# leaving mantids for periods of time



## worldofmantis

Well i think i have found a way for me to go on long trips without worrying about my mantids. I go outside and catch my mantises live food at night and I hasve found a bug that the mantises prefer over other bugs i catch but i dont know what they are and dont have a picture. They kinda look like ear wigs without the pincher. Well I put them in my mantids cage and i noticed that they were mating and laying eggs in the sponge I have in there to keep moisture. Well the next day there were 6 of em. So I am going to kings island for 5 days. If the earwigs keep multiplying they should be fine. Also i turned the night lamp on so there metabolism slows. Its also to keep the water from evaporating. It seems to be working for now.


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## Samzo

Good idea, i think mantids can survive 5 days with out anything though, depends species i guess. do u reckon u could post a pic when u get back?


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## worldofmantis

I dont have a digital camera. But i jsut found a wild either chinese or carolina mantis. By just looking at it it appears to be male . It is bright green wings can fly and has little white dots on it. Roughly 3 and a half inches


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## Samzo

wow nice one, u need a digi cam :lol:


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## worldofmantis

yea but i examined its segments and it gets even ebtter. Its a female!!!


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## Leah

> Good idea, i think mantids can survive 5 days with out anything though, depends species i guess. do u reckon u could post a pic when u get back?


It does depend on the species, and can be MUCH longer. Usually the small nymphs cant go more than about 10 days, but larger mantids can go quite a bit longer if they had to.


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## worldofmantis

from what ive read so far its a carolina mantis. Cant wait for the ooths


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## Samzo

Oh cool


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## Samzo

I have to say im quite envious because I keep hearing "just found a.... species in my garden". and like Ian said, "the most exotic thing uk has is a slug" :lol:


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## PseudoDave

We have the good ol' garden snail, not native, so i guess we do have exotic species, the only difference being that they're not generally exotics you have the urge to keep, generally just wishing they wouldnt be on your pathway after rain


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## Samzo

lol yeah


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## Jesse

S. carolina does not get 3"+ and the females can't fly, they have brachypterous wings (halfwings). Females get 2.5" max and males top off at 2" and are extremely good flyers. You probably have a chinese mantid.


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## Rick

They will be fine for five days. Put some moist substrate in there to keep the humidity good.


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## nympho

mantis can survive many weeks (maybe many months) without food; far longer than a few days. Insects are cold blooded, and most hibernate over winter without feeding or drinking. They can also go a long time without water, as they have water tight skin and extremely efficient excretion, ie their poo is very dry and they don't urinate. Insects are generally the most highly adapted of all animals for dry conditions, which accounts for much of their success as land animals and mantids are no exception. Incidentally I think there is a myth that mantids always need high humidity. Some perhaps do ie the rainforest species like the orchid mantis but many bred in captivity live in arid semi desert or savanna countries in the wild, like india or kenya so they are adapted to go without drinking and to get all of their moisture from prey captures which are usually few and far between. IMO alot of problems in captivity may result from excessive and inappropriate artificial heat combined with unnaturally low humidity at the wrong time, ie night, when they choose to moult. It may be cooler and more humid in the wild at those times, which may benifit the animal when the skin has not developed its normal imperviousness to water. Extra humidity is needed in captivity due to the cage being 'cut off' from daily humidy fluctuations.


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## Johnald Chaffinch

> I have to say im quite envious because I keep hearing "just found a.... species in my garden". and like Ian said, "the most exotic thing uk has is a slug" :lol:


nothing exotic, but there's an amazing variety in the UK it's always surprising me


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## Samzo

> I have to say im quite envious because I keep hearing "just found a.... species in my garden". and like Ian said, "the most exotic thing uk has is a slug" :lol:
> 
> 
> 
> nothing exotic, but there's an amazing variety in the UK it's always surprising me
Click to expand...

I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean. Do you mean outside wildlife or captive bred exotics?


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## Johnald Chaffinch

i mean in woodlands, countrside and everywhere. there's thousands upon thousands of different species' in the UK. most of them are tiny, for instance i caught a 'rare' jumping spider the other day ( they're all really really tiny) and have been studying it and it's behaviour is as interesting if not more so than a mantids. everyone get your magnifying glasses out


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## Samzo

> i mean in woodlands and countrside, and everywhere, there's thousands upon thousands of different species' in the UK. i think size is a big issue here, for instance i caught a jumping spider the other day ( they're all really tiny) and have been studying it and it's behaviour is as interesting if not more so than a mantids. everyone get your magnifying glasses out


Oh I see, well i said "exotic" like, you don't see a wild chameleon on an oak tree do you?


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## Johnald Chaffinch

haha, no you dont. that's why i said there's



> nothing exotic, but there's an amazing variety in the UK, it's always surprising me


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## Samzo

> haha, no you dont. that's why i said there's
> 
> 
> 
> nothing exotic, but there's an amazing variety in the UK, it's always surprising me
Click to expand...

sorry, mis-read


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## Johnald Chaffinch

coolo. i've just got a 6mp camera that does incredible macro pics and videos so i'll show you some of the amazing species we've got here


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## Samzo

You talking to me? I live in Uk if you are..


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## Johnald Chaffinch

yeah i know :wink:


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## Samzo

lol ok


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## Orin

> Good idea, i think mantids can survive 5 days with out anything though, depends species i guess. do u reckon u could post a pic when u get back?


Keep in mind that even if they survive a while without food they may still be too week to make it through the next molt or have molt issues that kill them in the next molt. --&gt;Previous starvation could kill them months later.


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## Johnald Chaffinch

*i've ran out of food for my mantids and am wondering if there's anything i can easily catch at this time of year that will suffice until fruit flies arrive?*

i was thinking maybe hand feeding segments of worm?

i know it's probably not especially nutritious but would that be okay?

would orchids be okay with that?


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## Rib

> *i've ran out of food for my mantids and am wondering if there's anything i can easily catch at this time of year that will suffice until fruit flies arrive?*i was thinking maybe hand feeding segments of worm?
> 
> i know it's probably not especially nutritious but would that be okay?
> 
> would orchids be okay with that?


when theres a livefood shortage, and if they really are going hungry you can feed them chicken. I have never had to do it myself, but plenty of people have. In fact I read recently on here that some guy is feeding his mantis cat food, and the mantis is doing very well.


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