# Question about food.



## slytle90 (Oct 5, 2012)

I feed a lot of crickets to my other critters so I threw a couple in with Aspasia (my mantis) and I saw her eat 2 of them. Today I went in to spray her tank and noticed how horrible it smelled when I opened it. Then I noticed some brown liquid on the glass. I freaked out and used the search bar on here and read that it is pretty common....Especially when feeding crickets.

I don't see too many bugs around here (other then spiders) so I was going to go get her some different feeders later today. I don't want her to be sick. Do you think that dubia roaches would be ok for her? They don't fly and climb really so I don't know if that would be appropriate for a mantis. What about wax worms? I am going to go out tonight when it gets slightly dark out and try to catch some moths/flies for her but I want to have feeders on hand in case I can't catch anything else.

I also read about feeding honey mixed w/ water and was wondering how that works. Do you just put it on their mouth? Or through a straw?

Sorry for the questions but that really freaked me out when I saw the liquid on her tank.


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## agent A (Oct 5, 2012)

dubias r fine

crix that r healthy cause no harm

flies, moths and spiders work well too


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## slytle90 (Oct 5, 2012)

My bearded dragon just pooped and it looks like she's got diarrhea so I'm thinking the crickets were just bad. I am going to try and breed dubias anyway because my bearded dragon likes them better. I would feed her spiders but I love spiders too much to watch them get eaten  Thank you though, I just wanted to make sure that dubias would be ok


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## angelofdeathzz (Oct 5, 2012)

Store bought crickets should be fed for a few days to a week by you first(moistened cereal,veggies etc), then you know a bit better what your giving your animals. But roaches seem to be a favorite among many keepers.


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## slytle90 (Oct 5, 2012)

angelofdeathzz said:


> Store bought crickets should be fed for a few days to a week by you first(moistened cereal,veggies etc), then you know a bit better what your giving your animals. But roaches seem to be a favorite among many keepers.


I always feed mine after buying them. This time I fed them with apples and kale.


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## lancaster1313 (Oct 5, 2012)

I lost a few mantids after I fed them Pet store crickets. The crickets smelled nasty to begin with.

When my mantids vomited and had diarrhea, it was an awful stench. A few ended up dying, but I saved a few by keeping their containers as clean as possible, with maximum ventilation.

If I only had 1 mantis, I would keep it out of the container for a while,(I didn't want to spread any illness, so I just kept washing up the vomit and poo from the containers as soon as I saw or smelled it).

Also, don't feed her for a couple of days if she is vomiting, just give her plenty of water.

I still use "quarantined" crickets often, but prefer to use roaches or even super or mealworms when I have enough of the right size.

Edit: That problem has only happened to me once and I still use crickets from the same store, only after I am assured that they are healthy and staying alive on my own cricket/roach diet. I give all of my omnivorous inverts pond sticks, fish flakes, and a variety of vegetables and fruits.


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## slytle90 (Oct 5, 2012)

I just cleaned her tank. I sprayed it, and misted the leaves really well. I also have a shallow food bowl with 2 folded up wet paper towels to help add a little humidity / moisture. I just replaced the paper towels also. I threw the rest of the crickets that I had (not too many) in the bushes outside.


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## lancaster1313 (Oct 5, 2012)

slytle90 said:


> I just cleaned her tank. I sprayed it, and misted the leaves really well. I also have a shallow food bowl with 2 folded up wet paper towels to help add a little humidity / moisture. I just replaced the paper towels also. I threw the rest of the crickets that I had (not too many) in the bushes outside.


 That should do for now. I also threw my crickets outside, but if that happens again I will have to burn them or something. I am afraid that they could pass problems to the rest of the local and invasive species in my area.


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## slytle90 (Oct 5, 2012)

likebugs said:


> That should do for now. I also threw my crickets outside, but if that happens again I will have to burn them or something. I am afraid that they could pass problems to the rest of the local and invasive species in my area.


Yea after i did that i was like "###### that was dumb" ... if it happens again ill freeze them or something.


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## Sticky (Oct 6, 2012)

I have read in different places online that carrot can make mantids sick or even kill them. To Just be

safe feed crickets other food for 3 days.


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## Rick (Oct 6, 2012)

There is nothing wrong with crickets. They make excellent feeders. However, you should get them from a reputable source and take care of them properly. I believe I read something recently about the cricket breeders using a different species of cricket due to issues some people have had (not just with mantids). I used crickets for years and can only recall having one issue like many describe.


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## fleurdejoo (Oct 10, 2012)

I thought carrots were good for crickets ?


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## petoly (Oct 10, 2012)

fleurdejoo said:


> I thought carrots were good for crickets ?


there have been reports of mantids dying after they ate crickets that were gutloaded with carrots. they are apparently bad for mantids.


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## angelofdeathzz (Oct 10, 2012)

petoly said:


> there have been reports of mantids dying after they ate crickets that were gutloaded with carrots. they are apparently bad for mantids.


Read the same thing more than once myself, so I don't do...


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## Bug Trader (Oct 10, 2012)

Ive heard its beta carotene toxicity or even the build up and overdose of vitA leafy greens like spinach and such much much more nutrient gutloads.


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## petoly (Oct 10, 2012)

only reason I give my crix carrots is for the firebelly toads. But I have a bin specifically for them.


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## Reptiliatus (Oct 11, 2012)

I want to share that I have had the experience of raising specimens, Sphodromantis and Heirodula that were affected by this "smelly-vomiting" illness. As many members stated, cleanliness is an imperative procedure should you try to treat the animal(s). Every time the mantis vomits, or attempts to excrete waste, clean out the enclosure with hot soapy water. You will also find a great deal of your cleaning is confined the the lid (screen) where these sick mantids tend to do most of their vomiting. Next is hydration. Keeping the specimen well hydrated is also very important as it is loosing a great deal of fluid through the vomiting process. Use a mist bottle to spray the mantis *outside of its enclosure* seeing as keeping the enclosure dry is important to not cause additional bacteria hazards (vomit regurgitated my mantis comes into contact with moist environment). Here's the part that brings up a little controversy. A fellow mantis keeper and I have been experimenting with bee pollen. It is our belief that bee pollen stimulates the immune system and provides the insect with a great deal of energy, giving the immune system a boost. Just as it provides energy to human beings, it is capable of the same for mantids. We use bee pollen as an illness-preventative supplement. We dust our mantids prey with bee pollen as often as possible and find that our specimens are very healthy and very, very rarely succumb to the illness. My recommendation is to get some bee pollen and start using it as a "medication". I cannot offer this as more than an opinion until more concrete studies by him and myself are formed.

Regards,

Dayyan


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## fleurdejoo (Oct 11, 2012)

I fed my crickets organic carrots for a week or so and fed my Carolina a few and BB's. She seems fine and hasn't been ill. She has refused them lately though. Killed but didn't eat them, but then she laid that ooth so??


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## lancaster1313 (Oct 11, 2012)

I feed carrots sometimes and nothing has ever happened to my mantids from my own feeders.

However, I just put some shredded carrot on top of other things like lettuce and apple.

Once, I fed nothing but carrot to a small Blaberus colony and they had the most awful smelling frass and defensive odor from it. It didn't make the mantids sick, but I won't be doing that again cause unlike the mantids, I have a nose, and my nose wasn't happy during feeding time.


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