lol i thought i was the only one who was demented enough to try this experiment. but instead of trying it on a mantis, i was trying to see how fat i could get my garden spider. i was able to get it disgustingly fat, but something in my schedule would always inevitably pop up to interfere and then a week would pass or and then i'd have to start over.In my experience it is fiction. I have even tried to make one eat itself to death and it stopped once it got really full.