# Ghost breeding?



## mantisfan101 (Oct 15, 2019)

This was the first species I attempted to breed but failed. Any tips on how to do it? The male ime was always really skittish and didn’t know what he was doing


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## Budwing (Oct 15, 2019)

Feed the females up and put the males in. I never had any problem breeding mine. After they were 2 weeks mature they just done their own thing,  constantly. Every time I looked in a male was breeding with a different female. Then everything stopped and a few days later the females started laying.

I had mine in a communial set up. The males did their job but were eaten after the females laid around the third ootheca. I kept the temps between 22 and 26°C. Iv around 8 ooths and the first laid just hatched he other day.

Iv heard they can be skittish, thankfully I neveer had that problem with them.


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## mantisfan101 (Oct 15, 2019)

Thanks for the help! Were there are particular feeders that helped stimulate them to mate or did anything work?


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## Budwing (Oct 16, 2019)

Their best kept on blue bottles and flying insects, mine had a varied mix of small crickets, pallid roaches, wax moths, blue bottles and obviously fruitflies when they were smaller.  I dont think these foods would stimulate breeding as it would be more to do with the age of the mantis and temperatures. If the female isnt well fed beforehand she can eat the male no problem so make sure she isnt hungry. They love blue bottles and house flies. Leave a few in the enclosure when the male is in there.


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 18, 2019)

I do feed mine blue bottle flies  and sometime s I give the girls a superwom when getting the male in there. They typically do

fine together. I just last night had a male eat after  weeks becoming adult and he never ate before, don't know why, I put him with

a female and nothing. but last night for some reason he ate. Go figure.


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## Budwing (Oct 18, 2019)

My males only ate a couple of blue bottles and a pallid roach each then never touched anything else. They were very thin but still active up until they became snarf for the females.


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## mantisfan101 (Oct 18, 2019)

Ok, tried introducing the male snd this guy doesn’t waste his time. He jumped on but he’s not really making any attempts; would it be ok to leave them together over night or no? Really don’t want to lose this guy as he’s my only one


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 19, 2019)

mantisfan101 said:


> Ok, tried introducing the male snd this guy doesn’t waste his time. He jumped on but he’s not really making any attempts; would it be ok to leave them together over night or no? Really don’t want to lose this guy as he’s my only one


I'm sure you've already figured this out, but yes, they should be ok overnight if the female is well-fed. 

- MantisGirl13


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## Budwing (Oct 23, 2019)

Get him out the second you see her laying an ooth and feed her up again if you want to hang onto him. My ghost females always eat the male straight after they lay an ooth.


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## mantisfan101 (Oct 23, 2019)

Thank you all for your help! Also, it seems that he keeps trying but I was told that the female is unwilling/won’t let him mate with her and that I should wait a couple more says/a week. I hope that this doesn’t sound too dumb but would it be ok to still try mating them? Also, how long do male ghosts generally live? I think mine’s 4 weeks old.


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 23, 2019)

If the female is unwilling, then she could be preparing to lay an ooth. Wait a few days, and try again. Male ghosts usually live around 8 weeks. 

- MantisGirl13


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## mantisfan101 (Oct 23, 2019)

Thank you! Also, the female is only 3 weeks old, would she be ready to lay an ooth this early? I don’t know if my male would be able to last that long then...


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 23, 2019)

Ya, that's around the right time for her to lay. She can mate a day after she lays, but you can keep trying in the meantime!

- MantisGirl13


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## Jaywo (Oct 23, 2019)

@Mantis101, as I stated before, you can keep them at 75-80n degrees and spray them twice a week with good ventilation. Males fly, they are skittish sometimes. I kept them in a quiet place before. Feed female before intro . 

you can try to mate them now. As always, not everyone is successful at matings even the most experienced. Personally, I've failed many times.


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## Jaywo (Oct 23, 2019)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Ya, that's around the right time for her to lay. She can mate a day after she lays, but you can keep trying in the meantime!
> 
> - MantisGirl13


It is later than that I thought. Usually 5-6 weeks time. 4 weeks is when the females generally mature. At least in my experience. I've heard that they can lay ooths earlier but not in the ones I have had.


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## mantisfan101 (Oct 24, 2019)

Jaywo said:


> It is later than that I thought. Usually 5-6 weeks time. 4 weeks is when the females generally mature. At least in my experience. I've heard that they can lay ooths earlier but not in the ones I have had.


Interesting never heard that before. Anyways by now she should be mature but I’ll continue to fatten her up. Also, for this particular male, how long does he usually take to connect with the female?


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 24, 2019)

I've had females lay at 3 weeks. Connection can take anywhere from a few minutes (unlikely to fertilize the female) to 7 or more hours. 

- MantisGirl13


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## mantisfan101 (Oct 24, 2019)

Ok tried introducing him to her tonight and he’s on her but he’s made little to no attempts to try and insert. Should I wait a little bit longer? I’m mostly concerned about losing the male before it’s too late, but the female doesn’t seem to mind him. How long does it usually take for ghosts to actually connect?


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## Jaywo (Oct 24, 2019)

I think its ok to just let them hang together. Sometimes mating happens at night. In the morning put them in a very well sunlit area and see if that helps. Give thema spray to bring humidity up a bit too.


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## mantisfan101 (Oct 24, 2019)

I think that’s all I can do at this point. I saw him try to connect and he almost did but the little flanges on his abdomen got in the way...would she be ok? Would she try to eat the male? The biggest container I’ve got is a 40 oz container. I’ve fed her a mealworm everyday since I got her.


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## hysteresis (Oct 24, 2019)

Ive only paired em twice. Paradoxa once, illudens once. Just made sure they were fed (the male, to male ghosts standards). 

Put them in a Dollar Store bin each time. No issue. But, ive heard of stories both ways. Once even, a male started chewing on a female. Terrible.

But typically, they do the jiggy and alls good.


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## mantisfan101 (Oct 24, 2019)

Would a bottlefly and a fruitbfly in the past week suffice for the male? The female’s been given a mealworm daily.


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## hysteresis (Oct 24, 2019)

An adult ghost shouldnt be eating ff. Itd be better w 2 or 3 BBF, but realistically 2. We take 1 if we have to though. Give him a gooooood drink and feed him another BBF. The drink is most important.


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## mantisfan101 (Oct 25, 2019)

The ff was just a little treat for the male that I had on hand. Ill  try giving him a piece of a mealworm today. I woke up this morning and I think my alarm had startled the male because next thing I know he started flying and skittering around the container like crazy. I don’t think that they successfully copulated, so I’ll try to reconnect them tonight and see how it goes.


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