# Mantid scared of living food



## Marianna (Mar 23, 2011)

My mantid, who had been basically crippled for about a month and therefore I hand fed, now runs the opposite way of any living food (he runs because he has had a successful molt and can now stand, climb, RUN, etc. HOORAY). I may be over-protective, but I end up thinking he's going to starve and so I end up hand feeding the food to him instead of waiting to see if his instincts kick in (I usually wait an entire day to see if he eats his prey). I either need someone to tell me to CUT THAT OUT, or a way to get him to be a hunter again. Are there some classes I can sign him up for, or do I just let him grow hungry watching those crawly things in his home?


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## sufistic (Mar 23, 2011)

Try catching a butterfly that's not too big for it. Butterflies are good for evoking a hunting response from mantids.


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## hibiscusmile (Mar 23, 2011)

He needs a class! :lol: Send him here, we only charge 575.00 per day and within three weeks he will be completely healed, or as luck may have it, crippled again and will then still need you to hand feed him.. LOL, sorry, I make funny!


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## Marianna (Mar 23, 2011)

hibiscusmile said:


> He needs a class! :lol: Send him here, we only charge 575.00 per day and within three weeks he will be completely healed, or as luck may have it, crippled again and will then still need you to hand feed him.. LOL, sorry, I make funny!


You make funny, and it made me laugh! Am I being overly maternal?? By the way, for the love of my little mantis, who do I make out the initial check of $575 to?


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## hibiscusmile (Mar 23, 2011)

Oh just send to me! Hibiscus! :lol: One can never be to motherly IMO!


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## Marianna (Mar 23, 2011)

sufistic said:


> Try catching a butterfly that's not too big for it. Butterflies are good for evoking a hunting response from mantids.


Thanks for your idea. Unfortunately, in our cold weather right now, butterflies would unavailable. What would be your 2nd choice?


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## sufistic (Mar 23, 2011)

Marianna said:


> Thanks for your idea. Unfortunately, in our cold weather right now, butterflies would unavailable. What would be your 2nd choice?


Oh my apologies I had no idea. Try houseflies or anything that flies frantically in the face of looming death.


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## PhilinYuma (Mar 23, 2011)

Marianna said:


> You make funny, and it made me laugh! Am I being overly maternal?? *By the way, for the love of my little mantis, who do I make out the initial check of $575 to? *


Me.


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## Marianna (Mar 23, 2011)

sufistic said:


> Oh my apologies I had no idea. Try houseflies or anything that flies frantically in the face of looming death.


That's hysterical. I think i can do that!


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## Marianna (Mar 23, 2011)

You "Mantis People" are sure a funny group!!!!


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## warpdrive (Mar 23, 2011)

On a not so funny note...

Sometimes my mantids get scared if their food is too big for them.

So while I don't remember what you have or at what "stage" or age it is at, I would try a housefly first. Even if your mantid might be too big for it, it will help him/her feel safe while learning to hunt.

Harry


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## hibiscusmile (Mar 23, 2011)

Good Idea Harry, and yes we are a fun bunch and please ignore the guy named Phil! :lol:


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## Arwen9 (Mar 23, 2011)

sufistic said:


> Oh my apologies I had no idea. Try houseflies or anything that flies frantically in the face of looming death.


What he said.

I turn on my porch light for an hour and snatch moths/mosquitoes/etc of different sizes. B)


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## PhilinYuma (Mar 23, 2011)

Yeah, seriously, CUT THAT OUT! You have temporarily conditioned the poor little guy right out of his nartural instict to catch prey. Even if he had an eye problem or if his raptorial arms weren't working properly, he should make an attempt to strike. As everyone said, offer prey, probably a HF, of the right size and then LEAVE HIM ALONE. Mantids can go a week without food if they have to. Overcome your urge to baby him in a way that is seriously harmful for him. Surely on of the joys of keeping mantids is watching the speed and grace with which they capture prey. Get back to enjoying that.

By the way, how are you feeding him? Sticking the food directly into his mandibles? If you want to break him --and yourself -- back into the normal way of catching food, try dangling the prey in front of him on a piece of thread until he gets the "idea" of striking at it.

Let us know how your efforts progress!

BTW I don't really need a check for $575.

PayPal will be fine.


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## Krissim Klaw (Mar 23, 2011)

My first thought is the food might be too large. Go way down in size. Also as everyone suggested moths/butterflies are awesome in eliciting a prey response. Don't be afraid to give him some time. If my mantis doesn't take prey after a 10-30minutes of it being in the cage I remove it. Leaving the food running around in there all the time if they aren't interested can kill their drive to go after moving objects even more since the food is always there. You will find if you give him a break between the stimulation he will be far more keen to hunt and track the the movement. Finally, don't be afraid to go a few days in between meals, especially if you are feeding larger sized prey. My crew routinely goes 2-3 days between meals and I've had some go over a week between eating.


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## Marianna (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks for all the great advise!

Warpdrive @ I'll check with Petsmart to see if they carry flies cause it's still too cold here in PA to catch some. Never thought I'd be happy to see a fly! My mantid is about a L4 or 5, about 1.5", Chinese Mantid. Handsome fellow.

Midwestern girl @ that's great advise, I'll remember that in the warmer months! Thanks

hibiscusmile @ I think you are the queen of the forum, aren't you?  

Phil @ Good advise. I will TRY not to be "mom", and will dangle a cricket from a thread. I didn't know they could go so long without food! Thanks .... but forget the $575.


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## Marianna (Mar 23, 2011)

Krissim Klaw said:


> My first thought is the food might be too large. Go way down in size. Also as everyone suggested moths/butterflies are awesome in eliciting a prey response. Don't be afraid to give him some time. If my mantis doesn't take prey after a 10-30minutes of it being in the cage I remove it. Leaving the food running around in there all the time if they aren't interested can kill their drive to go after moving objects even more since the food is always there. You will find if you give him a break between the stimulation he will be far more keen to hunt and track the the movement. Finally, don't be afraid to go a few days in between meals, especially if you are feeding larger sized prey. My crew routinely goes 2-3 days between meals and I've had some go over a week between eating.


Krissim Klaw - I will call Petsmart.... but do you know if flying insects can be bought? I won't feed him tonite, no wonder I had kids that were fat babies! Is this stuff you learned in a book, or is this more a "watch &amp; learn" hobby?


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## Arwen9 (Mar 23, 2011)

Petsmart doesn't sell flies.

They sell different sized worms and various sized crickets. I've never seen flies.

How cold is it where you are? Even if there's no moths/butterflies, you might be able to draw in lacewings. Not all mantids will eat them, at least in my experience, but they come out earlier than moths and mosquitoes and etc. (at least from observation they seem to)

And they're dramatically smaller. The biggest ones are about 6 cm, usually smaller.







If worse comes to worse, you might try turning over large rocks or logs. There might be some different sized bugs hiding under there.

When my female kept running away, I actually crippled a few crickets. I'd pick one rather small one, pull off the hind legs, and put it on the same level and visual plane as the mantis.( gross. I know.  ) Its hobbling, wiggling movement did bring her interest. Eventually. But the moths/butterflies/flies brought the strongest response.


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## warpdrive (Mar 23, 2011)

House and bluebottle flys can be found at mantisplace.com or at mantispets.weebly.com.

You can also buy some wax worms and have them turn into moths. So easy too.

Harry


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## Krissim Klaw (Mar 24, 2011)

Marianna said:


> Krissim Klaw - I will call Petsmart.... but do you know if flying insects can be bought? I won't feed him tonite, no wonder I had kids that were fat babies! Is this stuff you learned in a book, or is this more a "watch &amp; learn" hobby?


I don't know of any larger chain pet stores that carry flying insects, but you can order flies from a number of online sites such as Mantisplace.com. In the meantime I would try feeding smaller crickets than you have been currently offering.You can learn a lot of info and tips in the forums on care, but you will also find that you will pick up a lot over time by simply keeping the mantises.


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## Marianna (Mar 25, 2011)

Krissim Klaw said:


> I don't know of any larger chain pet stores that carry flying insects, but you can order flies from a number of online sites such as Mantisplace.com. In the meantime I would try feeding smaller crickets than you have been currently offering.
> 
> You can learn a lot of info and tips in the forums on care, but you will also find that you will pick up a lot over time by simply keeping the mantises.


You are right, there are no local pet stores to me that sell flies, and I hate spending money on something that in just a few weeks I'm going to be shooing away! I do have some crickets that I'll try! Thanks!


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## Marianna (Mar 29, 2011)

4th day - no eating.


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## dgerndt (Mar 29, 2011)

Marianna said:


> 4th day - no eating.


How big is your mantis, and how big is the food? It might be too large for him, or maybe too small. If he still does not eat, you can just injure the crickets (pull off a few legs), and hope the slower movement will give him the courage to go for it.


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## Marianna (Mar 30, 2011)

Deby said:


> How big is your mantis, and how big is the food? It might be too large for him, or maybe too small. If he still does not eat, you can just injure the crickets (pull off a few legs), and hope the slower movement will give him the courage to go for it.


Ok, now I'm bordering on real concern. No movement with the live cricket at all. infact I actually measured both to get your input - mantid is 1.5", and cricket was 1/4". The cricket has died, so i gave a mealworm (that i decapitated) and he only ate a few bites. Now i think we are BOTH depressed!! I put out a container last night of sugar &amp; water to see if i can catch any flying things.... have to check it this morning. But like you said in your last post (about it being cold in Michigan), it's cold here in PA too. Thanks for your response.


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## dgerndt (Mar 31, 2011)

His food is about the perfect size for him. The size of the crickets shouldn't be the problem, then. Maybe you should just keep babying him. If he'll still eat when you kill it and offer it to him, then just keep doing that. Personally, I like to hand feed my mantids. I get to take them out and bond with them for a while.


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## Marianna (Mar 31, 2011)

Deby said:


> His food is about the perfect size for him. The size of the crickets shouldn't be the problem, then. Maybe you should just keep babying him. If he'll still eat when you kill it and offer it to him, then just keep doing that. Personally, I like to hand feed my mantids. I get to take them out and bond with them for a while.


You always know the right thing to say!  Well, I'm going to keep trying .... I won't feed him tonite, but I'll wait until tomorrow and try to slow down a cricket. And when it gets warmer outside (some areas around here are forecasting 10" of snow tonite!) I'll get some flying creatures to see what he thinks!


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## dgerndt (Apr 1, 2011)

Good idea. Keep us updated!


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## Marianna (Apr 5, 2011)

He did it! He ate his first crawling, living, breathing, not decapitated cricket in over 2 months! Thanks for everyone's input &amp; encouragement!!!


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## lancaster1313 (Apr 5, 2011)

:clap:


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## hibiscusmile (Apr 5, 2011)

Dance party comin!


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## dgerndt (Apr 5, 2011)

:clap: :clap: :clap: Hooray!! I'm so happy for you and your little guy! By the way, does he have a name yet?


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## PhilinYuma (Apr 5, 2011)

Congratulaions


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## Arwen9 (Apr 5, 2011)

Awesome. B)


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## Marianna (Apr 5, 2011)

likebugs said:


> :clap:


Thanks likebugs!


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## Marianna (Apr 5, 2011)

hibiscusmile said:


> Dance party comin!


I can fake the chicken dance! Does that count??


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## Marianna (Apr 5, 2011)

Deby said:


> :clap: :clap: :clap: Hooray!! I'm so happy for you and your little guy! By the way, does he have a name yet?


Thanks Deby!!! You were especially helpful!!! I named him when the rest of his peers didn't make it... his name is Hans Solo, since he was the only one left (plus I like sci-fi and he would fit right in there!). I remember reading that you had a Chinese mantid and he turned brown, well, mine is doing the exact same thing. Next project is creating a larger container. This is a hobby that keeps growing, doesn't it??


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## Marianna (Apr 5, 2011)

PhilinYuma said:


> Congratulaions


Thanks Phil ... don't know what i would have done if this forum wasn't here and all you guys helping!


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## Marianna (Apr 5, 2011)

Midwestern Girl said:


> Awesome. B)


Thanks MG! Was checking out your blog - am anxious to see your mantid home complete - it looks great!


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## dgerndt (Apr 6, 2011)

You're welcome! It's just in my nature to want to help people and all living creatures.  Not sure how helpful I can be with finding a bigger container. I have the same dilemma myself, right now.


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