Do you have to rotate feeders?

[ashe]

Hello! 

I got my first mantis today, and he is a male Chinese mantis. He is about L4. I ordered from Mantiszoo, (they are super great, highly recommended) and they sent me some free waxworms with him in a little deli cup. I had emailed them some care questions and they said he was eating blue bottle flies before they shipped him. I was planning on using the waxworms up and probably just using them for the rest of his life, but I have read that some people think you need to rotate pray items to keep your mantis healthy. They said it's especially true with waxworms because they are so fatty. Is this true? If it is, how often can I feed waxworms? 

 

[hibiscusmile]

Worms are said to be like eating at micky d's. taste good, lots of fat, so yes vary his diet. Don't like the idea of worms hitting him in shipping, I would seperate them.

 

[MantisGirl13]

You can vary his diet a bit, but I feed almost exclusively mealworms, though sometimes roaches, flies, and moths. 

- MantisGirl13 

 

[Elliott-the-Mantis]

You can vary his diet a bit, but I feed almost exclusively mealworms, though sometimes roaches, flies, and moths. 

- MantisGirl13 

Aren't mealworms supposed to be quite lacking in nutrition? Something about a chitin shell or something? 

 

[MantisGirl13]

Maybe a bit, but I haven't had any problems. 

- MantisGirl13 

 

[ashe]

Worms are said to be like eating at micky d's. taste good, lots of fat, so yes vary his diet. Don't like the idea of worms hitting him in shipping, I would seperate them.

I don’t mean they were with him, they were in their own deli cup haha. Thanks for the advice!

 

[ashe]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

 

[Introvertebrate]

Aren't mealworms supposed to be quite lacking in nutrition? Something about a chitin shell or something? 

That chitin thing gets talked about in reptile circles, but I have reason to be leave it's one of those internet urban legends that get circulated around.  I suspect that mealworms are more work for mantises to eat than, for instance, waxworms because they've got to chew through a tougher exoskeleton.

 

[Noivurn]

From what I understand, for almost any animal (excluding extreme specialists that have evolved to eat a very limited diet), it's always best to vary their diet if you can. I personally think it's just a good habit to get into for pets that have a varied diet in nature. 

I think there are plenty of people that feed their mantises exclusively crickets / mealworms / house flies / what have you, but if you have the opportunity to switch things up, I say it's best to go for it!