# Idolomantis Diabolica feeding trouble



## utterbeastage (Sep 19, 2009)

Ever since moulting to L8 my female Idolomantis Diabolica has hardly been eating , her abdomen was worryingly thin but by the looks of things she's taken a bluebottle or two but it's been about two weeks since the moult, I'mjust worried she'll just starve herself to death (After all this bloody hard work!)

Any Ideas ?

I've tried handfeeding but she's not eatng at all, picture of her abdomen in the link:

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k97/long...do/IMG_0082.jpg

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated


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## massaman (Sep 19, 2009)

maybe she is going to become a adult if not alreadgy


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## utterbeastage (Sep 19, 2009)

massaman said:


> maybe she is going to become a adult if not alreadgy


I was thinking that but her wingbuds are nowhere near as large as they should be right before moulting , she has another two weeks or so at least


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## Rick (Sep 19, 2009)

She does not appear ready to molt yet. She doens't look that thin but maybe it is the angle of the pic.


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## agent A (Sep 19, 2009)

Try handfeeding her, honey usually gets them eating again! Works every time for my creobroters.


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## utterbeastage (Sep 20, 2009)

Rick said:


> She does not appear ready to molt yet. She doens't look that thin but maybe it is the angle of the pic.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2107/227702..._16ed2cfe14.jpg

^In comparison to this picture , that's what got me worried in the first place , but if she doesn't look skinny to anyone that's put my mind at rest  

I'll give the honey a try


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## ismart (Sep 20, 2009)

She looks fine in the picture. If your that worried why don't you increase the temperature a little. That should raise her metabolism up and maybe she will eat more.


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## pohchunyee (Sep 21, 2009)

utterbeastage:

Is your L8 still not eating? I notice this on my Idolomantis as well. However, I place them in a huge 3 ft X 1.5 ft X 1.5 ft cage and let tons of blue bottle flying around to stimulate them to feed. It works!


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## utterbeastage (Sep 21, 2009)

pohchunyee said:


> I agree! There is an old Chinese saying: You can't get the grapes, you'll always say it taste sour!utterbeastage:
> 
> Is your L8 still not eating? I notice this on my Idolomantis as well. However, I place them in a huge 3 ft X 1.5 ft X 1.5 ft cage and let tons of blue bottle flying around to stimulate them to feed. It works!


mine is in a 2foot cube (estimate) and still isn't eatng roperly , ive noticed they always have random periods where they won't eat ANYTHING at all.


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## utterbeastage (Sep 22, 2009)

one more thing , she STILL isn't eating!  

how close to a moult do you reckon she is?


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## Rick (Sep 22, 2009)

Sorry for not cleaning this up sooner. Keep it on topic everyone.


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## pohchunyee (Sep 22, 2009)

Hey.......try to squeeze the inside of a cricket/flies/any insect and put it right on her mouth and see if she start eating that way!


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## utterbeastage (Sep 22, 2009)

pohchunyee said:


> Hey.......try to squeeze the inside of a cricket/flies/any insect and put it right on her mouth and see if she start eating that way!


mm lovely , Ill give it a go  

although I reckon she's quite close to moulting


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## Rick (Sep 22, 2009)

If she is subadult she didn't look close to molting in your first pic. I was trying to get your second pic to show up but I think you have the link wrong.


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## bassist (Sep 22, 2009)

pohchunyee said:


> Hey.......try to squeeze the inside of a cricket/flies/any insect and put it right on her mouth and see if she start eating that way!


Cricket? Are you insane?


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## pohchunyee (Sep 22, 2009)

bassist said:


> Cricket? Are you insane?


If you keep your cricket clean/ bought from trusted pet store... they can be good feeder. I do this all the time for my mismolted mantis... some survive when the mismolt is not critical/life threatening.


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## bassist (Sep 22, 2009)

pohchunyee said:


> If you keep your cricket clean/ bought from trusted pet store... they can be good feeder. I do this all the time for my mismolted mantis... some survive when the mismolt is not critical/life threatening.


You cannot feed _Idolomantis _crickets.


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## utterbeastage (Sep 22, 2009)

Rick said:


> If she is subadult she didn't look close to molting in your first pic. I was trying to get your second pic to show up but I think you have the link wrong.


http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k97/long...do/IMG_0092.jpg

theres the link , Im telling myself she'll moult because I dont want her to starve herself to death for no reason


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## Rick (Sep 22, 2009)

utterbeastage said:


> http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k97/long...do/IMG_0092.jpgtheres the link , Im telling myself she'll moult because I dont want her to starve herself to death for no reason


If the next molt is adult that one is not ready The wing buds would be swollen.


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## pohchunyee (Sep 22, 2009)

bassist said:


> You cannot feed _Idolomantis _crickets.


I have idolomantis myself...and Yes I am feeding them both cricket and blue bottle flies. Anyway...please stick to the topic!


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## Cosmic (Sep 22, 2009)

utterbeastage said:


> Im telling myself she'll moult because I dont want her to starve herself to death for no reason


She would look more like this if she where near a moult.







I've never really had them off food unless they were due to moult or about to lay, all I can suggest is keeping plenty of Bluebottles in with her and hope she gets her appetite back.

What sort of temps have you got her under?



pohchunyee said:


> I have idolomantis myself...and Yes I am feeding them both cricket and blue bottle flies. Anyway...please stick to the topic!


I would never recommend feeding crickets to _Idolomantis_ or any Empusid for that matter, besides my older idolo nymphs/adults generally ignore other crawling foods.


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## Gurd (Sep 24, 2009)

Have u tried a moth or 2?


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## utterbeastage (Sep 24, 2009)

Cosmicbug said:


> She would look more like this if she where near a moult.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I've got some waxworms coming in that are hatching soon, She seems to go for moths a lot more.

Temps are just under 35c directly under the spotlight , and 25c at the top corners.

It looks like she's eaten one or two when I wasn't looking , which is hopefully her on the way to eating properly again


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## Kruszakus (Sep 24, 2009)

I found waxmoths to be one of the worst feeder insects - it's basically flying fat.


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## utterbeastage (Sep 25, 2009)

Kruszakus said:


> I found waxmoths to be one of the worst feeder insects - it's basically flying fat.


well it's an emergency , so I reckon a bit of fat is better than nothing


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## ABbuggin (Sep 26, 2009)

Where do you live? Unless it is winter where you are, catch some moths by a light at night. (gas station, grocery store, porch light, a spread sheet with a light shinning on it etc.) I had to do this once to hold my gongylus off until my order of flies came in.


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## utterbeastage (Sep 27, 2009)

ABbuggin said:


> Where do you live? Unless it is winter where you are, catch some moths by a light at night. (gas station, grocery store, porch light, a spread sheet with a light shinning on it etc.) I had to do this once to hold my gongylus off until my order of flies came in.


I live in the UK, that's what I was doing about two weeks ago , because of the weather all the moths have seemed to have just disappeared, thats why I moved onto flies in the first place


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## utterbeastage (Sep 30, 2009)

Dead mantis walking , it's been well over a week and she's still with us


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## Kruszakus (Sep 30, 2009)

If she is not engorging herself, it's not a good sign. Mine eat like crazy, they just tear through zounds of flies in a matter of hours - all healthy mantids do, especially Empusidae like Idolomantis.


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## mythal (Oct 1, 2009)

An L7 idolo female of mine also seems to be in trouble. She has lost her other predatory arm, most likely in a fight for a moth, and is not eating any flies or moths even when offered.

I've been able to feed her some honey and bee pollen mixture by dipping a stick on the goo and presenting it to her mouth. Maybe I'll try mashing some larvae to add to the mixture, but I guess that in a day or two it will be seen, if she starts feeding normally again.


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## utterbeastage (Oct 6, 2009)

mythal said:


> An L7 idolo female of mine also seems to be in trouble. She has lost her other predatory arm, most likely in a fight for a moth, and is not eating any flies or moths even when offered.
> 
> My L8 female doesn't seem to acknowledge bluebottles as food anymore , she totally ignores them.
> 
> ...


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## mythal (Oct 6, 2009)

^ Hopefully she will take the moth. Big wings and a lot of fluttering seems to attract attention from all Idolos in the same terrarium.

Unfortunately the female passed away. She did not take anything alive and slowly stopped eating altogether. I guess the damage was just a bit too much this time, though I think it might well have turned for the better with a bit more luck.

Wonder how sad you can get from an insect dying, although it would not live for too long regardless. Still, it is a living creature (and a pet) that you put so much effort into growing.


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## utterbeastage (Oct 6, 2009)

mythal said:


> ^ Hopefully she will take the moth. Big wings and a lot of fluttering seems to attract attention from all Idolos in the same terrarium.Unfortunately the female passed away. She did not take anything alive and slowly stopped eating altogether. I guess the damage was just a bit too much this time, though I think it might well have turned for the better with a bit more luck.
> 
> Wonder how sad you can get from an insect dying, although it would not live for too long regardless. Still, it is a living creature (and a pet) that you put so much effort into growing.


That's exactly what I think , sometimes its so frustrating when you put in loads of time and effort and you can lose that all with one slip while moulting.

how long did your female not eat for ?

I think mine is well past the three week mark , without eating anything at all


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## mythal (Nov 1, 2009)

Ah, sorry for the late reply... been away for a while now.

She lasted for only about a week. The lost limb must have quickened the process considerably, though.


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## utterbeastage (Nov 1, 2009)

mythal said:


> Ah, sorry for the late reply... been away for a while now.She lasted for only about a week. The lost limb must have quickened the process considerably, though.


mine is gone also , didnt last too long , had to freezer her in the end , I've got an L5 nymph still that Im determined to get to adult!


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