# Egg Bound... again



## Jaywo (Jan 7, 2019)

I'm just not doing something correctly. Lost my beautiful Orchid because she wouldn't lay her ooth and now my favorite Violin, Violet, is doing the same.

I got some advice from you all that if I let her roam, it might do the trick, so I made this set up. How many days should I leave her "out"? I let my Orchid in a another larger cage for four days and it didn't work. 

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for her. She is on the older side... about 14 months but seems content, she mated and eating up a storm.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 7, 2019)

I am sorry she is eggbound! I have a violin, Valentine, who is eggbound as well. Let me know if you find a solution, I really want Val to lay! She is young, and I want to get many ooths out of her but I am afraid I cannot now!

- MantisGirl13


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## Jaywo (Jan 7, 2019)

MantisGirl13 said:


> I am sorry she is eggbound! I have a violin, Valentine, who is eggbound as well. Let me know if you find a solution, I really want Val to lay! She is young, and I want to get many ooths out of her but I am afraid I cannot now!
> 
> - MantisGirl13


I'll let you know if the whole, outdoor indoor trick works for her. Sorry about Val. Just sucks to seem them so uncomfortable.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 7, 2019)

Jaywo said:


> I'll let you know if the whole, outdoor indoor trick works for her. Sorry about Val. Just sucks to seem them so uncomfortable.


Thanks! I know, I hate to see them eggbound! I think I may have kept her a bit too warm so she became eggbound.   

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jan 7, 2019)

I am wondering: Do they choose not to lay their eggs, or is it something else? 

Cochise was eggbound after her first ooth, she never layed a second. I hope your mantids will both lay soon @MantisGirl13and @Jaywo


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 7, 2019)

Little Mantis said:


> I am wondering: Do they choose not to lay their eggs, or is it something else?
> 
> Cochise was eggbound after her first ooth, she never layed a second. I hope your mantids will both lay soon @MantisGirl13and @Jaywo


I don't think anyone know what causes mantids to be eggbound

- MantiGirl13


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## Graceface (Jan 7, 2019)

In Orin's book, Keeping the Praying Mantis, he says:

"It is possible to induce a picky female. If a mated female has a greatly expanded abdomen and seems overdue, misting a few times a day to increase the humidity may work. If higher humidity does not help, she can be moved to a larger cage, placed in a terrarium with multiple laying areas, or 'free ranged' on a houseplant. Sometimes she will find a good spot within a half hour. If, after a few days and environments, she still refuses to lay, you can try restricting her feeding or mating her again. Allowing her to process the food already in the abdomen may help since extreme obesity can be a culprit. If none of these work, there is probably nothing that can be done."

Hope that helps you guys! Good luck with the ooth laying


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## Jaywo (Jan 7, 2019)

Graceface said:


> In Orin's book, Keeping the Praying Mantis, he says:
> 
> "It is possible to induce a picky female. If a mated female has a greatly expanded abdomen and seems overdue, misting a few times a day to increase the humidity may work. If higher humidity does not help, she can be moved to a larger cage, placed in a terrarium with multiple laying areas, or 'free ranged' on a houseplant. Sometimes she will find a good spot within a half hour. If, after a few days and environments, she still refuses to lay, you can try restricting her feeding or mating her again. Allowing her to process the food already in the abdomen may help since extreme obesity can be a culprit. If none of these work, there is probably nothing that can be done."
> 
> Hope that helps you guys! Good luck with the ooth laying


Oh, yes, I just read it again in his book. Thank you so much for the reminder. I will restrict the diet as that is the very last resort I have. I really do not know why they become eggbound. If I had to guess, it's probably something in the environment that isn't right but sometimes there are just too many factors to determine what they are.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 8, 2019)

Thanks, @Graceface! I have been misting her more often and such, but I need to find a good place to let her free-range as she cannot grip most of the surfaces in my bedroom and I don't want her to fall.

- MantisGirl13


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## Jaywo (Jan 8, 2019)

Violet laid her ooth today! So happy. I guess the being out for awhile did help her.


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## hysteresis (Jan 8, 2019)

Jaywo said:


> Violet laid her ooth today! So happy. I guess the being out for awhile did help her.


Congratulations! 

What relief you must feel. (her too! )


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## Jaywo (Jan 8, 2019)

hysteresis said:


> Congratulations!
> 
> What relief you must feel. (her too! )


So very relieved. I don't even care about the ooth. I just didn't want her to die prematurely.


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## Jaywo (Jan 8, 2019)

@MantisGirl13 Violet laid a massive one today that was at least 2". I took the make out of the room, "freeranged" her and increased heat and humidity. I notices she kept trying to climb towards the light bulb and when she did, she would just tuck herself under it. It was very hot so I increased the heat and she laid her ooth later in the evening after basking in the heat all day.


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## hysteresis (Jan 8, 2019)

Jaywo said:


> So very relieved. I don't even care about the ooth. I just didn't want her to die prematurely.


Oh for sure. We invest too much energy and hope into these little animals to not give them every opportunity to succeed.

Hope your ooth is fertile and you have many baby nymphs!


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 9, 2019)

Yay!! Congratulations! How long had she been eggbound?

- MantisGirl13


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## Jaywo (Jan 9, 2019)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Yay!! Congratulations! How long had she been eggbound?
> 
> - MantisGirl13


If I had to guess, maybe 2-3 weeks.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 9, 2019)

Ok, then there is still hope for my Valentine! I will set up a giant net cage for her and put lots of sticks in. Can we see a picture of the proud momma of a giant ooth?

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jan 9, 2019)

Jaywo said:


> So very relieved. I don't even care about the ooth. I just didn't want her to die prematurely.


Good she layed her ooth. Then she won't die



MantisGirl13 said:


> Ok, then there is still hope for my Valentine! I will set up a giant net cage for her and put lots of sticks in. Can we see a picture of the proud momma of a giant ooth?


 I hope valenine will lay soon too.


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## Graceface (Jan 9, 2019)

So glad to hear she finally laid her ooth! 

@MantisGirl13sending you good vibes for Valentine


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## Jaywo (Jan 9, 2019)

Little Mantis said:


> Good she layed her ooth. Then she won't die
> 
> I hope Valentine will lay soon too.


Giving Valentine my best.  Here is a pic of the ooth. Violet clearly missed the mark of the branch and just stayed in one place as she laid her ooth upside down and I tried to push it back on the branch. Hence the weird curvy shape.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 9, 2019)

Graceface said:


> So glad to hear she finally laid her ooth!
> 
> @MantisGirl13sending you good vibes for Valentine


Thanks!

- MantisGirl13


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## MantisGirl13 (Jan 9, 2019)

Jaywo said:


> Giving Valentine my best.  Here is a pic of the ooth. Violet clearly missed the mark of the branch and just stayed in one place as she laid her ooth upside down and I tried to push it back on the branch. Hence the weird curvy shape.
> 
> View attachment 11894


Weird shape, but I am sure she is glad to get it all out! 

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jan 9, 2019)

Jaywo said:


> Here is a pic of the ooth. Violet clearly missed the mark of the branch and just stayed in one place as she laid her ooth upside down and I tried to push it back on the branch. Hence the weird curvy shape.
> 
> View attachment 11894


that ooth is a piece of art is it a fertile one?


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## Jaywo (Jan 10, 2019)

Little Mantis said:


> that ooth is a piece of art is it a fertile one?


It should be fertile since she mated but then you never know until it hatches.It looks like that because she was at the end of the branch and didn't move up. Then she was done, I tried to stick it on the branch with my finger, hence the very weird shape. It's more my doing then hers.


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