Search results

70% is high already so misting in a deli cup is asking for a stagnant environment, which is when you will see nymphs just dropping. I also feel this species is poorly suited for deli cups. I keep mine in communal setups for the first 2 instars and then at the 3rd-4th when they are getting big...

I actually find this species pretty hardy given the right setup. A lot of early deaths in the first couple of instars can sometimes be a sign the oothecae dried out too much. Unlike most species in the hobby the ootheca of this species are mostly wild collected and stored questionably if you get...

Mantises will sometimes excrete excess uric acid in liquid form. This is most common in adult females and not a sign of issues. It generally comes out in a fine spray though and should dry a chalky white, which doesn't sound to be the case in your girl unfortunately. I have had one female in...

I make my own media and use 5 coffee filters. The filters do tend to slowly sink down with the weight of the hydei (mel cultures rarely have this issue). Usually about mid way through I just add 2 additional filters for the adult flies to climb on. Despite how it looks the maggots don't seem to...

Yay, glad to hear she is doing better.

What sort of enclosure do you have her in? I would suggest a butterfly net cage as even with two bad back legs she should still have decent grip. Rather than keeping it flat so she has to climb vertical walls you can set it on an angle to create even easier shedding areas. This helps prevent the...

Yep, normal behavior of a mantis trying to blend in, although there is some debate on whether the mantis is attempting to be a twig, playing dead, or secretly a superhero getting ready to fly off in the classic superman pose.

Perhaps consider using a pair of fabric gloves to handle your larger mantids. You can always phase them out after you build up some more confidence.

Every tent needs at least one mantis to keep the bugs out. :P

As others noted it sounds like she is restlessly looking for a spot to lay an ootheca. Depending on your set up you might want to see if you can add more sticks and stuff for her to to choose from. I would also suggest either moving her cage or placing something up the sides so she can not see...

One trick you can try is flipping the roach on its back on a smooth surface so it flails around a bit. The dubia always seemed on the large side for mantises so it is possible it is the size more than the roaches depending on the size you are feeding.

I didn't notice the liquid bandaids were so far removed as there used to be medical grade super glue that had cyanoacrylate in it. The big benefit is it dries almost instantly although you need to be careful with it for the same reason. Even when I had an old adult female mantis that had a major...

I have never heard of nail polish/nail hardener being used until now. I have however seen super glue and liquid band aid (which is medical grade super glue) being used mostly by those who keep tarantulas and have an abdomen rupture that doesn't look like it is going to stop bleeding on its own...

I would never apply any sort of substance like that to a wound unless it was a last resort sort of scenario where the mantis is otherwise going to bleed out and die. There is always a risk of the stuff seeping through and messing up the exoskeleton developing beneath. Sounds like the mantis has...

I wouldn't underestimate the species. I remember seeing a photo in the past of a wild adult Brunner chowing down on another adult Brunner and seem to remember when one forum member mentioned trying a communal setup running into a lot of cannibalization. Not sure if other's have had better...

To be honest I didn't notice additional mites after doing it the first time, I just did it a couple more times to be safe. Once a week would be a bit much because you need to give your culture time to reproduce. Only thing I might do is as soon as your culture has its first bloom with new flies...

I've only had to deal with mites in my cultures once when getting an infested one from the store. What I did when it was time to start a new culture was let the fruit flies climb out (versus tapping them out which is more likely to also knock mites out) and and jump into a secondary container. I...

My mantises version of sharing is ripping the prey out of their siblings claws before knocking them off the ceiling and onto the floor.

Females get a noticeable ovipositor in their later instars. Adults should really be pretty easy to sex when you have both to compare. If you google sexing mantises you will likely find multiple sites Such as This One that have comparison photos. I have to say even with the blurry picture, it...

Picture is pretty blurry, but the mantis looks nice and trim. If it is a girl she would put on weight fast with some feedings, but it sounds like you have already had the mantis long enough to rule that out. If this mantis was older/adult when you got it I can't see you having gotten the wrong...