# Embarrasing Mantis Question...



## Joe Caruso (Jun 27, 2008)

I am interested in purchasing a mantis, but am a little apprehensive about feeding it.

I know it sounds weird, but I'd feel a little funny about tossing a live cricket to a mantis knowing it was about to be eaten.

However, all the sites I've checked out say Mantises will only eat live food.

So, my question is, would it work if I bought dried insects and lowered them in with a pair of tweezers or something? Moved them around so making them look to the mantis like they are alive?

And before you mention it, yes, I know how hypocritical it that I don't want to use insects as live food but are perfectly ok with them being killed and freeze dried by others first.

And yes, I am perfectly prepared to accept that maybe I am 'missing the point' as to what being a mantis owner is all about.

But I feel the way I feel, and would appreciate frank, honest replies.


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## bugzilla (Jun 27, 2008)

It may work on some of the more agressive species like chinese mantis (never tried it mind you) but mantis do get alot of water from their food so maybe dried won't be suitable. You'd probably have to feed freshly frozen which you'll have to do yourself I'm afraid.

How about giving them flies. Better for the mantis and don't seem to envoke any feelings of guilt in me at least.

I felt the same way you do when I started keeping mantids but one you get past the first few feeds you it's fascinating to watch and it gets rather enjoyable too mwahahaha!!!!!!!


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## chrisboy101 (Jun 27, 2008)

nah, i dont think u can use dried insects. african and chinese mantids

might go for it with them being so aggressive. but it be boring if u did feed them dried food.

half the excitment of having a mantis is too watch them hunt.  is it that u feel sorry for the crickets?


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## Joe Caruso (Jun 27, 2008)

chrisboy101 said:


> nah, i dont think u can use dried insects. african and chinese mantidsmight go for it with them being so aggressive. but it be boring if u did feed them dried food.
> 
> half the excitment of having a mantis is too watch them hunt.  is it that u feel sorry for the crickets?


That's basically it. I mean, regardless of how primitive crickets are, they're still alive and I'd be throwing them to their doom. Again, the irony of the fact that I'd be perfectly happy chucking them crickets killed en mass by others is not lost on me. I guess I'm just looking for the least emotionally trying method.

Point taken regarding the moisture that the mantids get from live food, but couldn't this be gotten around by keeping a water dish in the enclosure?


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## macro junkie (Jun 27, 2008)

if your cant handle feeding live food to mantids this hobbie isnt for you.


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## idolomantis (Jun 27, 2008)

uhm just trow them in and walk away i would say


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## OGIGA (Jun 27, 2008)

You can make the mantis grab and eat, but I can't imagine them being healthy like that.


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## Hypoponera (Jun 27, 2008)

The water dish won't work. A mantid will get all its water from dinner and drinking from drops on the surface. You will need to mist the tank every day. Even more often if your bugs are kept in a room with relatively low humidity. That is a problem here in the desert.

You might be able to hand feed your mantid. But keep in mind that a mantis is a predator. Nature designed it to tackle live pray.


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## Krissim Klaw (Jun 28, 2008)

I'd be worried about the potential health problems of eating a diet of dried crickets. Can't help but imagine that like so many other cooking processes vital nutrients are lost. Also like mentioned, they get a lot of water from their food. Instead of focusing on their demise, how about trying to give your feeder insects the best life possible before feeding them?

If it really bothers you, then perhaps you would have more fun raising a vegan insect like a walking stick.


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## chrisboy101 (Jun 28, 2008)

lol, its the way of life. i wouldnt feed them butterflies, then id feel cruel


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## Joe Caruso (Jun 28, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies.

So I guess that possibly matis owning is not for me, (which sucks because I really wanted one).

If the mantis would suffer from not being provided with live food then by definition it would be cruel to bring it into that kind of environment, and therefore something I wouldn't be prepared to do.

Oh well...I'm off to 'domesticated-hyenas-forum.com' to check out some other pet-owning option...


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## matt020593 (Jun 28, 2008)

chrisboy101 said:


> lol, its the way of life. i wouldnt feed them butterflies, then id feel cruel


I would lol.

But I agree with what macro junkie said, you shouldn't keep mantids if you can't feed them live food. They need it really.


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## Rick (Jun 28, 2008)

Find a different hobby. Maybe phasmids are for you.


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## chrisboy101 (Jun 28, 2008)

Rick said:


> Find a different hobby. Maybe phasmids are for you.


is that like stick insects n stuff?


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## idolomantis (Jun 28, 2008)

chrisboy101 said:


> is that like stick insects n stuff?


indeed.

go to phasmidforum.com

they eat plants so no problem!


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## Krissim Klaw (Jun 28, 2008)

chrisboy101 said:


> lol, its the way of life. i wouldnt feed them butterflies, then id feel cruel


Lol butterflies have always been a big hit among my mantises. Must admit though I don't look at butterflies the same way. Now when I see one innocently fluttering around I always think, OMG MANTIS FASTFOOD!I find feeding wild insects less cruel then feeding captured, store bought feeder ones. At least the wild ones had a chance to escape me. Always wonder what my neighbors would think though if they knew when I was running around with my net chasing pretty butterflies that I am catching them to for mantis chow. Still I suppose that is less creepy then me sticking pins in them for display on my wall like some collectors. :lol:


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## Hypoponera (Jun 28, 2008)

Hey now! I resemble that collector remark!!


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## darkspeed (Jun 28, 2008)

Dont feel bad. Dying in the mandibles of a mantis is the greatest honor an insect can ever achieve. Crickets and moths and flies grow up on stories of the brave heroes of their kind that gave themselves to the highest order of insects known as the mantids. Young crickets dream of someday falling prey to the bug gods that we so proudly keep and breed. Trust me... they enjoy it. Really.


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## Joe Caruso (Jun 28, 2008)

DARKSPEED said:


> Dont feel bad. Dying in the mandibles of a mantis is the greatest honor an insect can ever achieve. Crickets and moths and flies grow up on stories of the brave heroes of their kind that gave themselves to the highest order of insects known as the mantids. Young crickets dream of someday falling prey to the bug gods that we so proudly keep and breed. Trust me... they enjoy it. Really.


You're slightly weird. I mean 'dungeons &amp; dragons' weird.


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## darkspeed (Jun 28, 2008)

Joe Caruso said:


> You're slightly weird. I mean 'dungeons &amp; dragons' weird.


I dont play dungeons and dragons! :blink: 

At least not anymore lol  

But seriously. Just as was so passionately debated a few days ago before the whole thread got magically deleted, insects lack the complex nervious systems that vertibrates have and it is widely accepted that they therefore do not feel pain. Where you stand in that debate is up to you, but most of us dont consider the feelings of those who get eaten. If you cannot overcome your sypmathy for the feeder bugs then maybe mantids arent the pet for you.

Besides...

They enjoy it. Really.


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## ExoticOddities (Jun 28, 2008)

There is an absolute truth to the premise that there are vital nutrients (as well as moisture) lost in feeding dried "anything" to any creature.

Joe, I think you probably have a good heart to not want to "play God" with the life of even the tiniest creature, but the fact of the matter is ALL animals are either predator or prey (or both). Crickets are essentially vermin, and I would much prefer feeding them to a mantid than butterflies, which (like bees) help spread the gift of life through their foraging from flower-to-flower.

The suggestion of feeding flies was also good, as they are nothing but vermin and scavengers themselves. To have an unlimited supply, simply leave a piece of meat in a dish outside and in no time you will have all the flies you ever wanted (or didn't want).

What's funny (actually sad) is that the same people who make sure to feed live animals to as insignificant a creature as a praying mantis, will then go ahead and feed their dogs a bag of dried dog food. Dogs are a hundred times more complex, intelligent creatures than a mere mantis, and yet 99% of dog owners will dump dry, barren, nutritionally-devoid "kibble" in front of their dogs to eat every day ... and yet provide whole animals to their mantids.

As a breeder of dogs for over 20 years, I can't tell you how many dogs I have seen fall apart prematurely _precisely because_ of this same concept ... that raw, whole animals are what the carnivorous predator we call "dogs" were in fact designed to eat, and that by feeding them "dry dogfood" all their lives instead, most owners don't realize that they are slowly poisoning their animals with an unhealthy concoction that will never be able to take the place of feeding raw.

Anyway, good posts. Mantids were designed to eat other raw, whole, living arthropods ... and that's just the way it is.

Jack

.


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## mrblue (Jun 28, 2008)

ExoticOddities said:


> Crickets are essentially vermin, and I would much prefer feeding them to a mantid than butterflies, which (like bees) help spread the gift of life through their foraging from flower-to-flower.The suggestion of feeding flies was also good, as they are nothing but vermin and scavengers themselves


nature is not as black and white as this. caterpillars can be considered pests and vermin when they infest and destroy plants and crops, likewise flies (like bees) can also act as pollinators, not to mention the important role they play in genetics research (drosophila).


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 29, 2008)

I concure Mr Blue, the flies do pollinate and so do most insect that move from one plant to another, and the caterpillar is a pest to a lot of our crops, take the tomato hornworm, Yuck :blink: , they ruin the plants if left to feast there.


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## ExoticOddities (Jun 29, 2008)

Point taken.

But let us not get lost arguing trivial minutia of which insect trumps which in the "vermin" department ... and in the process forget *the point* of this thread ... which is that _mantids require living, whole animals to eat and not dried ones_.

If you folks would rather have flies and crickets all over your home and yard, than butterflies and bees, then by all means cultivate these creatures and feed your mantids butterflies and honey-gatherers instead. However, I would venture no small wager that most people would rather keep the butterflies and bees in their gardens and dispense with the flies and crickets.

Either way, regardless of which food item you choose to select for your mantids, its being alive and raw is what's healthiest for them.

.


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## Krissim Klaw (Jun 29, 2008)

ExoticOddities said:


> If you folks would rather have flies and crickets all over your home and yard, than butterflies and bees, then by all means cultivate these creatures and feed your mantids butterflies and honey-gatherers instead. However, I would venture no small wager that most people would rather keep the butterflies and bees in their gardens and dispense with the flies and crickets.Either way, regardless of which food item you choose to select for your mantids, its being alive and raw is what's healthiest for them.


Nope, I would rather have a healthy mix of both. Without those vermin insects as you insist on calling them, waste material, decay, and a load of other ###### would build up making it impossible for the little cute flowers and butterflies to exist. Just because they aren't as pretty doesn't mean they are any less important to a healthy garden.


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## Krissim Klaw (Jun 29, 2008)

Hypoponera said:


> Hey now! I resemble that collector remark!!


 What? I kid, I kid, collecting insect carcasses to display on your wall is totally normal.


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## chrisboy101 (Jun 29, 2008)

this is turning off topic lol


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## idolomantis (Jun 29, 2008)

chrisboy101 said:


> this is turning off topic lol


happens to the most topics lol


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## chrisboy101 (Jun 29, 2008)

idolomantis said:


> happens to the most topics lol


only the interesting ones


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## ExoticOddities (Jun 29, 2008)

That is because too many feel the need to "say something" ... while too few actually have something to say.

.


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## MANTIS DUDE (Jun 30, 2008)

well mabey if you squeeze sum of those tasty guts out and put it to the mantises mouth so he can slurp up the organs


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## MANTIS DUDE (Jun 30, 2008)

yuck!


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