D. lobata breeding questions.

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Ambystoma

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So after what feels like forever one of my males has finally hopped on a female... about 24 hours ago. I thought I had noticed a connection, but it did not last very long. He is still on her back and riding around, but hasn't really made many more attempts at connecting. Any thoughts on stimulating him a bit? Other than that I found that putting the females on a palm, next to my heater, and then adding the males seems to work. They only really seem interested in them when they move though, which I accomplished through some light misting. Let's see if the other two pairs pick it up now. Much more difficult than I anticipated.

 
I've always found patience and keeping the female well fed to be the reliable way. I wouldn't try to speed anything up or interfere more than absolutely necessary. We've had some males stay mounted for 4+ days, but so long as you keep the female fed things eventually work themselves out.

 
And on the third day he made his connection. Talk about having to have some serious patience. One down, two to go. Should I let the male rest up before trying him with the others? Provided he survives this experience.

 
Definitely give him a rest - he'll need to eat and recharge. I usually wait close to a week (I tend to mate on Saturdays) but that may be overkill.

 
Male number two has mounted up. Let's see if this takes another three days. Just one more pair to go.

Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it! I've only bred H. majuscula (ended up with a dud) and ghosts before, so this is a pretty exciting experience.

 
First ooth laid! I'm really happy/excited that I was able to breed this species after having read how difficult they can be.

 
That's an ooth laid 4 days after they were introduced and perhaps 2 days after mating? Or is this a different, previously mated, female you are talking about?

Generally the first ooth is 7 days or more past mating - it's great she is producing so keep her fed, but I wouldn't expect that to be a viable ooth. Perhaps more she lays in the future.

 
Hm, I've had a ghost that produced an ooth the day after and it ended up being viable. I'll keep an eye on this one though. She seems to be pretty healthy still and there was definitely a connection. I'll keep my fingers crossed for this one and hope for more.

 
I should also note that the second female produced two days after mating. I'm really hoping both are fertile. I had one female that had passed already that had laid two infertile ooths, both were malformed.

 
Aww sorry on your loss.. but wishing you luck on the ooths.. Very exciting, I am sure.. One of my mantis just got their wings.. and I am so proud... I can't wait for breeding.

 
So it goes with raising mantids I suppose. I ended up helping her along the way. It's pretty rough to see them going so slowly, unable to really pick themselves up. I am very excited about the oothecae. Still waiting on the 3rd pair, but I have a feeling they should connect soon. Looks like I'm going to have more than I can handle with all of em. Congrats on the wings. What species?

 
Definitely took some patience! Using a large potted plant really helped. I'd put the female on there, let her climb around a bit, and then put a male towards the bottom. After they were both adjusted I'd mist them lightly. The two pairs that paired up did so pretty soon after the misting. You could really tell the males were interested in the females, they'd get really low and kind of point at them. It took upwards of 24 hours for them to get the courage to hop on and then another 24 of riding around, but it seemed to have worked pretty well.

 
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