# i just bought a pair of african mantids



## bruty2fruity (May 31, 2006)

a male and a female approc 3.5 inches long both adult and stocky the female seems to devour anything that comes near her. the male does'nt even seem the slightest bit interested in food. would it seem like ive got a newly shedded male and a female in her prime. or an old useless male with a female in her prime?


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## Rick (May 31, 2006)

It's normal. This is one of my favorite species. Like a lot of males these eat very little. Be sure the female is fed often as they have a huge appetite.


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## bruty2fruity (May 31, 2006)

ur not wrong there..... 18 crickets later and three locusts only 2cms tho


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## Rick (May 31, 2006)

I have some right now and the female is very fat with eggs. She will eat as much as I can give her. But I feed her a few food items once a day.


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## bruty2fruity (Jun 1, 2006)

ur not kidding. shes a beast.

how will i know when shes ready to mate? she is really really fat. just i dont think the male is forth coming enough :lol: but he finally ate last night. one single locust


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## Rick (Jun 1, 2006)

Well if she has been an adult more than a week or so she is ready and especially if she is full of eggs. Mine just laid her first ooth.


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## bruty2fruity (Jun 2, 2006)

she is massive. real pot bellied but u cant have fun if u cant grab a little :lol: i will try and mate them tomorow. how do i go about doing it, just introducing them to each other in one enclosure?


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## 13ollox (Jun 2, 2006)

Make sure you got a big enclouser 1st . for the male to run an hide in if the female decides he looks more like food than mating potensial . then feed her up as much as she can , make sure she is looking the other way then introduce your male , he should notice her and jump on for the ride ! well thats the theory . i will mating my 1st mantids in about a month im guessing !  

Neil


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## bruty2fruity (Jun 2, 2006)

i have the tank, thats no problem. just getting them out is the prob. they love their homes. and the femail loves her food. shes like j-lo that fat of hers


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## Rick (Jun 2, 2006)

Everybody will tell you something different but I will tell you my method. I get the male out of his cage and set him on a surface in the room. Can be a flat surface, a house plant etc. I let him sit for several minutes to calm down. Then I get the female out. I have her walk off my hand about seven or so inches in front of him. Make sure she walks away from him. He should show interest. If she doesn't walk I use something to prod her along. Usually it only takes a few seconds before he jumps on. Make sure she doesn't go crazy and try to grab him. If she does just try to keep her front legs away from him. Eventually she should settle down.

If not then seperate them and try again. You can also give her somethign to eat so when he jumps on she is occupied. He may jump on backwards but don't worry that is normal. He is just protecting his head for those first few seconds. He will turn around. I don't lock them in an enclosure but instead leave them in the room free. After several hours he will be done and will fly away. I give them the whole room so he has plenty of space to get away. These are very easy to mate.


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## bruty2fruity (Jun 2, 2006)

yeah i was thinking this. i may have to do that infact. how many ootheca do these african guys lay?


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## Rick (Jun 2, 2006)

Depends. At least a few. I've had it range anywhere from 4 to 9.


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## bruty2fruity (Jun 6, 2006)

quite concerning. in the past week all hes eaten is half a locust


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## 13ollox (Jun 6, 2006)

> It's normal. This is one of my favorite species. Like a lot of males these eat very little..


i wouldnt worry about it ! an alternative would be try offering him something different as that food might be unsuitable for him !

Neil


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## Rick (Jun 6, 2006)

> quite concerning. in the past week all hes eaten is half a locust


Seems about right based on my experiences. You, like a lot of people on here worry way too much about these things.


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## bruty2fruity (Jun 7, 2006)

found the problem. he was scared of the locusts. he seems to prefer the smaller ones to the large ones - but he's happy.

soon i shall mate them


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