# Mantis Throwing up



## Jolt

I notices a few drips of brown dried liquid today on the side of one of my mantids cages. I thought it might be feces or something, so I didnt think twice about it. Just a few minutes ago I was handeling him in my hand and he proceded to throw up all over my arm......it was pretty unpleasant. The puke is brown......it looks just like what a grasshopper would puke out when you handle one. Does anyone know what the problem may be? I know overeating can cause this, but to my knowledge he hasnt been overeating. Also, I now a sick feeder insect can cause this.....I catch most of my food outside. i dont buy crickets unless its winter. Anyone have any info on a puking mantis?


----------



## PseudoDave

Hi Jolt,

How high is the humidity in the enclosure? If it's quite high you might try and reduce it a little and see if that helps, i've also seen the 'brown streaks' on enclosures before and after being advised to ventilate more and slightly less humidity, the problem hasn't come back (*fingers crossed*).

Dave


----------



## Jolt

well, its highly ventilated. I dont know about the humidity. I Mist it about 1 time a day....Should I try and not mist it so much?


----------



## dino

Hello,

It is not the humidity. They are going to a threat position.


----------



## Rick

Not sure what can cause it but I have had that problem but only with one species. Mantids don't throw up when in a threat posture from what I have seen.


----------



## dino

> Not sure what can cause it but I have had that problem but only with one species. Mantids don't throw up when in a threat posture from what I have seen.


I never said they throw up when in a threat position for all i know mantids don't throw up.


----------



## Rick

The thread is about his mantis throwing up.


----------



## dino

Hello,

All I said is probably mantids dont trow up , but you are getting so huffy about it so looks like you need to calm down.


----------



## Leah

Mantids do throw up.

As for the humidity - perhaps it is irrelevant to the vomiting? I always stop feeding them, sterilize the container and increase the humidity and sprayings and this works for me. It may well be species dependent, and of course, cause dependent.

Since you are feeding WC insects, its pretty likely one of them ate something that doesnt agree with your mantid. Try to only feed him things like moths for a few days, they dont seem to be as reactive as other insects.


----------



## Jolt

Ok........he just ate a fly without any trouble....He hasnt throw it up yet, and I am hoping he doesnt. If he does, then I will try to change his feeding habits.


----------



## dino

good luck :wink:


----------



## Jolt

This mantis ended up dieing last night......for no reason that I can figure out.


----------



## dino

Mantids always die for no reason. What did you feed him? Sorry to hear that.


----------



## Joe

My female orchid mantis has been throwing up a lot and its smells incredibly rotten, i nearly trew up smelling it  . what could cause this? it seems like the food its eating is rottin inside its stomach.  I've also notice that all my mantid's jars r sorta smelly too, i clean them every day, but i mgiht be the flies i'm feeding them, since i go outside and catch them.

Joe


----------



## dino

I'm so sorry Joe, but It might be the food you give them. Try to give them healthy food like gutloaded crickets or mealworms. Also it might be the humidity since these species need a lot of humidity.


----------



## Joe

i have the humididty very high, but yea it just might be the food im feeding(wild flies &amp; moths) but i dont get why it smells really rotten, no oher mantis i had had this smell in their throw up.

Joe


----------



## Peekaboo

Joe it definitely sounds like the food you've been giving them.

The only thing I can suggest is changing their diet to commercial bought feeders, where there is a higher chance that the feeders haven't been munching on anything contaminated -- meaning make sure you buy them from a reliable feeder breeder. Use a good gutload to make them plain and nutritious, and I'd recommend staying away from giving the feeders fruit. There's some speculation as to whether or not fruit will make mantids sick.


----------



## Joe

i havent been doing any of that lol, the wild flies and insects i give my mantids r all, and crickets &amp; roaches, it seems like the wild insects make my mantids grow bigger lol my sub male ghost is 2 inches and as lond as my adult male ghost. but i should try guttload and stuf tho

Joe


----------



## Peekaboo

If you aren't gut loading the feeders, then it's very possible that the wild caught ones will make your mantids bigger, especially if you're feeding big ol' fat wild caught insects to your mantids.

With commercial and store bought feeders, they often don't eat anything during transit from breeder to buyer. In some cases, pet stores don't feed their feeders as well, so you're getting twice starved feeders.

And skinny feeders make skinny mantids. :lol: 

Leah linked us to a gut load that she swears over her mother's grave by. You can find it in the classified section.


----------



## dino

Fruit is healthy and if you give it to crickets i guess that will make them healthy. So I dont understand why you think fruit is bad peekaboo. :?


----------



## Peekaboo

I'm saying this because of what I have read in this thread.

Check out Kenneth's reply. He found that fruit was giving his roaches infections, and in turn, mantids that ate the roaches were getting infections as well. Maybe this wouldn't happen with crickets, but why take that chance, knowing that a good commercial gutload won't make mantids sick?


----------



## dino

Think before what you say Peekaboo. Those are roaches not crickets.


----------



## Joe

OO should i not feed the female orchid for 4 days? j/w so it can get rid of the bad food in its system?

Joe


----------



## Peekaboo

> Think before what you say Peekaboo. Those are roaches not crickets.


Read before you say Dino.

Did you not read this: "Maybe this wouldn't happen with crickets, but why take that chance, knowing that a good commercial gutload won't make mantids sick?"


----------



## Peekaboo

> OO should i not feed the female orchid for 4 days? j/w so it can get rid of the bad food in its system?Joe


I don't know for sure, but letting the mantid clean out its system couldn't hurt. Just make sure it doesn't starve. lol


----------



## dino

> OO should i not feed the female orchid for 4 days? j/w so it can get rid of the bad food in its system?Joe
> 
> 
> 
> I don't know for sure, but letting the mantid clean out its system couldn't hurt. Just make sure it doesn't starve.
Click to expand...

Never have doubt on a mantis. Good luck Joe.


----------



## dino

it could have been the vegetables &amp; you are supposed to feed them fruit from time to time ( not all the time). Also what is life without taking chances peekaboo?


----------



## Joe

yes!! it stopped throwing up!! i think cleanin its system worked because its eating fine now  . juts wanted to shar ethat all with you  . maybe its a new cure for mantids throwing up. what i did was just feed it water from a straw, it threw up the water but after a few days of doing this it stopped and i decided to start feeding it again and its eating great  .

Joe


----------



## dino

Good job Joe. Maybe this can be a cure for throwing up mantids. Just give it water through a straw  , but was the water cold, warm, hot, or BOILING HOT WATER? :shock:


----------



## Leah

> I always stop feeding them, sterilize the container and increase the humidity and sprayings and this works for me.


You dont say? I wonder where someone may have got the idea to stop feeding and increase water intake to help treat vomiting? What a new and stifling discovery!

Sometimes I sit here and wonder how often the things that are posted, are actually read.


----------



## dino

It might be a new and wonderful discovey, but it probably has to be tested on other mantids first right.


----------



## Leah

Sure, except we already knew about treating them that way. In fact, I've posted it at least 4 different times here recently on different threads.


----------



## dino

Okay. People who have mantids throwing up they should try what Joe did. Great discovery man 8)


----------



## Joe

lol srry about that leah, just didnt see that for a sec :? i really gotta give the credit to u on this thread  i gotta read this stuff better lol. i'm just glad my orchid is living on  

Joe


----------



## Samzo

I know this has kinda finished know but when my mantis ate a grasshopper it threw up so I waited until it stopped throwing up (2 or 3 days) until i fed it crickets again and it was fine. I really dont see how grasshoppers effected my mantis though :?


----------



## Peekaboo

The only guess I can make is that the grasshopper may have eaten something that didn't agree with your mantid, or the grasshopper itself may have been ill.

Most of the time, mantids throw up from eating something bad. However, I think I have read that mantids can also get sick from bacteria and the like.


----------



## Samzo

oh, i see. I thought that might be the case


----------

