Egg bound-Will mating her again help?

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Hello. 

I have an egg bound iris oratoria, about 2.5 months adult.  About a month ago, I mated her with my male and she laid 1 nice ooth. After 1 month, she is too fat and unsuccessful--she tried to lay another ooth yesterday, but it was just a tiny blob. So mating her worked a little.  I could try again with the same (and only) male I have.  I've never done that (mated the same pair twice).  He is older but still horny.  I have another female that could mate again.  I don't want to possibly loose him if mating will not help my fat egg bound girl.  I just have a bad feeling about it.

Any ideas?

Thank you!

 
Mating doesn't trigger the response of laying an ooth. Trying again probably won't help her much. Try keeping her warmer and in a more humid area. Also, give her a large variety of sticks to lay on, of all thicknesses.  That's what triggers a laying response. 

- MantisGirl13

 
Also, larger mantids like iris oratoria can take a month or more between ooths, so don't give up yet.

 - MantisGirl13

 
Some females need a lot of privacy before they feel comfortable enough to lay properly. I had a female orchid living in a very lush planted 12"x12"x12" terrarium with many different width sticks but she would not lay anything more than tiny little blobs of ooth material that did not contain any eggs inside. She would pace back and forth moving her raptorial arms in circles in what looked like an anxious fashion and constantly watch another mantis on a different shelf several feet away That is until I blocked off the sides and front of her terrarium with posterboard so she could not see anything going on outside. Then she laid a HUGE ooth within a few hours of gaining privacy. Females will lay regardless of being mated or not, usually giving her ideal laying conditions and time is all that's needed.

 
Thank you for the ideas!  The ooth fatty girl laid was in a much bigger terrarium, that I use for mating. But I switched terrariums for my girls because fatty girl is the only one that seems comfortable in a the smaller terrarium. Now I'll have to prep a bigger terrarium and find somewhere else to put it. Also, I had UV light on all my girls the last 2 days, and then both my other girls to laid ooths the last 2 days, but not fatty girl.  I have them by an open window which keeps them all 80-85 degrees in the day.

Hopefully after I get fatty girl set up it will be that easy!  Thank you so much!!!

Oh, but my poor male. . . I usually loose the male on the second mating.  He is sooo horny even if he is away from the girls.  Maybe I should just let him fly away? Or mate him and just let him go out in bliss?

 

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