Giant dead leaf 2/3rd Instar not eating?

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Joshibbotson

Joshibbotson

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So i purchased a pair of Giant dead leafes from ebay (probably shouldn't have got them from ebay) the female must have eaten at least 1 since i got her and the male maybe 3 fruit flies but for at least 2 day the female just hasn't seemed interested in any FF i give her? She hasn't shown any signs of coming up to a molt and i'm slightly worried

 
The D. Lobata I have from L1-L4 are all very passive when it comes to food. I feed them once every 3 days. She should be fine unless she keeps this behavior up for the entire week. Adding some leaves and sticks to the enclosure might help take away some stress for them as well. Are their abdomens full or flat?

 
Aryia said:
The D. Lobata I have from L1-L4 are all very passive when it comes to food. I feed them once every 3 days. She should be fine unless she keeps this behavior up for the entire week. Adding some leaves and sticks to the enclosure might help take away some stress for them as well. Are their abdomens full or flat?
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Ahh so it's in their nature that they are a more passive species when it comes to food? Their abdomens are fairly full not too flat but could be a bit fuller. Would it be better to keep food out of the enclosure if she doesn't take? Also they're currently housed in dispensable plastic cups with fine mesh on top with paper towels as substrate, 1 stick with 2 leaves in there good room to shed in so I could definitely put some more stuff in with her if it'll help

 
Krissim Klaw said:
Have you offered any water and if so did she drink?
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I have sprayed the enclosure and haven't witnessed her drink any of the droplets I'm not sure when they last moulted but they could maybe be coming up to a molt? She's not as plump as i'd hope for her to be, i've removed all food from the enclosure because she really hasn't seem interested in it at all

 
Joshibbotson said:
I have sprayed the enclosure and haven't witnessed her drink any of the droplets I'm not sure when they last moulted but they could maybe be coming up to a molt? She's not as plump as i'd hope for her to be, i've removed all food from the enclosure because she really hasn't seem interested in it at all
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It is very possible she is coming up on a molt. I mentioned the water because sometimes if mantises get too dehydrated they will refuse food. Has she pooped since you got her?

 
Joshibbotson said:
Ahh so it's in their nature that they are a more passive species when it comes to food? Their abdomens are fairly full not too flat but could be a bit fuller. Would it be better to keep food out of the enclosure if she doesn't take? Also they're currently housed in dispensable plastic cups with fine mesh on top with paper towels as substrate, 1 stick with 2 leaves in there good room to shed in so I could definitely put some more stuff in with her if it'll help
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I can't comment on the species in general, but mine are all very passive when it comes to food. In fact when I drop a bunch of Hydei in their cups, I will only rarely see one or two actually catch one right then and there. I really like their passiveness :p Means that they don't eat each other, even at L4. I started feeding Hydei at L1 because of their size and they seem to be thriving off them.

I keep food in with my mantises. Fruitflies tend to die after 2-3 days anyway and they should not bother the mantis unless you have wayyyy too many in there (like in the hundreds/thousands). Flightless fruitflies can't create any impact to knock off molting mantises either. Also as long as their abdomens aren't flat it might just be that they're not hungry. Raising temperatures will increase their metabolism and cause them be become hungry faster as well, though if a mantis isn't eating due to husbandry/health reasons it will also hasten its demise.

 
Krissim Klaw said:
It is very possible she is coming up on a molt. I mentioned the water because sometimes if mantises get too dehydrated they will refuse food. Has she pooped since you got her?
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She has pooped since I got her yes, quite a lot at one point I swapped her tissue to check for fresh poop in fact. Good news though I caught a house fly last night and threw that in with her and it's not there this morning :)

 

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