Feeding in a Large Enclosure

[Precious]

As some of you know, I'm taking a break from keeping mantids but in closing shop I've seen a couple of member concerns about feeding in a large tank or enclosure. I have kept p. chlorophaea 'in community' in a 15 gallon high tank for the past year. I don't use substrate (only adults) just lots of fabric plants and flowers. I have never had any trouble or cannibalism and I've only broken it down to clean twice. I use blue bottle flies and lots of them. I get the larvae from Ja-Da-Bait, take a portion out weekly and dump the pupae right into the enclosure. I smear some honey one the screened lid for the flies and mist every day. It's really easy and fun to watch. The mantids do spend much of their time hanging from the lid but they will travel all over the tank and often walk over each other. They mate and cast ooths and go home to Jesus when their number's up. The blue bottles are so sluggish that they can easily be caught and returned if they escape for any reason. The floor is littered with wings and someone's always eating. If I were to continue with any facet of mantid keeping it would be this colony method. I originally got the idea from Yen. He told me just to be sure there were plently of flies and there'd be no problems, and he was right. Just make sure they're blue bottles, if the species is up to it. They're fat and slow and the mantids easily catch them.

I just thought I'd share my experience for those who have concerns about mantids getting food in large spaces.

 

[Rick]

It works of course but you use up much more food by feeding like that. In a small individual enclosure you can give each mantis exactly what it needs instead of just blindly throwing in a ton of food. Only ones I keep together like that are just born nymphs. Once they molt a couple times they get their own container. I then have to use much less food.

 

[Precious]

True, but for those who enjoy a scaped terrarium this method works well. I only pay $13. for a month of flies which isn't significant when you consider the investment some enthusiasts invest in a vivarium.

 

[ABbuggin]

I've been feeding in a large enclosure on a few separate occasions over the years, but nearly as much as now. (since I have the Gongylus, gongylodes) As long as you dont put 100's of flies in the set-up and include some honey for the flies, every fly except for a very few get eaten. I personally really like this feeding strategy because it saves so much time, effort, and space. Often times, the mantids do not require any feeding for up to 2 weeks (unless they are exceptionally greedy lol) since the flies live for at least for 14 days. B)

 

[Kruszakus]

I took it one step further - an enclosure that houses mantids and produces food - so I don't have to do squat, I just put some honey combs smeared with honey and waxmoths are breeding in abundance. The downside is that you have to keep them well fed all the time, otherwise larvae may eat freshly laid ooths.

 

[yeatzee]

I also do this, but only with my males since my two females are greedy and will eat until they explode. It has worked great since i simply catch a few fly's in my backyard, freeze them until they are temporarily paralized. Than I just drop them in and let my mantids eat when there hungry.