day. I'll go check out the feedback section too as I found another site selling Polyspilota Griffinii nymphs that look gorgeous. I think after checking the feedback on these sites I wouldn't mind getting on wait lists for a couple different species :)

 

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