Khuaekd
Hi there:>
Last week I gave him/her a fruit fly but he couldn't catch it. This morning, I gave him/her a piece of meat (had been cooked). He/she already ate it.
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Can my mantis eat cooked food?
- Thread starter Khuaekd
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You can, but you really shouldn't. It's not uncommon for people to try, but unfortunately they often end up asking why their mantis died. 
Unable to catch a fruit fly? What instar is your mantis?
Unable to catch a fruit fly? What instar is your mantis?
ok this is pretty unhinged, but I'll remain calm as I respond to it
CAN a mantis eat a piece of cooked meat? yea probably
SHOULD a mantis be eating a piece of cooked flesh from some vertebrate animal? probably not
the piece of animal meat is so nutritionally unbalanced for an animal that is adapted to eating entire prey organisms, which would be my chief concern. A cooked piece of meat is mostly protein, maybe a little fat. But what about carbs, and transient gut microbes, and various minerals not stored in muscle tissue? You're doing the equivalent for the mantis of chugging a protein shake and having nothing else in your diet for the day. The protein isn't all that helpful without the other macro and micro nutrients, and you may end up losing the animal
what species/instar? if it's small and cannot catch small prey, it may have a problem that cannot be remedied
CAN a mantis eat a piece of cooked meat? yea probably
SHOULD a mantis be eating a piece of cooked flesh from some vertebrate animal? probably not
the piece of animal meat is so nutritionally unbalanced for an animal that is adapted to eating entire prey organisms, which would be my chief concern. A cooked piece of meat is mostly protein, maybe a little fat. But what about carbs, and transient gut microbes, and various minerals not stored in muscle tissue? You're doing the equivalent for the mantis of chugging a protein shake and having nothing else in your diet for the day. The protein isn't all that helpful without the other macro and micro nutrients, and you may end up losing the animal
what species/instar? if it's small and cannot catch small prey, it may have a problem that cannot be remedied
Couldn't of said it better myself Alex!
Khuaekd
Hi there:>
Still a baby:cYou can, but you really shouldn't. It's not uncommon for people to try, but unfortunately they often end up asking why their mantis died.
Unable to catch a fruit fly? What instar is your mantis?
Personally, I think your nymph is too young to be experimenting with their diet. Have you tried melanogasters? They are smaller than hydei and may be easier for your mantis to capture.
When you say "cooked meat", is the meat seasoned?
Khuaekd
Hi there:>
The meat is seasoned
