# Molting, food, handling, missing parts, and coloration?



## dgerndt (Nov 11, 2010)

I'm a pretty new mantis owner and I have a few questions.

I've been reading through some of the forums and it seems like there's a lot of care involved when a mantis molts. I recently got some Chinese and Egyptian nymphs, and I'm not sure when they're due to molt. But I want to make sure I do everything right when the time comes. So what should I do? I mist them every other day and they have plenty of twigs to hang upside down on.

Also, will a mantis actually eat itself to death? I put fruitflies in my nymphs' containers whenever they get low which is every other day or so. Is that too much? I know that crickets will sometimes eat a molting mantis, but fruitflies are harmless.

As well as nymphs, I have an adult female Chinese mantis and an adult female Egyptian mantis. I really love them and they're very friendly, so I like to hold them. I never take them out more than once a day. I usually only handle them once every couple days. Is that too much? Can it hurt them? I'm always very very gentle with them. I never force them into my hands, I let them crawl onto me or a stick. I know it sounds silly, but I feel like my Chinese mantis is actually fond of me and likes to be held. She perches on my hand and sways around, looking at my room in a curious fashion. It's so cute!

But while holding my adult Egyptian mantis, I noticed that she's missing a foot! ): I got her only a few days ago and there aren't crickets in her container to eat her other than when I feed her. Will she be okay? Will it grow back? I know she didn't lose the foot when I was holding her, because it was gone when I took her out. She can still hang upside down on her screen lid and everything. Also, she's not very green. She looks pale yellow with very light, pale, green eyes. Most Egyptian mantis photos I see are of very bright green ones. Is she just a different variation?

Sorry for so many questions. I love my mantids and I just want to make sure they're as healthy as they can be.


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## Pet Duck Boy (Nov 11, 2010)

I'm still a noob at this, but from what I have heard, a good amount of humidity coupled with a container 3x the length of the mantis is suitabe for molting. Of course problems always seem to arrise without a reason. Concerning your adult Mio with the missing foot, it will not grow back. Adults do not shed. But as long as she can catch food, she should be just fine.


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## dgerndt (Nov 11, 2010)

Myrmecologist said:


> I'm still a noob at this, but from what I have heard, a good amount of humidity coupled with a container 3x the length of the mantis is suitabe for molting. Of course problems always seem to arrise without a reason. Concerning your adult Mio with the missing foot, it will not grow back. Adults do not shed. But as long as she can catch food, she should be just fine.


But how much humidity is enough? If I mist too much, mold might grow and make them sick. ):


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## Pet Duck Boy (Nov 11, 2010)

Shouldn't be a problem at all as long as you have good ventilation. The water droplets should dry up in a couple hours after misting.


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## LauraMG (Nov 11, 2010)

I mist everyday. If mold pops up, i just scoop it out and I've never had it harm any of mine. If you have a humidity gauge, 60-80% should be sufficient for them. Like myremecologist said the tarsus won't grow back, and 3 times the length of the mantis in height to allow for proper molting. This is because they dangle straight down when they molt. As for the mantis eating itself to death, if they have infections sometimes they will chew off their legs but I've not yet heard of one eating themselves. Handling, well, it really depends on the mantis in my experience. Some like to be handled, some don't. If they're over handled, they'll show some definite signs of anxiety when that door opens on their house! I've over handled before when my sister was in town. She wanted to hold and video and take pictures of every single one I had, and after she was gone they all would run from me when that door to their house opened. The fruit flies are harmless. A lot of the time mantids will stop eating a day or two before they molt. Once it happens a few times you'll start to recognize the behavior.


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## dgerndt (Nov 11, 2010)

Thanks so much for your help!

P.S. I meant the mantis eating so much that their belly will burst. Like how goldfish will keep eating until they die.


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## LauraMG (Nov 11, 2010)

Deby said:


> P.S. I meant the mantis eating so much that their belly will burst. Like how goldfish will keep eating until they die.


Oh! :lol: I'm the queen of misunderstanding lately! But no, they won't, but once they fill up sometimes they won't eat for a few. A good balance between a flat abdomen and an about to explode abdomen should be the goal. I don't alway hit the mark with that one myself :blink:


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## Jesskb (Nov 11, 2010)

mios come in a large color spectrum . The one I gave you is just a yellowish variation. My other two females from the same guy I bought yours from are yellow too, the males I got from him were bright green. I don't know how she lost the foot though. I never noticed that before. Is it just her foot or a portion of her leg? Could it have gotten caught in the lid of her jar or anything?


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## Rick (Nov 12, 2010)

Deby said:


> I'm a pretty new mantis owner and I have a few questions.
> 
> I've been reading through some of the forums and it seems like there's a lot of care involved when a mantis molts. I recently got some Chinese and Egyptian nymphs, and I'm not sure when they're due to molt. But I want to make sure I do everything right when the time comes. So what should I do? I mist them every other day and they have plenty of twigs to hang upside down on.
> 
> ...


The key to enjoying this hobby is to not get stressed out and worry too much. TOo many new people to this worry WAY too much. Unless it is very dry just mist once a day. Or keep a substrate like spaghnum moss slightly damp and remoisten it every few days. I like the paper towel approach and mist daily. There is not extra care involved for molting.

A mantis will not eat iself to death. Feed the mantis enough to keep it plump. If the mantid's abdomen looks about to burst then hold off a feeding or two.

Your mantis is not fond of you and does not like to be held. Frequent handling is not good for them. These are more look don't touch type of pets.


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## sporeworld (Nov 12, 2010)

Obviously, from past posts, I disagree with Rick's comment about not handling mantids, but I do acknowledge that he could be right. I'm just not interested in yet another fish tank that I just stare at and can't interact with...

As for overfeeding, I have let a few adult mantids feed too much, in my opinion. I had one Dead Leaf female subadult eat so much that she was having trouble supporting her abdomen. She wouldn't hang upside down from the top, so she was always at an angle, and started to get mishapen and struggle, and eventually died (possibly from a fall). I've also had a Chinese that burst the side of her abdomen from over eating (and I also think fell). She didn't die, but it wasn't pretty. Finally, I had a European who got her backside clogged from ooth debri, and cracked on the side a bit. Ooth stuff oozed out and hardened, and she lived another 3 weeks.


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## dgerndt (Nov 12, 2010)

@Jess, it's just her foot that's missing. She seems to be getting along fine, though.

@Rick, I disagree.  But that's just me.

@everyone else, thank you for your answers. ^^


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## Rick (Nov 13, 2010)

Deby said:


> @Jess, it's just her foot that's missing. She seems to be getting along fine, though.
> 
> @Rick, I disagree.  But that's just me.
> 
> @everyone else, thank you for your answers. ^^


It's an insect. It isn't fond of you. We like to attach human emotions to other creatures that obviously do not have them. These are not dogs or cats or other higher animals. Occasional handling is fine. However frequent handling is not good for them. Trust me, been there done that.


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## dgerndt (Nov 13, 2010)

Rick said:


> It's an insect. It isn't fond of you. We like to attach human emotions to other creatures that obviously do not have them. These are not dogs or cats or other higher animals. Occasional handling is fine. However frequent handling is not good for them. Trust me, been there done that.


Well she seems to like (or at least trust) me more than other people. When I take her out, she prefers my hands rather than my friends and family. But I do understand that taking out my mantids could cause them stress, so I try to refrain from holding them all the time. Still, I'm going to keep on believing that my mantis likes me.


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## GreenOasis (Nov 14, 2010)

LOL...yes, we humans like to project our emotions onto our animal friends, but...they probably DO enjoy being outside their container, able to "explore", even in a limited sense, for awhile....I see the same thing in my reptiles. The mantis "likes/trusts" you because you are the one that takes it out &amp; the one that is familiar to it. Like the "tree" or "bush" it would live in in the wild. Sounds like you are doing fine, except that you might want to mist every day. I keep moss in the bottom of my cups &amp; mist them every evening when I feed. If there are more than 3 fflies in the cup, then I don't feed that night. (Usually means they are about to shed when they don't eat.)

-Carey Kurtz-


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## Ricardo (Nov 18, 2010)

Rick said:


> It's an insect. It isn't fond of you. We like to attach human emotions to other creatures that obviously do not have them. These are not dogs or cats or other higher animals. Occasional handling is fine. However frequent handling is not good for them. Trust me, been there done that.


Because it is an insect it probably lacks the ability to care. Frequent handling is bad, but on the occasion you should be allowed to take your mantid and interact for a few minutes or so. I personally think that some handling can be benificial .

The mantis may be able to familiarize, but may only just see you as a mere object or acquaintance in which to take advantage of. I personally believe insect don't care about you. Very simple organisms shouldn't be able to, but they perhaps can see you as a vessel to benifit them. Indeed when commotion arises they will get excited because the pattern of food dictates such. I think familiarization( I mean understanding that the human provides food and that the mantid may understand you as assisting as appose to threatening )is a trait that they have to some degree. They may appreciate your presence, as it means food or exploration, but that's as far as the relationship goes between man and mantid in my opinion. they benefit from us, they enjoy/appreciate us. but in my opinion, only because they know what we do for them.( food ). They really only care about the food supply.

Though I do accept I have much to learn. still a n00by


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