# Mantis eats Anole



## Mvalenz (Feb 6, 2013)

Well, the pet store has been out of crix for a week now and they say they may not get any for a while. I'm almost out of roaches, so I went to the pet store to find my girl something to eat. I came across this Anole and figured she could take it. I placed them on my table and what transpired was this:

http://youtu.be/Qwt06Y4kqGQ

I have heard of them running across each other in the wild, so I figured why not.


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## TheOtherSpecies (Feb 6, 2013)

That's is awesome! Is it healthy for them is the ? I know lizards carry certain parasites and so forth.


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## Malakyoma (Feb 6, 2013)

TheOtherSpecies said:


> That's is awesome! Is it healthy for them is the ? I know lizards carry certain parasites and so forth.


Im sure its healthier than crix. crix are pretty disgusting.


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## Mime454 (Feb 6, 2013)

I only do this if one of my rarer mantids is starving. Something about feeding vertebrates off in a way that seems immensely painful feels immoral to me.


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## Paradoxica (Feb 6, 2013)

She's like "This is for eating all those nymphs!"


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## D_Hemptress (Feb 6, 2013)

wow, she was chowing down on the insides. slurpin em down like spaghetti


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## lancaster1313 (Feb 6, 2013)

It makes me sad.

If it happens in the wild, that is one thing, but I couldn't make it happen under my roof.

I would only do this if I were desparate for feeders and I would certainly crush its brain first.

I end up killing one every once in a while if my cat is playing with one and it is mortally wounded.  

I would never want to be alive and awake to experience my disembowelment.


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## sally (Feb 6, 2013)

holy mantis! awww poor anole ouch. she is really strong. i did not know mantids could digest anoles, obviously they can handle most anything


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## D_Hemptress (Feb 6, 2013)

and its the circle of liiiiife. *in my lion king singing voice*


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## TheOtherSpecies (Feb 6, 2013)

Malakyoma said:


> Im sure its healthier than crix. crix are pretty disgusting.


Not nearly as cheap though! Plus I'm not big on lizards!


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## Brojangles (Feb 6, 2013)

hahaha the ending had me choking with the roarrrrrrrrrrr  nice.


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## Gill (Feb 6, 2013)

Mercifully it is illegal in the UK to cause unnecessary suffering to animals.


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## D_Hemptress (Feb 6, 2013)

Gill said:


> Mercifully it is illegal in the UK to cause unnecessary suffering to animals.


its illegal in the states to cause "unnecessary harm" to animals as well. he wasnt doing anything... an animal killed and ate another animal! which happens all over the world. this is a rough topic, everyone has an opinion.


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## Malakyoma (Feb 6, 2013)

Gill said:


> Mercifully it is illegal in the UK to cause unnecessary suffering to animals.


I'm guessing you guys aren't allowed to keep reptiles and feed them live food then. and I'm guessing you're all vegetarians since slaughterhouses seem to be illegal too. Do you arrest wild hawks as well?

What was shown in the video was not cruelty. He fed his mantis, which needs to eat. Just like you and I.


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## lancaster1313 (Feb 6, 2013)

It wouldn't have bothered me a bit if the mantis, or someone, could have dispatched the lizard a bit sooner.

I feed live and dead mice and rats to my snake, but she kills quick.

I don't have a problem with the video, I just couldn't enjoy it, or do the same thing.

It only made me sad and I voiced my opinion.


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## D_Hemptress (Feb 6, 2013)

likebugs said:


> It wouldn't have bothered me a bit if the mantis, or someone, could have dispatched the lizard a bit sooner.
> 
> I feed live and dead mice and rats to my snake, but she kills quick.
> 
> ...


everyone is entitled to their opinion. although i find the video very interesting, i dont know if i would do this if i got desperate enough for feeders. i saw a video of a mantis catching and eating a hummingbird and it broke my heart. but like i said, its the circle of life


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## Malakyoma (Feb 6, 2013)

D_Hemptress said:


> everyone is entitled to their opinion. although i find the video very interesting, i dont know if i would do this if i got desperate enough for feeders. i saw a video of a mantis catching and eating a hummingbird and it broke my heart. but like i said, its the circle of life


I wouldn't feed lizards. I would feed feeder goldfish though if I was short on food.


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## D_Hemptress (Feb 6, 2013)

That, i would do!  



Malakyoma said:


> I wouldn't feed lizards. I would feed feeder goldfish though if I was short on food.


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## lancaster1313 (Feb 6, 2013)

I would have no problem trying out smaller finishable fish, like guppies.  

Then I would give the mantis a nice bath. I don't want them to smell like they were out fishing all day.

I don't like to see any waste of life if I can help it. Smaller = finished, usually.


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## D_Hemptress (Feb 6, 2013)

i can dig it.



likebugs said:


> I would have no problem trying out smaller finishable fish, like guppies.
> 
> Then I would give the mantis a nice bath. I don't want them to smell like they were out fishing all day.
> 
> I don't like to see any waste of life if I can help it. Smaller = finished, usually.


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## Mvalenz (Feb 6, 2013)

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I see no problem in doing this. She was hungry and she ate almost the whole thing except the spine and skull. To be honest she could of ate two more probably. She still looks thin after one. Like mentioned earlier they are not too cost efficient as a feeder. She did love the anole and seems to be doing fine right now. I may feed all my girls an anole after laying an ooth for an extra protein meal and treat. I had a much longer video to begin with where the Anole jumps on her back. She immediately went into what looked like a mating stance because she thought it was a male trying to mate. I edited it out for time. It was funny though. The longer vid is much more graphic too.


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## TheOtherSpecies (Feb 6, 2013)

In the end we are all human and each and everyone of us has a heart that feels differently. Great video and nice to see you didn't just feed it the Anole to feed it the Anole. Thanks for sharing!


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## Mvalenz (Feb 6, 2013)

I thought it was interesting that she has never seen an anole before in her life and she instinctively new how to control the anole by hold by holding it's limbs. Like she has been dealing with anoles her whole life. She also caught it in midair too. impressive to say the least.


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## BugLover (Feb 6, 2013)

likebugs said:


> I would have no problem trying out smaller finishable fish, like guppies.
> 
> Then I would give the mantis a nice bath. I don't want them to smell like they were out fishing all day.
> 
> I don't like to see any waste of life if I can help it. Smaller = finished, usually.


Petco/ Petsmart sells rosy red minnows for 15 cents


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## lancaster1313 (Feb 6, 2013)

I was frightened when it looked as if it was biting her and I stopped watching. I just couldn't do it, I am a softie, I guess. I felt for both of them.


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## Mvalenz (Feb 6, 2013)

likebugs said:


> I was frightened when it looked as if it was biting her and I stopped watching. I just couldn't do it, I am a softie, I guess. I felt for both of them.


The ending is the best part. fast forward to the end.


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## aNisip (Feb 6, 2013)

Malakyoma said:


> I'm guessing you guys aren't allowed to keep reptiles and feed them live food then. and I'm guessing you're all vegetarians since slaughterhouses seem to be illegal too. Do you arrest wild hawks as well?
> 
> What was shown in the video was not cruelty. He fed his mantis, which needs to eat. Just like you and I.


In the UK they have to feed their reptiles and such frozen rats and other frozen vertebrates...and in captivity WE have the control of what lives and dies and how they live and die; so if a rabbit is suffering while being eaten, its suffering in the owners care, therefore animal cruelty...in the wild, mother nature takes its course. I'm not taking sides just explaining another alternative instead of live food.

Sad video, but understandable; when I feed brown anoles to my knight anole, I usually pre-kill the them...when I don't the lizard suffers but for a lot less time then waiting to bleed out or drown in their own blood...


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## kunturman (Feb 6, 2013)

Anolis carolinensis, like the one in the menu, is becoming a harder to find reptilian in Southern Florida. It seems the non-native anoles are taking over, and other lizards like Curly tales and Basilicus are the T-rex's of the bunch. So, for some South Floridian members like moi, the menu is politically incorrect. That said, interesting video showing that some mantis like (relleno) stuffing.


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## Krissim Klaw (Feb 6, 2013)

Is there a reason against not per-killing the lizard first? It seems like such a slow death for a vertebrate when it can be easily avoided.


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## Malakyoma (Feb 7, 2013)

Krissim Klaw said:


> Is there a reason against not per-killing the lizard first? It seems like such a slow death for a vertebrate when it can be easily avoided.


The mantis is probably much less likely to take it unless you cut it open and shove the blood in their face. Even when I jiggle a dead superworm around they dont care. doesn't look real enough to them. If its dead you need to coerce them more aggressively. Mantids are also well known for their ability t scout which part of an animal is the head and take that out first, which not only makes eating easier for the mantis, but also kills it quickly.


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## Mime454 (Feb 7, 2013)

I feed my my mantids recently dead mantids all the time. They take them actually quicker than live prey. It's so big that they know it will be a good meal.


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## Krissim Klaw (Feb 7, 2013)

Malakyoma said:


> The mantis is probably much less likely to take it unless you cut it open and shove the blood in their face. Even when I jiggle a dead superworm around they dont care. doesn't look real enough to them. If its dead you need to coerce them more aggressively. Mantids are also well known for their ability t scout which part of an animal is the head and take that out first, which not only makes eating easier for the mantis, but also kills it quickly.


The type of species that will take a lizard will have no issue with hand-feeding. A little wiggling with some forceps and they are happy to make a snag. I'm also not sure if you watched the video, but the mantis did not go anywhere near the head. I've never seen a mantis actively seek out the head unless it was getting bitten and thus decided it needed to deal with the biting end first. Most animals that need to rip their prey into pieces to eat do make a point of killing their prey first. Mantises however are not one of those creatures. All they care about is making sure they can get it restrained with their claws and then they eat at their own leisure.


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## Malakyoma (Feb 7, 2013)

Krissim Klaw said:


> The type of species that will take a lizard will have no issue with hand-feeding. A little wiggling with some forceps and they are happy to make a snag. I'm also not sure if you watched the video, but the mantis did not go anywhere near the head. I've never seen a mantis actively seek out the head unless it was getting bitten and thus decided it needed to deal with the biting end first. Most animals that need to rip their prey into pieces to eat do make a point of killing their prey first. Mantises however are not one of those creatures. All they care about is making sure they can get it restrained with their claws and then they eat at their own leisure.


I know this time the mantis didnt go after the head, but from watching all of mine eat they will often strike at the head and take it out first


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## lancaster1313 (Feb 7, 2013)

Malakyoma said:


> I know this time the mantis didnt go after the head, but from watching all of mine eat they will often strike at the head and take it out first


Your mantids must be a more civilized bunch than Klaw's and mine. I have watched many catch and eat their prey for the past couple of years and they really don't care to bite the head unless that is what is closest or if it is trying to bite them. Sometimes they carry on eating the rear end or a leg, even when they are being bitten, as demonstrated in the video.

I wouldn't have gone so far as to post this, but I seem to have reached my quota of positive votes for the day: Amamantodea has made a point about the species, I miss seeing the _Anolis carolinensis _that was common down here when I was a child. It is now replaced by many invasive species.


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## Rick (Feb 7, 2013)

Some people feel pretty strongly against this topic so don't be surprised if we have to shut it down.


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