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Hello! So I know feeding tomato fed hornworms can be toxic to reptiles because it inhibits calcium absorption in bones,  but is this harmful for insects? Might be a silly thing to worry about seeing as mantids don't have bones, but I'm just curious. I'm looking for a new feeder and I think...

Heya guys, I know a few of you have recently raised Chinese mantids, and I was wondering if the time in-between moults takes longer for the final one? Typically mine took around 11-17 days to moult each time, but I think I read somewhere that for some mantids the final moult can take up to a...

I haven't tried feeding a darkling beetle yet to mine, maybe I will try this tomorrow. I remember asking on here before and was told it wasn't a good idea because of their hard exoskeleton. Sidenote: when I was feeding my L7 a full-sized mealworm, it managed to lock itself on with it's mouth on...

Goodluck @Teamonger! Ooth waits are the worst.

Fat mantids are the best! What I do to feed mine mealworms is use tweezers on the end part of the mealworm, it makes them wiggle violently, or like hibiscusmile said, dropping them in front of the mealworm makes them go after it more often. Goodluck!

Quick oats and some cereal if you're feeling fancy. Throw in some apples/potatoes and you're good to go!

Same goes my way, if I manage to find any sources for exotic species I'll be sure to let you all know! :)  

I use two All Living Things heat lamps with a 60 watt bulb, one for my crickets and one for my chinese mantids. Although it's not a requirement for my mantids it seems they're happy to have some heat on them. It gets fairly warm, I just hang it a few inches on top of the tank.

Thank you Serle, I'm currently using coconut fibre for substrate now but it can be a bit pricey when it gets to the big bags. Think I will mix the coco fibre with potting soil and see how that works 

Can you use potting soil with no fertilizers as a substrate for mantis tanks? I'm just wondering if it will be good enough to keep in humidity and if it's harmless to mantises.

I would switch them off carrots just to be safe. Mealworms aren't picky at all, lettuce, potato, onion etc, they will eat! Potato or apple is definitely the best thing to feed them though, as it cuts down on mould and they don't dry out as fast as other vegetables/fruits. If anyone has an...

My mantids loved their waxworms! They do make a mess on themselves but it's fun to watch. Unfortunately most of the ones I bought died before I could feed them for some reason. @izbiggs Is it okay to have a heat lamp on them? I read they prefer the dark so I wonder if having light on them would...

I see a lot of people recommending to only feed raw/unpasteurized honey, but I am unable to find that where I live. Is it okay to feed them honey that is pasteurized?

Hiya there! I'm also in Toronto and had a very difficult time finding anything here. I did manage to get a chinese mantis ootheca from online that I hatched, they are at L5 now. I do plan on breeding them in the future so I can let you know when I have an egg case if you haven't managed to find...

I use burlap and my hydei can't get through.

The wait is the hardest part! Have fun with your little guy!

It's just a regular aquarium light as far as I know, adds a little extra warmth. Because they're small right now I have them in separate cups in the tank. Before I put them in there they were just on my desk at room temperature and they did fine. I know warmer temperatures help them moult faster...

One of the set ups I have for my chinese mantises when they get bigger is a 5 gallon tank with a plastic mesh top and light. I use coco fibre as the substrate. You can get the plastic mesh (plastic canvas) at Walmart, it's inexpensive. Hope this helps!

I would change the bedding asap. I've been raising mealworms for a couple years now and this happened once when I went on vacation and I put too much vegetables in. Try putting a small amount of whatever vegetable you feed them. For medium I've always used quick oats and would sometimes add...

Thank you for the list! I'd like to raise houseflies but I don't think my roommates would appreciate the smell, or the noise from the adult crickets!  ;)  Unless I buy some fly maggots from a bait shop and somehow allow them to pupate with minimal smell (i've heard some people using wet dog...