Giant Asian Mantis acting strange

[Louby]

Hi, this is going to be a really weird question but my giant Asian mantis called Buddy seems to be acting really strangely. She has just gone completely hyper and whenever I pick up her enclosure she gets very excited and seems to be wanting to get out, she even ignored a fly because she was so focused on me (Which is really not like her). I have had her out twice today and she has been a bit more hyper but still fine and happily running around on me, it just seems to be when she is back in her enclosure. I was wondering if this is normal behaviour or if it's something that could be upsetting her? Thank you in advance for any advice, or reassurance you can give me.

 

[GingerC]

With my own giant Asian mantis, I've noticed he gets more active due to stress/rough handling, but with that said as a nymph he was never still for very long... always happy to step from hand to hand and climb on/jump to every moving surface.

He also started making great escapes when he outgrew the deli cup I housed him in, and would start running like crazy whenever the enclosure was moved. Are you absolutely certain the cage is at least three times Buddy's length in height and twice her length wide?

If so, maybe she's just developing into a hyper mantis. Just remember not to bump her when transferring from hand to hand, as that seems to annoy the li'l buggers a lot.

 

[Jessie]

Mine is kinda the same way. She loves to be out more then her cage. Most of mine do. I think its the bond people have with the mantis personally.

 

[Zeppy44]

Sounds like either the habitat is not very interesting or maybe too small habitat for new size. I have Not raised them but aren't they predatory mantis rather than ambush. Wouldn't a larger mantis like this want a bigger area to hunt and explore? Just my still noobie thoughts.

 

[indominus]

When I first started taking care of mantids I noticed this as well. So I tried different things to get them to relax and in my experience here is what i've noticed: they become hyper when they become hungry and need to track food, humidity/temp issues, can't find a good place to hang, need more space to climb higher or if they are looking to start shedding they become restless till you remove all the live feed in their container. I personally just remove them from my live feed container to a shedding container with a good amount of leafless sticks with some sticks resting high above others so they have space to begin shedding in space. Most my mantis are brown but with green ones such as a Rainforest mantis I usually find some fake green vines/large fake leaf plants and fake bromelia type plants for their habitats. They usually act hyper like this as a nymph. My adult ones are mellow though. They don't need an enclosure, they just hang on a 7ft plant I have in my room and only move to maybe find a better spot to hang. I make sure I feed them frequently so they don't feel the need to leave however.