# They haaaaaaatched!!!!!!!!!



## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

My spiny flower mantises that we’re aupposed to hatch on the 15th of December finally hatched! I had just given up hope on that batch but because of the cold weather they needed an extra two weeks!!!!

im so thrilled this is the very first hatch I ever got!

happy new year to ME!!!


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## hysteresis (Jan 2, 2019)

Well THAT happened fast.

I just ordered four spinys from my guy. 

Congratulations!


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## Cole 78 (Jan 2, 2019)

Wow! Congrats!


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## hysteresis (Jan 2, 2019)

I bet you're elated, @omar morsy!


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

I’m extactic! Elated, pumped and more! 

So far 35 Nymphs and counting.

i places them all in their individual pre-misted cups and will feed them tomorrow morning.

the journey continues!


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

So if im correct they should have at least 2 fruit flies at all times?


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 2, 2019)

Congrats on the hatch!!!! Feed them once a day or once every other day, just a few flies at a time. They don't need to have constant food unless there are more than one in a cage.

- MantisGirl13


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

Great advice so I’ll put 2 fruitflies every other day?


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

I think I’ll need a more automated approach.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 2, 2019)

omar morsy said:


> Great advice so I’ll put 2 fruitflies every other day?


That should be ok. Maybe feed half the mantids one day, the other half the next day and alternate so you are not feeding 30+ mantids every time?

- MantisGirl13


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## Graceface (Jan 2, 2019)

Super exciting! Congrats on the hatch. I know you are happy


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## hysteresis (Jan 2, 2019)

I dont envy you. LoL.

You're a super busy Dad.


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

Holy smokes another 20+ just hatched from the same Ooth! 

And that’s just one of 6 oothecas!!!

umm.....

Those 4 jars of fruit flies are going to be used!


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## hysteresis (Jan 2, 2019)

Haha! Busy man!


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

I’m out of cups bloody heck!!

how long do I have to separate the nymphs before they start canabolizing each other?


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## Cole 78 (Jan 2, 2019)

omar morsy said:


> I’m out of cups bloody heck!!
> 
> how long do I have to separate the nymphs before they start canabolizing each other?


They will start canabalizing at I think L3-4, just sepperate them ASAP and in the mean time, feed them a lot.


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

Got it thank you


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## hysteresis (Jan 2, 2019)

omar morsy said:


> I’m out of cups bloody heck!!


You can buy tiny deli (condiment) cups in the kitchen utensils aisle at Dollarama. You have Dollarama in MTL?


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

I do but typical Canadian BS, they just don’t sell em. I even went to Walmart and again nothing. So I ordered a bunch of 16 ounce cups. I’ll cut the lids and hot glue some very fine mesh. That’s what’s waiting for me first thing tomorrow morning.


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## hysteresis (Jan 2, 2019)

omar morsy said:


> I do but typical Canadian BS, they just don’t sell em. I even went to Walmart and again nothing. So I ordered a bunch of 16 ounce cups. I’ll cut the lids and hot glue some very fine mesh. That’s what’s waiting for me first thing tomorrow morning.


That's gonna be soooo much work. 

I'd like to find some of that filter paper they line vented 32 oz lids with. In sheets or rolls.


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

Yeah I’m going to be scrambling tomorrow to find a solution.


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

Right now I’ve separated them into 4 nymphs in each 16 ounce cup.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 2, 2019)

Cole 78 said:


> They will start canabalizing at I think L3-4, just sepperate them ASAP and in the mean time, feed them a lot.


No, they are able to cannibalize at L2 or even before if not provided with enough food. I do agree, separate them as soon as you can, but they should be fine for a few days. 

@omar morsy Congrats on the second 'round'!

- MantisGirl13


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

Ok great, it gives me enough time to organize everything.


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## hysteresis (Jan 2, 2019)

I'm very happy for you!


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## omar morsy (Jan 2, 2019)

hysteresis said:


> I'm very happy for you!


Thank you I’m super happy as well


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## Mantis Lady (Jan 3, 2019)

Congrats on the hatch.  the little nymphs will keep you busy


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## hysteresis (Jan 3, 2019)

Little Mantis said:


> Congrats on the hatch.  the little nymphs will keep you busy


With six ooths thats 300 spinys to feed.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 3, 2019)

hysteresis said:


> With six ooths thats 300 spinys to feed.


Assuming they all hatch and assuming they all hatch the same number!

- MantisGirl13


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## Jaywo (Jan 3, 2019)

That is a lot of Spiny's. Congrats!


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## hysteresis (Jan 3, 2019)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Assuming they all hatch and assuming they all hatch the same number!
> 
> - MantisGirl13


Even at half, i'd go _MENTAL_ raising 150 nymphs!


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## omar morsy (Jan 3, 2019)

It’s not so bad, it took me just 30 min to feed 61 nymphs. The only issue I’m facing now is 8 hours later and I still see 2 fruitflies per 16 ounce container. The mantises are not eating  

im hoping tomorrow I see at least 1 left.

i hope...


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## hysteresis (Jan 3, 2019)

omar morsy said:


> It’s not so bad, it took me just 30 min to feed 61 nymphs. The only issue I’m facing now is 8 hours later and I still see 2 fruitflies per 16 ounce container. The mantises are not eating
> 
> im hoping tomorrow I see at least 1 left.
> 
> i hope...




Remember, i'm still a novice. Don't take my advice unsupported by someone else.

Hydei are larger than melanogaster. What FF do you have?

Maybe 2X FF per nymph isn't enough, based on how densely distributed the FF are.

16 oz deli cups are too big for L1 nymphs IMO.

So three things:


are your FF too big for spinys?

is there enough FF density for your cups?

maybe you should look into 2 oz or 4 oz deli cups



@Aristalochia taught me to put 5X FF per nymph in the 4 oz deli cups. As I am using small mason jars (like a small standard marmalade jar), we increased that to 15X FF based on volume. They ate like crazy.

Just sharing my tiny bit of experience.


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## omar morsy (Jan 3, 2019)

Here is a picture of my set up. Should I add a boat load of fruit flies per container?

i always thought it was just 2 fruit flies per mantis? That more than 2 fruit flies would stress them out?


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## omar morsy (Jan 3, 2019)

As for the type of fruit flies ............I’m not sure what they are.... I’m sorry I know it’s rediculous but those were the only fruit flies available to me from my LPS.


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## hysteresis (Jan 3, 2019)

Those are hydei. As I understand it, might be too big. They're practically the size of your nymphs. 

Id say throw 5 or 6 in each cup so there's usually a ff in close. 

Those hydei will be perfect at L2 and L3.


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## omar morsy (Jan 3, 2019)

Ok I’ll do exactly that, I’ll add more so there are at least 6 fruit flies per Nymph. Thank you so much.


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## hysteresis (Jan 3, 2019)

omar morsy said:


> Ok I’ll do exactly that, I’ll add more so there are at least 6 fruit flies per Nymph. Thank you so much.


No guarantee, because we always hear that mantises will avoid prey that is too large compared to their own size. 

Different species are known to vary in this limit. Some are said to be _very_ brave like that, whereas others are extremely skittish.

Again, I feel foolish professing about newly hatched nymphs because i've fed zero new nymph babies in my life.


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## omar morsy (Jan 3, 2019)

Oh No!!!!

i have no access to any fruit flies smaller then these Hydeis! 

Anyone here have experience feeding these little guys?


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## hysteresis (Jan 3, 2019)

omar morsy said:


> As for the type of fruit flies ............I’m not sure what they are.... I’m sorry I know it’s ridiculous but those were the only fruit flies available to me from my LPS.


https://www.kijiji.ca/v-reptiles-amphibiens/longueuil-rive-sud/grande-variete-de-grenouilles-en-magasin/1406173235?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true.

You might also try small nymph springtails, but I dunno.


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## omar morsy (Jan 3, 2019)

hysteresis said:


> https://www.kijiji.ca/v-reptiles-amphibiens/longueuil-rive-sud/grande-variete-de-grenouilles-en-magasin/1406173235?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true.
> 
> You might also try small nymph springtails, but I dunno.


Thank you so much you guys are amazing! Truly!


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## omar morsy (Jan 3, 2019)

So I just added between 6 to 8 fruit flies per cup. And I re-misted the cups a second time 12 hours later today. 

The good news is I did see a couple of cups with no fruit flies in it at all!!!

but that’s just a couple out of 61 

in any case now they have 7 to 8 fruit flies per cup. I hope the fruit flies starve before the Nymphs do.

I contacted the kijiji frog breeder. Let’s hope he has melanogastor fruit flies.

cheers and thank you all again and again.


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## Graceface (Jan 4, 2019)

hysteresis said:


> Remember, i'm still a novice. Don't take my advice unsupported by someone else.
> 
> Hydei are larger than melanogaster. What FF do you have?
> 
> ...


I have no experience with Spinys, but I have hatched ooth and raised nymphs. 

16oz cups are definitely too big for individual nymphs of that size. I would keep them in 2 or 4oz portion cups, as @hysteresis mentioned. Restaurant supply stores typically have those in stock. I modified the lids of mine with a fine mesh.

Again, I haven't raised Spinys so I don't know how small they are but... You probably need Melanogasters, which are much smaller than Hydeii. My Ghosts needed Melanogasters at L1/2. I would feed 4 to 6 FF per nymph per feeding. 

Good luck!


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## hysteresis (Jan 4, 2019)

@Graceface ... L2/L3 ghosts and spinys should be okay with hydei?

I want to make sure i'm ready. Hope I don't need to get a melanogaster culture for eight nymphs.


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## omar morsy (Jan 4, 2019)

Well that’s my morning tomorrow. First thing I will do is find 2 or 4 ounce cups. Then call every single pet shop and go over kijiji to find melanogasters.

ill sort this out quick!


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## Graceface (Jan 4, 2019)

hysteresis said:


> @Graceface ... L2/L3 ghosts and spinys should be okay with hydei?
> 
> I want to make sure i'm ready. Hope I don't need to get a melanogaster culture for eight nymphs.


I can't speak for the Spinys, since I've never raised them. The Ghosts will be fine, though.


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## hysteresis (Jan 4, 2019)

Graceface said:


> I can't speak for the Spinys, since I've never raised them. The Ghosts will be fine, though.


Thank you.


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## Aristalochia (Jan 4, 2019)

Hey Omar Congrats, I told you not to give up! Hope you are having fun with your babies


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## omar morsy (Jan 4, 2019)

Aristalochia said:


> Hey Omar Congrats, I told you not to give up! Hope you are having fun with your babies


I totally am, it’s turning out to be one of my fav hobbies, don’t think I’ll ever go back to saltwater tanks. 

So the update of the day.

I found melanogasters!!!

a woman who lives 9 minutes away breeds them.

I blasted the heating to 78 Fahrenheit.

I then transferred all 60 Nymphs into 7 ounce wine cups. Added paper towel at the bottom. Mister it three times. Cut a small piece of popsicle stick and added about a dozen melanogasters in each cup. For a lid I used coffee filters and attached them with a rubber band.

Before I was done I saw about half of my Nymphs already munching away.

total success!

Thanx folks for all the advice. As you can see they don’t fall on deaf ears


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## Graceface (Jan 4, 2019)

Love the wine glasses! Cheers!


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## omar morsy (Jan 4, 2019)

CHEEEEEERS!!!

DING!


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## hysteresis (Jan 4, 2019)

omar morsy said:


> CHEEEEEERS!!!
> 
> DING!


I'd drink whiskey out of those, 100%.


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## Aristalochia (Jan 4, 2019)

Lookin good. Who needs a mescal worm when you have a mantids?


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## hysteresis (Jan 4, 2019)

Aristalochia said:


> Lookin good. Who needs a mescal worm when you have a mantids?


Yeeehhhhh


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 5, 2019)

It looks like you figured it out! I have never raised spinys yet, but I have a subadult pair that I hope to breed eventually! 

- MantisGirl13


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## hysteresis (Jan 7, 2019)

@omar morsy, any more ooth hatch yet?


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## omar morsy (Jan 7, 2019)

No not yet but I am expecting a second hatch by end of the week. The cooler weather has added a couple of weeks to each Ooth.

I already got all the cups ready though


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## hysteresis (Jan 7, 2019)

Amazing!


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 8, 2019)

omar morsy said:


> No not yet but I am expecting a second hatch by end of the week. The cooler weather has added a couple of weeks to each Ooth.
> 
> I already got all the cups ready though


Awesome! Keep us updated!

- MantisGirl13


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