# my mantis need food



## woo boo hui wan (Jun 20, 2008)

hi i dont frequent this forum much but i know you are all experts when it comes to this. i have about 25 iris oratoria mantis, i had a fruit fly culture and it ran out no more flies. i went to go buy another at the store and they wont have any for a week or more. i called another store and you have to pre order and wait 4 days. what else can i feed them, the store had meal worms? crickets( which i dont like they hide in the cracks in my cage) and thats it. is there a way to catch flys from outside, the mantis range in size from half inch to and inch maybe a tiny bit bigger. any helps will be appreciated. id like the mantis not to eat each other until i get food.


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## Al&Nathan (Jun 20, 2008)

I am in San Diego, and I buy my fruit flies from pets carrying reptiles. Every reptile speciality stores that I visit have them.


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 20, 2008)

You can go outside and catch plenty for a mantis that size, grubs, slugs, worms, moths, bees, wasps, anything other than ants, crickets, grasshoppers, bla bla bla! You get the picture, and Hey, why not stick around and be part of us?


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## woo boo hui wan (Jun 20, 2008)

i am closer to LA about 30 mins south, and like i said i go to a store (reptile store) and they usually have some but dont have anymore. i called all the other places near me and all i have to wait at least 3 days. i need food today. well i needed it yesterday they havent been fed for 2 days now and i know there hungry. is there any easy way to catch flys outside thats all i need. theres flys out there, but i cant catch them with my hand.


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## woo boo hui wan (Jun 20, 2008)

hey hibiscussmile (mine are in bloom right now), thanks thats what i wanted to hear. just making sure they will eat other things. i knew they would now i just have to figure out how to catch them alive. its 110 outside right now and not much is flying around!

i try to check the forum as much as i can im pretty busy most of the time though


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 20, 2008)

Too hot there for me! I stay her, 90 is much better, you can always dig up some worms. They will eat them if they get hungry enough, I use a big net for kids I get atthe dollar store, you cam make one pretty easily, but at the temp u have I would not be running around with a net outside  , the little men in white will have a net big enough for you too! :lol: 

ps what colors have you got?


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## woo boo hui wan (Jun 20, 2008)

yea 90 is still hot. but thats what u get when u live in southern california. it doesnt bother me much but the bugs dont come out on days like this, sucks for macro photography.

ps i have red, white, peach, and another that hasent bloomed a friend gave me.


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## Birdfly (Jun 20, 2008)

Make your self a pooter (aspirator) and a sweep net and go check your hedgerows, fields, meadows etc, you will be surprised what is lurking a few cms down out of the direct sun and heat.

Forrest edges and clearings might also yield ?


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## OGIGA (Jun 20, 2008)

They're going to have each other as food. I hope they're big enough to be able to eat things you can catch outside.


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## Birdfly (Jun 21, 2008)

Field plankton are usually fairly small arthropods but you would still have to sift through it to sort out any larger or dangerous critters


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## woo boo hui wan (Jun 21, 2008)

sadly i watched as a bigger one at a smaller one yesterday. i cant catch enough food. id have to be out all day in the heat searching for bugs to barely get enough. i need a way to trap bugs alive, theres gotta be a way.


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## OGIGA (Jun 21, 2008)

If you need fruit flies, put a piece of orange peel outside in the shade. I'm not sure how long it takes, but that's how I got my flying fruit flies.

If you need larger flies, I'm afraid you'll have to put something stinky outside.

Also, try feeding them tuna. I never tried but others have. Yes, canned tuna.


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## Dwaink (Jun 21, 2008)

woo boo hui wan said:


> sadly i watched as a bigger one at a smaller one yesterday. i cant catch enough food. id have to be out all day in the heat searching for bugs to barely get enough. i need a way to trap bugs alive, theres gotta be a way.


[SIZE=10pt]Hi,[/SIZE]

Try this i am sure you have a jar or other container. Use the the old sheet method. Go out at night "much cooler" and spread a white sheet out propped up maybe between two chairs, set a light behind it. As you know at night it will attract allot of bugs. Capture in jar or other container. You will be surprised at what appears, some times even a mantis.

Regards


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## MantidLord (Jun 21, 2008)

Or just go catch some aphids. Go out to a plant (usually green with to pesticides used), or even some weeds, and look for some small, fat, slow, green or purple insects. My mantids usually feed on those (if they are small enough) if there are no ffs left. You'll find somethin. They do.


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## The_Asa (Jun 21, 2008)

Ah, a perfect time to again spread my not so popular method. I have found that mantids will eat practically anything. YOu can handfeed them hamburger, tuna, bananas, honey, ham, meatloaf, and basically any other meat you can find. Depending on the species of mantid, the mantids may have trouble with the new food, but they'll get used to it. Also, it does take some more time to handfeed them, but a method that often works for me is to stick a small amount of the food on a toothpick or other utensil and wave it in front of the mantids.


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## woo boo hui wan (Jun 21, 2008)

thanks again for everyones replys, i have time tomarrow and will try just about anything i can. ooooh the light method i like it. even if i dont find food lots of good macro opportunity's. i might go try that right now.


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## OGIGA (Jun 22, 2008)

Oh yeah, I forgot. Use honey. It works really well. Just swipe a little bit on their arm and they'll lick it up. Just don't put too much and make them stick to everything. And make sure the honey is really honey, not "honey flavored syrup" or anything.


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## woo boo hui wan (Jun 22, 2008)

wow thats cool. i was surprised when i was told tuna lol. i put some banana in there once to feed the fruit flies and mantis got stuck to it lol. i had to take it out. well today is gonna be food catch day, at least until i take off to the zoo for some photography.


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## Joe Caruso (Jun 28, 2008)

This is all very confusing. I was just told on the general forum that hand-feeding was not practical, and that anything but live insects was a no-no.


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