# I Don't want to sound stupid



## Piggadilly.Circus (Apr 24, 2012)

At the Moment i am hand feeding my Mantid small locusts, i would soon like to vary its diet with small borwn crickets and/or BB Flies, thing is here in the uk its impossible to find the flies; does any uk member have a website they buy there flies from that i could use please, another thing would be that im feeding the locusts at the moment on cucumber and carrott ( this is the part that might sound stupid) But would feding them Banana be good because iy contains alot of protein and i thought it would get passed through to mantid when fed  

Any Advice or tips on feeding would be gratefull  

Callum


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## PhilinYuma (Apr 24, 2012)

I have no idea where to buy BBs in GB. Have you tried a Google search? Soon, though, you should be able to catch them outside.

Bananas contain less than 1% protein by weight; they are mostly carbohydrate, like most fruits.

So far as I know, British locusts and grasshoppers , unlike American feeder crickets, are vegetarians. Predatory insects thrive on insects that are fed whatever they would eat in nature.

May I ask why you are hand feeding your mantis? Is it injured and incapable of feeding itself?

Good luck!


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## agent A (Apr 24, 2012)

Take ham or chicken (cooked), heat it in the microwave, set it out into the sun, be ready with a net, and green bottleflies should come soon


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## Mvalenz (Apr 24, 2012)

agent A said:


> Take ham or chicken (cooked), heat it in the microwave, set it out into the sun, be ready with a net, and green bottleflies should come soon


That's what I do when running low on flies. Works well.

And I read that feeding carrot to feeders can be harmful to mantids.


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## dlemmings (Apr 24, 2012)

Mvalenz said:


> That's what I do when running low on flies. Works well.
> 
> And I read that feeding carrot to feeders can be harmful to mantids.


hmmm, where did you hear this?

i feed my crickets carrot and misc. greens from fridge...my Lineola eats crickets almost exclusively and she is going strong.

but I my Ghost pair both died somewhat early and I would feed them crickets when I ran out of BBF

anyone else hear of carrots being bad to feed crix, or have any solid proof?

Callum, do any fishing shops sell maggots or "spikes" as we call them in U.S.?

I prefer to buy maggots as they store well in the refrigerator, i set some out each week to pupate. then they can be stored in fridge again ( set some opupa out each day so they hatch dailey)


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## warpdrive (Apr 24, 2012)

In the UK, some breeders won't sell you mantids if crickets/ corrots are going to be used.

I hear that the corrots are not good to fed our feeders. Not sure why.

Harry


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## Piggadilly.Circus (Apr 24, 2012)

PhilinYuma said:


> I have no idea where to buy BBs in GB. Have you tried a Google search? Soon, though, you should be able to catch them outside.
> 
> Bananas contain less than 1% protein by weight; they are mostly carbohydrate, like most fruits.
> 
> ...


No She is fine at feeding but i just make sure that she catches it and that the locust doesn't eat her


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## Piggadilly.Circus (Apr 24, 2012)

It seems the UK Mantis Forum is for using Carrotts for feeders, but i am gratefull for the advice form ow on i will feed them on cucumber


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## Mantiskid (Apr 24, 2012)

Piggadilly.Circus said:


> i just make sure that she catches it and that the locust doesn't eat her


As long as the locust is well fed and isn't left un-eaten in nelly's cage for over 2 days, it should be fine. Crickets are a pain though. Sometimes they will bite my Mantids while they are being eaten 0_0.



Piggadilly.Circus said:


> It seems the UK Mantis Forum is for using Carrotts for feeders, but i am gratefull for the advice form ow on i will feed them on cucumber


Cucumber is good, as is potato and lettuce. I use Flukers Orange cube cricket diet and Flukers water gel, both of which are great for gut-loading. It should be fine for Crickets, too.


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## sinensispsyched (Apr 24, 2012)

Superworms have a bad bite too! They once bit part of a raptorial right off!


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## Mvalenz (Apr 25, 2012)

This is were I saw it.



mantiscurious said:


> hmmm, where did you hear this?
> 
> i feed my crickets carrot and misc. greens from fridge...my Lineola eats crickets almost exclusively and she is going strong.
> 
> ...


This is were I saw it:

http://mantiskingdom.com/index.php?main_page=page&amp;id=42&amp;chapter=3

It could of just been this persons personal experience.


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## PhilinYuma (Apr 26, 2012)

Mantiskid said:


> As long as the locust is well fed and isn't left un-eaten in nelly's cage for over 2 days, it should be fine. Crickets are a pain though. Sometimes they will bite my Mantids while they are being eaten 0_0.
> 
> Cucumber is good, as is potato and lettuce. I use Flukers Orange cube cricket diet and Flukers water gel, both of which are great for gut-loading. It should be fine for Crickets, too.


I have never really understood the reason for "gut loading" mantis prey. Is it to provide them with the veggies (most prey animals are vegetarians or omnivores) or vitamins and minerals that they won't get from eating prey that have not been "gut loaded"? I have heard that calcium is one of the minerals it provides. Is that true? How does the cost of 1lb of Fluker's Orange compare with, say, 1lb of cabbage?


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## Mantiskid (Apr 26, 2012)

PhilinYuma said:


> I have never really understood the reason for "gut loading" mantis prey. Is it to provide them with the veggies (most prey animals are vegetarians or omnivores) or vitamins and minerals that they won't get from eating prey that have not been "gut loaded"? I have heard that calcium is one of the minerals it provides. Is that true? How does the cost of 1lb of Fluker's Orange compare with, say, 1lb of cabbage?


Yes, it is true that "gut-loaded" prey have a better nutritional value than those that are not, and the "gut-load" stuff does provide calcium and other vitamins/minerals. I also sometimes feed my Mantids "calciworms" (Hermetia illucens larvae) and the adult flies as a supplement.


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## Mantiskid (Apr 26, 2012)

I haven't compared 1 lb of cabbage to 1 lb of Fluker's orange, but I have had my Fluker's orange last over a year. But then again, I only buy 30-40 Crickets at a time.


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## gripen (Apr 26, 2012)

Mantiskid said:


> Yes, it is true that "gut-loaded" prey have a better nutritional value than those that are not, and the "gut-load" stuff does provide calcium and other vitamins/minerals. I also sometimes feed my Mantids "calciworms" (Hermetia illucens larvae) and the adult flies as a supplement.


I am with Phil on this one. I see no value with gutloading prey for mantids.


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## angelofdeathzz (Apr 26, 2012)

Have you ever heard "you are what you eat"? I think that would apply to feeders as well, but I don't use crix much, mostly flies that are gutloaded on honey.


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## PhilinYuma (Apr 27, 2012)

@Mantiskid: What you have probably already guessed about me is true. I am a really , really rotten person. My last post was designed to lure you into saying that you believe that mantises need calcium so that i can ask if it helps in the development of their "tiny bones". Then I have a nightcap (and it's not hot chocolate, either), and a good chuckle and go to bed.

But no, gut loading of insect prey is not practiced in any mantis lab that I know of -- I guess that it was introduced to this hobby by herpers, where its use is justified --and there is an article somewhere on the net by a woman scienrtist that mentions the dangers of overloading predators with unwanted vitamins and particularly minerals from haphazardly gut fed prey.

What has been well documented is that mantids thrive when fed on flies and bees that are carrying pollen on their hairy bodies. It's a form of protein, present in small amounts in raw honey. Unfortunately, most honey marketers filter their honey first so that it looks "clean and clear" to stupid folks like us! Like Nick, though, i have always tended to feed my HFs and BBs honey because it doesn't form a concrete-like mass like a paste of dried milk and sugar does (though there's a way around that, too!) and flies in net cages , at least in large numbers, fly more than in the wild and need plenty of sugar to provide energy for their flight muscles, otherwise they will die of exhaustion.

There is another factor that we don't mention often. Food is metonymous for love in Western cultures and we feel that we need to make special efforts to feed our extra special pets. Usually, until a member starts worrying because his/her mantis is throwing up from being overfed, it does no harm, and it is part of the mantis-keeper gestalt, so I don'r feel bad that I never seem to convince anyone, except those like Gripen , who know already, that this is a waste of time.

O.K. It's nearly the end of April. I'll try to wait until July before I slip in my "tiny bones" joke again, but i'm not making any promises!


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## Krissim Klaw (Apr 27, 2012)

PhilinYuma said:


> O.K. It's nearly the end of April. I'll try to wait until July before I slip in my "tiny bones" joke again, but i'm not making any promises!


Tiny bones is no laughing matter. It is the leading cause of boken bone syndrom in mantises. I had to make a mini full body suit of armor just so my latest mantis could get around without turning into a pile of mush do to all his tiny bones breaking.


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## patrickfraser (Apr 27, 2012)

An exo-exo? :lol:


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## Mantiskid (May 8, 2012)

PhilinYuma said:


> @Mantiskid: What you have probably already guessed about me is true. I am a really , really rotten person. My last post was designed to lure you into saying that you believe that mantises need calcium so that i can ask if it helps in the development of their "tiny bones". Then I have a nightcap (and it's not hot chocolate, either), and a good chuckle and go to bed.
> 
> But no, gut loading of insect prey is not practiced in any mantis lab that I know of -- I guess that it was introduced to this hobby by herpers, where its use is justified --and there is an article somewhere on the net by a woman scienrtist that mentions the dangers of overloading predators with unwanted vitamins and particularly minerals from haphazardly gut fed prey.
> 
> ...


I'm not an idiot, man. If you woulda asked me about their "tiny bones" I would have told you "they don't have bones, you @#%$^!!" And then I would get in trouble with Peter or Rick and they would kick me off the freakin' forum.


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## angelofdeathzz (May 9, 2012)

I think that was all just some Yuma humor, so don't take it personal, wouldn't be the first time his off color humor/remarks made a member mad and I doubt it will be the last?

All in fun once you know him, well thats my view anyway...


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## Mantiskid (May 10, 2012)

angelofdeathzz said:


> I think that was all just some Yuma humor, so don't take it personal, wouldn't be the first time his off color humor/remarks made a member mad and I doubt it will be the last?
> 
> All in fun once you know him, well thats my view anyway...


Okay, Okay. I'm just a real hothead LOL!


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