# Tenodera sinensis: My Very First Time Raising Nymphs!



## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 11, 2016)

Hello everyone!

It has been a few days since my T. sinensis egg, that I thought was a dud, hatched! So far, they are doing absolutely phenomenal! When they hatched, I just selected 8 mantids right off the bat, waited 24 hours, and then fed them fruit flies.  The rest of the mantids that hatched I gave to friends who also wanted to take a nab at raising a little mantis, and my former science teacher who was interested in having them as class pets!

Here's some photos I snapped right after I separated them and introduced them to some large flightless fruit flies. Aren't they adorable??  :wub:  The last image is one of the mantids that grabbed that fruit fly it's eating in the image right after I threw in 4 more flies and doing housing maintenance. They are all stubborn little buggers, they love to hop around, and sprint.. Very active little critters. My goal is to try and get them to molt a little faster so I'm feeding them a little bit more, and I'm leaving them under a lamp where it gets comfortably warm. So far, they are doing great! And I think one might be on its way to molting as it's the only one that did not went straight for the fruit flies after changing their bedding/cleaning their containers.. And as I type this, it still hasn't touched a single one. The time has begun!!!    

I'll keep you all posted with more updates in the weeks to come as they get bigger and healthier with each and every molt!


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## LAME (Nov 11, 2016)

I suggest seperation within 3 or 4 days. they'll start to cannibalize by then. Mine always did.


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 11, 2016)

LAME said:


> I suggest seperation within 3 or 4 days. they'll start to cannibalize by then. Mine always did.


Thank you for the suggestion LAME! That's what I plan to do when I do my second round. This current hatch was a huge surprise for me, so I kinda scrambled to get all my supplies and had to rig some dollar store containers (Definitely recommend dollar stores.. They are container city when it comes to storage containers.. Best selection I've seen yet have been at dollar stores!) Over the winter when eggs will be more available online, I plan on buying a few ooths, hatch one again over the winter and try and keep them together for a few days that time, and then separate them. I still kind of have low hopes for this surprise bunch that hatched, mainly because I was so unprepared and I had to quick-rig stuff together to keep them in.  Rest of the ooths I plan on releasing into my yard in the spring and hope to make a summer time mantis story based on the mantids that hatch from the outdoor ooths!   I hope to have my neighborhood filled with these wonderful insects next summer as I've never ever seen mantids in my old neighborhood (I'm living in an apartment right now, plan on moving back to my parents, where I plan to really start my mantis collection as my dad loves them too, and plan to save up to buy property and build my own house.)


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 11, 2016)

Small quick update: Yeesh, these youngins are bug-eating machines.. I put in 4 fruit flies for each nymph in my 8 containers and every single one of those fatties ate every single one of those flies overnight.  :blink:  Man they are going to grow up so nice healthy   Going to wait a while, maybe a day or two to feed them again.. I don't want my mantids to pop from eating too much  :lol:


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## Digger (Nov 11, 2016)

How I love T. sinensis! I say they have the best personalities of any of 'em.  :clap: 

This is sub-adult male Orion happily watching TV, a few years ago:


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## CosbyArt (Nov 11, 2016)

@Storm&amp;bugfreak They look great, congrats!  Indeed they are eating machines, wait until they grow, it can be hard to keep up with them - I call them the hay burners of the insect world, bottomless pits always looking for more prey (the larger 4" adult size helps them with that too).  

Glad you tried the dollar stores, they are the best for selection and prices for habitat making - besides the cup method. The only suggestion is on misting, as it looks like they might be getting over watered - mist just enough that it evaporates in 30 minutes or less (to prevent mold/bacteria problems).

The Tenodera is a very inquisitive species, and one of the friendlier species too (even in the wild). Have fun and enjoy.


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 13, 2016)

@CosbyArt Thank you! Couple days later, and they're getting even bigger!  :blink:  I don't think they've molted yet, no skins laying around, but they are looking quite plump and I can see the smaller features on them now! I think they're close to molting though. They're moving slower now, and are ignoring the fruit flies with one out of 7 of them that's still eating. I hope to have some L2 nymphs in the next few days! If they all make it to L2, I'll be stoked! Means a better and stronger pets, and better chance for them to live a full and healthy life!   

EDIT: And yes, I noticed a lot of the mist wasn't evaporating and just stagnating over a couple days.. I just changed their bedding so they can have a clean environment to molt in and so it's not overly humid. This time I just sprayed 2-3 times in each container and made sure there were a couple spots where they could drink whenever. Now the waiting to L2 begins!


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 13, 2016)

Digger said:


> How I love T. sinensis! I say they have the best personalities of any of 'em.  :clap:
> 
> This is sub-adult male Orion happily watching TV, a few years ago:


 :wub:  They are something that's for sure. I remember when I was 8, just moved here from Seattle. We don't have these fellas there.. I was outside waiting for my parents to check into our hotel room as we were still looking for a home. I saw something move at the corner of my eye real close to me on a bush.. I look over, and I see this freaking alien starring at me right in my face and doing its little dance, while turning its head side to side trying to figure out what kind of creature I am.. To an 8 year old, this thing was a behemoth.. She had a full sack too so her size was pretty amplified.. Scared the heck out of me at the time.. But my mom convinced me to keep her.. She was so cool! She'd climb up to my shoulder like a parrot and would flap her wings every few seconds while looking around and trying to find the next thing to climb on. I let her go a few days later! Ever since then, I've been fond of them! T. sinensis will always be my favorite species! I honestly cannot get myself to own another kind of mantis.. But maybe that'll change after I do a couple rounds of raising T. sinensis!


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## CosbyArt (Nov 13, 2016)

@Storm&amp;bugfreak Your welcome.  They likely just filled out now that they fully hardened and have been busy filling their abdomens, as when they molt there will be plenty of shed exuviae everywhere. For a Tenodera to refuse food is a sure sign of molting.  

No problem, misting the right amount takes practice, and if anything mist a bit less as you can always spray more (rather than trying to dry out the habitat from too much).


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 14, 2016)

@CosbyArt Well one just started molting real quickly.. But, bad news, it fell   I hopt it's okay, but I'm going to assume it won't make it. Hopefully it falling on the damp paper towel will help.


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 14, 2016)

UPDATE: It pulled through! Gosh that was a quick molt! Under 45 minutes! It fell twice.. I just grabbed it back up, held it until it started moving again.. perked right back up, and looked right at me like "Thanks bud, I would have been screwed without you!" and hopped right back into the container.. Now it's just chillin' out and drying out   It is now GREEN!   All other mantids are now frozen still. Oh man I'm so nervous!

EDIT: And it is a male!!


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## CosbyArt (Nov 14, 2016)

@Storm&amp;bugfreak Very nice, glad to hear you were able to save him.  Well hopefully the rest of them molting will go without issue.


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 14, 2016)

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Cagn, the survivor of the fall! He has absolutely no problems and loves to hop around! So far, 4 of my mantids have molted, and they're all turning green!


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## CosbyArt (Nov 14, 2016)

@Storm&amp;bugfreak Great to see Cagn is doing so well, and seems even his walking legs are problem free.  

Ah yes the nymph hop.  Just keep a watch out for their leap of death to the carpet below too - I haven't had any nymph suffer a injury doing it from usually 3-4 feet up, but it can take some effort tracking them down afterwards.


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 14, 2016)

@CosbyArt Ohh yes they are fast little hoppers.. Ever since they've molted, they seem much more active! I've already had one hop right into my garbage can and it scurried deep into my garbage when trying to put fruit flies into its cage    - is that bad that it got into garbage with germs and whatnot?

So now that they've all pretty much reached L2 now, I think most of the ones I have are going to live well into adulthood! Man I'm so stoked for L3! I can't wait until what these creatures will be like by new years! By then that'll be under two months from now, so they'll probably be sub-adult L5, with males being two more molts away from having wings and females probably three. With them being born on November 7th, think early to mid March would be a good bet on when they reach adulthood?


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 15, 2016)

So I finally got some bigger containers for the mantis family! I felt like it's better now than later to get them into bigger containers with some modifications that'll give them a better spot to molt on. The one that fell was on the lid, and because I was in a rush to save them when they were born, I never made mesh setups in the smaller containers.. Plus they are 8" long and 6" tall, so I plan on keeping them in these containers until they're close to getting their wings. When they do reach full adult, I either just might keep them in these bigger food containers, or if I have enough money at the time, drop a few extra bucks on netted, pop-up butterfly cages for each mantis!


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## CosbyArt (Nov 15, 2016)

Storm&amp;bugfreak said:


> @CosbyArt Ohh yes they are fast little hoppers.. Ever since they've molted, they seem much more active! I've already had one hop right into my garbage can and it scurried deep into my garbage when trying to put fruit flies into its cage    - is that bad that it got into garbage with germs and whatnot?
> 
> So now that they've all pretty much reached L2 now, I think most of the ones I have are going to live well into adulthood! Man I'm so stoked for L3! I can't wait until what these creatures will be like by new years! By then that'll be under two months from now, so they'll probably be sub-adult L5, with males being two more molts away from having wings and females probably three. With them being born on November 7th, think early to mid March would be a good bet on when they reach adulthood?


I would try to avoid letting them in the garbage, but doubt any garbage inside your home would have any germs/bacterial/parasites that would affect the nymph from such contact (as it is not exposed to the elements and wildlife outside).  

When your nymphs will reach adulthood depends on several factors, but generally the time span is 4 to 6 months - which puts adulthood at March, April, or May. So they may be there in March, but likely a bit longer.



Storm&amp;bugfreak said:


> So I finally got some bigger containers for the mantis family! I felt like it's better now than later to get them into bigger containers with some modifications that'll give them a better spot to molt on. The one that fell was on the lid, and because I was in a rush to save them when they were born, I never made mesh setups in the smaller containers.. Plus they are 8" long and 6" tall, so I plan on keeping them in these containers until they're close to getting their wings. When they do reach full adult, I either just might keep them in these bigger food containers, or if I have enough money at the time, drop a few extra bucks on netted, pop-up butterfly cages for each mantis!
> 
> ...


Well I see someone has been to their local PetSmart to buy fruit flies.  

The containers look great and will serve the nymphs well until they are half grown.

Regarding container size for mantids you want a container that is 3 times the mantids length for height, and 2 times the mantid length for width and length. So in order for a 2" long nymph to molt successfully it needs a container that is (3 times the length for height) 6" high from lid to substrate. In other words the 6" tall containers will work for half their molting lives, but will need a taller container for the rest of their molts.

As winged L8 adults they can get away with smaller habitats, as there are no worries of molting problems, but is still a good idea to give them 2 times their length for height/length/width. Personally I give them more room, as with some individuals it puts them more at ease, and helps gravid females in finding locations to lay their ooths.

The only issue I see in the containers are the dowel rods are currently placed at 45 degree angles or less. Nymphs will often molt low on such dowel rods/sticks and can get molting issues ranging from deformed legs (no room) or even get stuck and die half molted - I've had it happen many times with such a degree angle when I first started. To prevent the problem if you place the dowel rods at 70 degrees up to 90 degree angles it will keep the nymphs from molting too low (a small dollop-glob of hot glue will keep them in place).


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## LAME (Nov 16, 2016)

Alternatively you can divide a 10 gallon aquarium in half,making two 5 gallon homes within the tank for two mantids.

This will give both individuals in that setup ample roaming and molting space. With the Chinese you'll want something bigger... bigger than a 32oz cup. (With Chinese I've always stuck to aquariums...) a good spot to find a cheap one would be locally on craigslist. I've found people practically just giving them away. Keep eyes on that every so often.

Or.....

Another trick of my own (and I'm not sure if anyone here has done this yet...) is you can also find the cheap mesh foldable style laundry baskets at the dollar tree. Which you can also use as a a net style enclosure by either flipping it upside down, or constructing a sort of top/lid for. If your a d.i.y project type


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 16, 2016)

@LAME @CosbyArt Thank you both so much for your inputs and suggestions! I've thought about snagging a large aquarium and dividing it up with mesh walls/superglue. I've found some decent ones at Petsmart for around $60 that could be divided up into several spacious sections! I'm moving out December 12th at this point in time, so I probably won't be able to work on this next housing step until after I move out - I'll be in a more spacious house then and will be able to do more DIY stuff.. Making these 7 containers was an absolute nightmare in my apartment, got glue everywhere lol. I also found a few designs online where someone grabbed a huge cardboard box, meshed it up and created an opening lid on it and turned it into a 3 ft X 3 ft mantis mansion! If money is tight at the time, I may just grab some boxes from my work and rig those up into mantis homes! I'll definitely look into those foldable laundry baskets! I saw one at Walmart yesterday, one of those prop-up meshed ones, and thought hmm.. this could easily be DIY'd into a home!

And yes @CosbyArt Petsmart was the only place I could think of where I could easily score some fruit flies! I'm trying to find a place locally that may have small roaches for sell, I'm trying to avoid having to shop online and deal with shipping (My landlord would flip if she saw a box of insects show up at the main office lol) I want to try pin-head crickets as well, but I'm doing my best to avoid crickets until the mantids are finished molting through all their stages.. but if I have no other choice, I may have to resort to pinheads.


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## CosbyArt (Nov 17, 2016)

@Storm&amp;bugfreak Your welcome, and glad to see things are going well.

The cardboard made habitats would be something that would be for a quick fix, as the cardboard would easily be damaged from misting, chewing insects getting in/out, and would likely turn into a paper mess (from frass, prey leftovers, cardboard mites, and related) rather quickly. If you did replace it was needed (likely 2-3 weeks) it would be a stop gap method, and spending time once on a plastic/glass habitat would save you much trouble.  

I must admit I have seen cardboard used for breeding containers and similar before with good results, they were of course just a temporary housing for a specific purpose. Although if you were to treat the cardboard with layers of latex paint, thin layers of varnish, or such that would coat and harden the cardboard making it much sturdier - it might be a more permanent arrangement. Sounds like a project I should play around with when I get some free project time.  

No problems there with PetSmart, a common supplier for those who need flies immediately or even have access to one.  I can understand the shipping problem, a easy fix there would be to instruct your supplier to mark the package to be held at the post office for pickup (I've had it done before, and during times of excess cold/heat for better results than a mailbox (bug oven)). But of course if the shipper forgets to mark the hold at post office option even once, then you would be busted.


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## Serle (Nov 24, 2016)

Greetings Everyone

I am in a little late on the thread , really exciting to hear about your first ooth.  Waiting for my first ootheca to arrive some time next week and am getting some banner ideas from reading about your hatch.

Cool Lifestyle ... Serle


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 24, 2016)

Thank you Serle! Update on the hatch so far, I am now down to 4 tenoderas left.. I lost 3 due to them getting stuck in their skins while molting. The rest of them made it no problem and with no deformities. I figured out why I lost the 3 too.. I noticed their cages were drier than the others who successfully molted.. I realized that the newer containers I put them in had much more airflow so I had to increase moisture intake, which I believe saved me the 4 mantids. I am sad I lost 3, Kip, Io, and Zorro will be missed   But it's been so much easier taking care of just 4! And now that they're L3, I'm going to try and introduce them to small mealworms. I honestly may wait until they're L4 to do that. So far, Cagn, Jet, Zion, and Milo are living to see another day and here's to them making it all the way to adulthood!   

I'm not going to lie, these critters are molting real fast! My buddy who I gave a couple of nymphs to said his just now have molted to L2.. Mine have been L3 for almost 5 days now! With how quickly these fellas are growing, I would not be surprised if L4 is reached next week! I'm sure after that, their next molts will take longer to happen as I've heard when they're in the later stages, they sometimes take up to a month to molt again! I honestly think @Cosby that these guys (And/or girls) will reach adulthood in early February because they're molting a lot quicker than I thought. I seriously thought L2 wasn't going to be reached until late November and L3 by early to mid December.
I'll keep you all posted!


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## CosbyArt (Nov 25, 2016)

@Storm&amp;bugfreak Sorry to hear you lost several due to humidity, sadly it is that time of year too where it is a more common problem.

The molt to L2 only typically takes a week, so if your buddy's nymphs took longer it is likely a sign of cooler temperatures at his house and/or light feedings. Your nymphs should slow down on their molting as they advance, as the time between molts gets longer each time. Of course if they are kept warm, they will molt quicker than normal.


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## Storm&bugfreak (Nov 26, 2016)

Cagn at L3   He's getting so healthy! I say he because I actually managed to clearly count his abdomen layers underneath and I counted 7! I'm going to wait until he, or it I should say it still, is L4 to be absolutely sure. It's starting to twitch again while staying still so I think he or she might be preparing to molt soon. Tomorrow, I think it'll start rejecting food.. and Since it molted last Sunday night (It rejected food the Friday before the Sunday it molted into L3) I believe a molt will happen around Tuesday night or sometime Wednesday. I can't believe how fast some of these guys are molting! I will say I have been keeping my room religiously at 75 degrees and have kept them under light, that gets decently warm I should add, at least 10-12 hours a day with the light off at night while I sleep (mainly so I can sleep lol.) So I'm not surprised that they've been molting quick compared to my buddy's who just keeps them in a bugarium in his spare bedroom.. His basement gets pretty cool too so I did tell him they'll take much longer to molt and grow.

More updates to come!


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## Storm&bugfreak (Dec 13, 2016)

@CosbyArt Here's Milo, Mantis 0! All the other ones to let everyone else know have died from bad molts and one overly curious mantis hopping onto my space heater and literally frying its back legs, I eventually put him out of his misery   Milo has been introduced to nourished crickets and mealworms! Both of which he really enjoyed!

I just recently purchased another egg of the same species! I'm going to give this another try in the next month or two, this time with all of them in one cage until they're a bit older!


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## CosbyArt (Dec 15, 2016)

Storm&amp;bugfreak said:


> @CosbyArt Here's Milo, Mantis 0! All the other ones to let everyone else know have died from bad molts and one overly curious mantis hopping onto my space heater and literally frying its back legs, I eventually put him out of his misery   Milo has been introduced to nourished crickets and mealworms! Both of which he really enjoyed!
> 
> I just recently purchased another egg of the same species! I'm going to give this another try in the next month or two, this time with all of them in one cage until they're a bit older!


Sadly that is common over the winter due to the extreme low humidity (from the heaters), and most of my newly hatched nymphs the other day didn't last long either (someone has been using the fireplace directly below my room and the humidity has been around 10-15% with catastrophic results to the new nymphs).  

Glad to hear your trying again, and found ways to improve already. That is the great thing if you can control the outcome (humidity notwithstanding) you should have better results with each ooth.


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## Teamonger (Dec 15, 2016)

@CosbyArt @Storm&amp;bugfreak

Sad news all around   I was having the same issues with humidity in these winter months. It was a constant battle that was driving me crazy. To solve the issue I started googling and found out you can glue together a low cost fogger with a cheap humidifier and a bit of tubing. Now my issue is actually too much humidity at times and I'm still fine tuning the set up.

Here is the video (its a bit long, you'll likely want to skip ahead to the actual build description).





And this is the humidifer I picked up at walmart for about 30 dollars. I could not find this exact one on the US sites but there seem to be a few even cheaper options for you folks across the boarder.
http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/mainstays-22-l-ultrasonic-humidifier/6000196060666


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## CosbyArt (Dec 15, 2016)

@Teamonger Ha, yeah I've seen that video multiple times and was the leaping point into my own automatic waterline fed humidifier and watering system project I've mentioned before for my new bug room.  Thanks for posting the link for others though. Great to read you made something as well from it and are getting great results.





I got even more parts last week for my system ($300+ now..) and began setting it all up then the flu got me, and turned into bronchitis. I'm hoping soon to get back to work on the project now that I'm doing better, but it will be next week due to my day job/work.

Here is a peek at some of the parts, and those dang pluming parts range from $5 to $15 each which is why the crazy price. Well besides the obviously more expensive things like the water filtering system, a ultrasonic water fogger/humidifier (the heart of decent humidifiers) with float and replacement heads, the automatic humidity meter/controller, etc...


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## cwebster (Dec 21, 2016)

Milo is lovely! We had our first pet mantises this year, also tenodora sinensis. I love them! Sadly only one remains, Minty Mantis, who I brought inside due to weather. Can't wait to get more eggs in the spring. They are so friendly and personable! Honey Mantis was tan with green eyes while Minty Mantis is all tan.


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## Storm&bugfreak (Jan 11, 2017)

Well bad news everyone... My very last nymph I had had to be left to rest   He molted fine into L7.. Perfect wing buds.. He did have a difficult time at first.. wouldn't eat for days.. I mean it took Milo 3 to 4 days before he was remotely interested in any feeders.. I tried meal worms, a couple house flies I found in my house, and crickets and no luck until day 4-ish when he finally ate a cricket that almost escaped his clutches.. He seemed weak too.. After finally eating a cricket or a meal worm every other day (That's another thing.. He would only eat every other day.) Anyways.. He recently formed a hole in his abdomen.. I guess a prolapse of some kind or an intestinal burst?? And today it was wide open and every time he breathed, you could see his organs pop out.. So I left him in an ice box and buried him.   @CosbyArt you have any idea what might have caused this? I have heard of rare occasions where mantids organs just explode.. I didn't overmist him or anything.. Gave him water whenever he needed it.. Kept in in temps 72 degrees or more with humidity between 30-50%.. Would push it to 70% whenever he was close to/during his molting. Used some soft-bark substrate.. I have no idea what caused this.. I have to guess an intestinal blockage of some kind?

Anyhow, the good news is, the egg I got online hatched a few days ago and I have a brand new batch of T. Sinensis nymphs! So far they're doing great.. Been keeping them together and plan to until they molt at least once or twice, then I'll separate! Only problems I've had with them is them escaping and getting caught behind the Styrofoam decord attached to one of the sides of the cage.. But most of them are still managing to stay out of there! Hopefully this is only a temporary issue until they molt and get a little bigger!

Also, @CosbyArt... any ideas on where I can buy large amounts of already hatched fruit flies?   I got two batches from PetsMart but they're both all empty now and a couple of my mantids are already eating eachother. :/ All the ones I could find online were cultures that had a waiting period on hatching.


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## cwebster (Jan 12, 2017)

Congrats on your new nymphs! I get melanogaster fruit flies from petco here and mailorder hydei from Rainbow Mealworms online then culture my flies. I also get pinhead crickets from Rainbow Mealworms. They are great. Just make sure to make your own fly cultures right away from some of the flies and every few weeks...that way you never run out. You can buy fly culture medium, mix it in deli cups, and throw in some excelsior.


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## CosbyArt (Jan 12, 2017)

Storm&amp;bugfreak said:


> Well bad news everyone... My very last nymph I had had to be left to rest   He molted fine into L7.. Perfect wing buds.. He did have a difficult time at first.. wouldn't eat for days.. I mean it took Milo 3 to 4 days before he was remotely interested in any feeders.. I tried meal worms, a couple house flies I found in my house, and crickets and no luck until day 4-ish when he finally ate a cricket that almost escaped his clutches.. He seemed weak too.. After finally eating a cricket or a meal worm every other day (That's another thing.. He would only eat every other day.) Anyways.. He recently formed a hole in his abdomen.. I guess a prolapse of some kind or an intestinal burst?? And today it was wide open and every time he breathed, you could see his organs pop out.. So I left him in an ice box and buried him.   @CosbyArt you have any idea what might have caused this? I have heard of rare occasions where mantids organs just explode.. I didn't overmist him or anything.. Gave him water whenever he needed it.. Kept in in temps 72 degrees or more with humidity between 30-50%.. Would push it to 70% whenever he was close to/during his molting. Used some soft-bark substrate.. I have no idea what caused this.. I have to guess an intestinal blockage of some kind?
> 
> Anyhow, the good news is, the egg I got online hatched a few days ago and I have a brand new batch of T. Sinensis nymphs! So far they're doing great.. Been keeping them together and plan to until they molt at least once or twice, then I'll separate! Only problems I've had with them is them escaping and getting caught behind the Styrofoam decord attached to one of the sides of the cage.. But most of them are still managing to stay out of there! Hopefully this is only a temporary issue until they molt and get a little bigger!
> 
> Also, @CosbyArt... any ideas on where I can buy large amounts of already hatched fruit flies?   I got two batches from PetsMart but they're both all empty now and a couple of my mantids are already eating eachother. :/ All the ones I could find online were cultures that had a waiting period on hatching.


My male mantids as they age normally start to eat less, and as adults tend to eat once a week (sometimes every two weeks) even when offered prey every other day. The hole in the abdomen could have been a puncture from a sharp or pointed object in the habitat as well. Indeed if there was a internal blockage or other issue it could have developed into the resulting hole from a rupture  from the blockage or a bacterial infection.

Glad to hear your new ooth hatched, always nice to have lots of babies running around.  

Actually for Melanogaster fruit flies I do know where to buy adults at and in bulk too.  Chuck at SpiderPharm sells FF pupae, which hatch out flies in about 2 days - I've had nothing but great service when I bought from him too. The only other option is to order fruit fly cultures online that are producing; however, to be honest I've never had any luck getting live flies delivered, larvae/maggots and eggs sure, but few flies.


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## Storm&bugfreak (Jan 12, 2017)

CosbyArt said:


> @Teamonger Ha, yeah I've seen that video multiple times and was the leaping point into my own automatic waterline fed humidifier and watering system project I've mentioned before for my new bug room.  Thanks for posting the link for others though. Great to read you made something as well from it and are getting great results.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Woah @CosbyArt I didn't see this until just now! You went all out that's awesome!   Unfortunately I can't spend too much money on these little critters as I have my storm-tracking hobby as well that costs a good deal of money already.. So I go simple and cheap and use a spray bottle and keep my little humidifier next to the cages!

 



CosbyArt said:


> My male mantids as they age normally start to eat less, and as adults tend to eat once a week (sometimes every two weeks) even when offered prey every other day. The hole in the abdomen could have been a puncture from a sharp or pointed object in the habitat as well. Indeed if there was a internal blockage or other issue it could have developed into the resulting hole from a rupture  from the blockage or a bacterial infection.
> 
> Glad to hear your new ooth hatched, always nice to have lots of babies running around.
> 
> Actually for Melanogaster fruit flies I do know where to buy adults at and in bulk too.  Chuck at SpiderPharm sells FF pupae, which hatch out flies in about 2 days - I've had nothing but great service when I bought from him too. The only other option is to order fruit fly cultures online that are producing; however, to be honest I've never had any luck getting live flies delivered, larvae/maggots and eggs sure, but few flies.


And that makes sense.. I was wondering if it was to do with him being a male as I've heard males eat a lot less when they get older.. I just though the lack of eating part didn't occur until adult-hood when they're in mate-searching mode. It was making me worry! And as for Milo, his cage did have a good deal of grit and grime left on the sides from water drying off and mantis waste being deposited on the sides.. I cleaned it out a couple of times, but the last few weeks I haven't had the time to clean it much with work, school, and my storm-tracking job on the side as well.. So I guess he may have just drank bad water some time ago.. Got a gut infection and it blocked him up causing his side to get a hole in it.. I wonder if fungus might have been the culprit too as the cage, like I said, had a lot of grime and whatnot on the sides. I tell you what, raising these buggers is a lot more difficult than I thought! Definitely a time and energy consuming hobby!

And thank you all for the congrats on the latest hatch! I think after this next round, I'm going to start looking for other species such as giant asian, giant african, or some other giant species to keep.. Probably going to steer away from the raise from hatching part and just start buying live nymphs online when the warmer weather moves back in.. then wait until summer to find some of the native/naturalized ones in my local area!


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## Storm&bugfreak (Jan 12, 2017)

Also, thank you CosbyArt for the tips on getting fruit fly feeders! I'll definitely check that site out!


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## CosbyArt (Jan 12, 2017)

Storm&amp;bugfreak said:


> Woah @CosbyArt I didn't see this until just now! You went all out that's awesome!   Unfortunately I can't spend too much money on these little critters as I have my storm-tracking hobby as well that costs a good deal of money already.. So I go simple and cheap and use a spray bottle and keep my little humidifier next to the cages!
> 
> And that makes sense.. I was wondering if it was to do with him being a male as I've heard males eat a lot less when they get older.. I just though the lack of eating part didn't occur until adult-hood when they're in mate-searching mode. It was making me worry! And as for Milo, his cage did have a good deal of grit and grime left on the sides from water drying off and mantis waste being deposited on the sides.. I cleaned it out a couple of times, but the last few weeks I haven't had the time to clean it much with work, school, and my storm-tracking job on the side as well.. So I guess he may have just drank bad water some time ago.. Got a gut infection and it blocked him up causing his side to get a hole in it.. I wonder if fungus might have been the culprit too as the cage, like I said, had a lot of grime and whatnot on the sides. I tell you what, raising these buggers is a lot more difficult than I thought! Definitely a time and energy consuming hobby!
> 
> And thank you all for the congrats on the latest hatch! I think after this next round, I'm going to start looking for other species such as giant asian, giant african, or some other giant species to keep.. Probably going to steer away from the raise from hatching part and just start buying live nymphs online when the warmer weather moves back in.. then wait until summer to find some of the native/naturalized ones in my local area!


Thanks, I figured it would be well worth the effort and expense once it is up and running (no worries of habitats drying out or over saturated). At the moment I am waiting for one more part and should have it finally turned on and running.  I did the same for awhile with a cheap spray bottle, but recommend a pump sprayer as it gives a finer mist and less messy.

For sprayers some have luck with this type and is usually around $5, but I found the 1-gallon is easier/lasts longer/and holds a entire jug of water and is often on sale for $5 too.  



Storm&amp;bugfreak said:


> Also, thank you CosbyArt for the tips on getting fruit fly feeders! I'll definitely check that site out!


Your welcome. They will come in a small bag, and are like tiny houseflies/bottle fly pupae bought too, just place in a container at room temperature and they emerge.


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## Teamonger (Jan 13, 2017)

For pump sprayers with that desirable fine mist you can also pick up smaller cheap ones from dollar stores or Walmart that are supposed to be for women to put their hairspray and the like in for traveling. I have a tiny "hair spray" bottle I picked up for like 2 bucks in a little travel pack at the dollar store.

https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=travel%20spray%20bottle&amp;typeahead=travel%20spra

I have one of these little portable ones to use on my current desk pet at work in his tiny enclosure.

The one CosyArt linked looks like a bruiser, that is a nice massive one. That seems like a very nice alternative to the cool mist humidifiers.


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## CosbyArt (Jan 14, 2017)

Teamonger said:


> ...
> 
> The one CosyArt linked looks like a bruiser, that is a nice massive one. That seems like a very nice alternative to the cool mist humidifiers.


Haha, you should see one in real life then.  Size wise it is nothing more than a 1 gallon water/milk jug with a hose, and same weight if filled completely 8 pounds - but it works just as well half filled which then weighs about 4 pounds, or a quarter filled at 2 pounds if needed. The sprayer does great even with a few ounces of water as it nearly empties the tank completely before I have to refill it.

I guess for some it still may be a bit much though and if that is the case the other linked to in my comment is used - then again with the 3' wand the tank can be sat nearby and only the wand has to moved around depending on the habitat setups. Typically the commercial grade sprayers start at 5 gallons or more (the 1 gallon is aimed more at home use), and those 5 gallon or more models I agree would be too much for about anyone to lug around a bug room.

Indeed the cheap spray bottles do work as you linked to but the difference in quality, ease of use, spray given (adjustable patterns too), amount of water held, and other bonuses make it much better for those serious about the hobby or have many mantids to take care of for only about $5-$10.


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## Jessie (Feb 14, 2017)

Luckily in my kit i got since i thought that would be the best bet since its my first. Everything comes with it,i am gonna use a paper towel instead of dirt tho and a stick it came with.


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