goin goin gongy?

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My idolo nymphs don't like being handled. But as soon as I get an adult, I plan to interact with them daily and see if I can encourage a behavior difference. I hesitate to use the word "tame" as I don't believe it applies to mantids but I'm willing to put it to the test.

 
I have front openning, sliding glass fronts. Sometimes I leave them open and let the curious climb out. When they can't get any higher than the top, they willingly climb my arm. See if that works for you.

 
Interesting, thanks for the tip. I have front-opening doors with my Exo-Terra terrarium (18x18x24), but I haven't equipped it for idolos yet. Right now I've got a bunch of L4s in a communal setup and then a sub-adult female in a netcube. The sub-adult hates it when I reach in, so I handle her very infrequently. Maybe I'll "idolofy" the terrarium after she gets her wings...

 
You can also try offering a stick or biovine, instead of your hand. It may be the proximity of your body and face that are more threatening than your hand (no offense). :)

I like to take them out and put them on my chest when I'm working. They eventually climb up on top of my head and hang out there for a while. Paperwork is SO MUCH more fun when you have a companion on your head!! And much more fun when someone walks by and sees it!

Note: Once the males get their wings, forget about unsupervised hang outs. They can and will fly. But they make terrible landings! Thud, fall, crash, silence.

Inventors: We need a Cage Hat - a way to take your mantids on walks and trips. Someone - make it happen!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sporeworld said:
You can also try offering a stick or biovine, instead of your hand. It may be the proximity of your body and face that are more threatening than your hand (no offense). :)
Click to expand...
*gasp* !!! Wha?! Being in close proximity to my body or face is a bad thing!? ;) My fiance will get a kick out of hearing this.

At any rate, but I have tried a skewer several times. She ignored it, regardless of the height, angle, etc. Most of my other mantids will pursue upward climbs if offered but my sub-adult idolo refuses to engage the skewer. Maybe I'll rig my unused biovine so she can climb out and see what happens.

I like to take them out and put them on my chest when I'm working. They eventually climb up on top of my head and hang out there for a while. Paperwork is SO MUCH more fun when you have a companion on your head!! And much more fun when someone walks by and sees it!

Note: Once the males get their wings, forget about unsupervised hang outs. They can and will fly. But they make terrible landings! Thud, fall, crash, silence.

Inventors: We need a Cage Hat - a way to take your mantids on walks and trips. Someone - make it happen!
Click to expand...
lol @ cage hat...

Excluding popas and gongys, I've had a surprising lack of males; the only adult male I've let out for extended periods was an oxyopsis gracilis. He was amazingly acrobatic mid-air, he'd fly figure-eights and then dive-bomb full-speed into a smooth landing on a variety of surfaces, both horizontal and vertical. I was impressed more than once.

Sadly, it wasn't sufficient for him to escape her clutches. :(

 
My old male crashed directly into my bookcase and fell dead. Well not really dead jsut like "Whoa, what did I hit!?" He eventually died of old age

 
lunarstorm said:
My idolo nymphs don't like being handled. But as soon as I get an adult, I plan to interact with them daily and see if I can encourage a behavior difference. I hesitate to use the word "tame" as I don't believe it applies to mantids but I'm willing to put it to the test.
Click to expand...
Being one of the users who handles my mantises regularly, they can and do get used to handling. As you put it, I wouldn't call it becoming tame, but they can learn to recognize that humans are not something they need to spazz about and after a while most tend to become very relaxed about handling.Removing a mantis from a cage is always the hardest part, in my opinion. You are coming at them, they may be cornered, and it isn't unusal to get skittish behavior that immediatly stops once you get them out in the open. Chopsticks work great for skittish or reactive mantises. If they won't actively craw on them you can manuver them under their chest/back legs and then slowly pull down until they regrip on the sticks as you lower them off what they are hanging onto.

 
Generally, even the fiesty ones seems to mellow once you get them on your hand and give them a chance to acclimate. I don't know if, like dogs, they (or any insect) receives any health benefits from regular excersize. But it does kinda seem like it.

 
Gripen,

We already told you about Gongies. They will be back in stock near summer. When my website opens there will be Gongies and everything else on my signiture

(if everything goes right)

 
exactly! its about gongys when you have nothing more to say about gongys you stop posting.

 
because going of topic can get threads deleted and it is a general annoyance to people searching for information in the future.

 

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