Can you sanitize fly pupa?

[FeistyMcGrudle]

Hey everyone. Super bummed out right now. I lost both my adult female ghosts due to what I believe is sickness. Both exhibited black puking. My first girl made it about a week and a half from noticing the puke, my second less than four days. I would like to think my husbandry isn't the issue--I cleaned the enclosures weekly, and when I noticed black puke on the sides I would wear gloves, dish soap wash the entire enclosure, and wipe down with rubbing alcohol....

The only thing that comes to mind are the fly pupa I order, but I feed all my mantises from the same batch and its only my females that have been affected--so far anyway...but my females ate WAY more of them than my other mantises. My last batch of flies was pretty terrible with only about a 20% hatch rate. Is there a way to 'sanitize' pupa? I usually just re-use the same container, let them hatch, and throw everything out when there's no more flies. I notice a bunch of what looks like sawdust and mystery chunks stuck to some pupa. I feel like the flies crawling around in all of that and whatever bacteria develops is making my mantises sick.  Is this possible or should I focus my efforts elsewhere? Has anyone else had problems with their feeders?

 

[MantisGirl13]

Im.sorry for your losses. No, I don't think there's a way to sanitize pupae, sorry! Maybe gut load the flies with honey water before feeding?

- MantisGirl13

 

[hysteresis]

I feel like the flies crawling around in all of that and whatever bacteria develops is making my mantises sick.

You may have answered your own question. I was and cycle pupation cups, eclosure cups with mine. (I buy spikes). 

I have heard of deaths related to 'bad flies' but that's nondescript. Maybe it is in the management of your feeders. 

Regardless, im very sorry you lost your females.

 

[Synapze]

I've never had a problem with tainted pupae before. When I store my pupae and any hatched flies, I place a little corn meal in the bottom of the fly container and add a small ball of excelsior for the flies to crawl on... it keeps them from just squirming around in the pile of unhatched/hatched pupae. You could used other material to provide space, but make sure it's heavy enough that when you pluck out a fly the materials don't come with it. Toilet paper rolls work well if you store the pupae in 32oz cups.

 

[hysteresis]

Toilet paper rolls work well if you store the pupae in 32oz cups.

Ive done this before. Easy to pull out and brush a few flies off at a time. 

Now I use strips of window mesh. 

 

[FeistyMcGrudle]

Thank you for the replies everyone. Just a little frustrated at the moment...everything has gone off without a hitch since I bought my ghosts back in December--no mismolts, all made it to adult, and both females were producing ootheca right up until they got sick, and within a month both my females are gone and I cant seem to pinpoint a cause. I'll try to switch out containers more often and separate the hatched flies.