H.grandis black eyes

[goneleocrazy]

Both of the girlfriends children have an H.grandis. The problem we have is with the male. His eyes have gone completely black, they are not sunken or shrivelled or anything like that just completely black.

He moulted to get his wings for the first time around 3 weeks ago and I noticed a small black dot on his eyes then which has now grown to cover the whole of both eyes, I am assuming this is not how they should be.

He is petrified of food now and wont eat. I have tried popping a cricket and physically smearing the juicies on his jaws in the hope he will then take the cricket and eat it, but he just isnt interested. He wont have maggots or flies either. We are now getting extremely worried about him and would appreciate any advice.

 

[Jwonni]

Is the black stopping him from seeing? or is it just there but he still has sight?

 

[goneleocrazy]

To be honest I cant tell. He seems to shy away from food but I cant tell if its before he feels it or just if he sees it as it is quite close to him when he moves. He doesnt seem to watch it like the female does, she has no black on her eys and tracks the food around before catching it.

He used to eat like mad and would always be happy to take food, but now he has the balck eyes he hasnt touched anything.

 

[Jwonni]

i presume they can sense things with the antennae for example something scuttling round by him and if he isn't watching it it sounds like he may be blind

But i dont have a great knowlege i am on my first mantis and she has no problems so i'm not experienced in this

 

[Rick]

Do a search on the black eye spots. It has been discussed many times. Usually it doesn't cover the entire eye though.

 

[goneleocrazy]

Ok this is a bit odd now.

The eyes were perfectly normal green yesterday morning , but they have gone black again now!!!!

Any ideas guys??

 

[Rick]

Mantid eyes turn black at night or in low light conditions. Is it dark when this happens?

 

[goneleocrazy]

ahhhh ok maybe thats it....although he seems to be like this most of the time. I suppose the room isnt the brightest. Thats good news then.......just got to work out how to get him eating now.

 

[Rick]

Adult males eat much less than females. I only feed adult males a couple times a week.

 

[goneleocrazy]

dont think he is even doing that much to be honest. He just always seems really thin.

 

[Rick]

Males are thin by design. Just provide him food and he will eat when he is ready. Make sure he is being lightly misted daily.

 

[Joe]

do u feed your grandis just crickets? j/w

Joe

 

[Rick]

What would that have to do with it Joe? 99% of my mantids diet is crickets and I don't have any issues with this.

 

[Joe]

i dunno, maybe its just the gutload i'm feeding my crickets, the mantids tht eat them seem to get black spots when they keep eating my crickets, one pair of each tht has been off crickets had their eye spots disappear but as a i said it could be my guttload, with lots of protien and extra calcium and can cause Mucus build up in the eyes. just like us when we eat too much eggs and meat all the time

Joe

 

[micheleinvirginia]

Mine get crickets all fed with the same gutload, from the same tank.

Some get jet black eyes in dim light, others dont at all.

Maybe it just species specific or has to do with age?

 

[Jwonni]

is gutload what you feed your crickets? or is it a nutrient powder you put on your crickets?

is it better to gutload or feed fresh fruot/veg and the oats or whatever the petshop guy said to give em (my mam feeds em )

 

[PseudoDave]

Gut loading is what you feed them. Why not feed em the best of both worlds? Mine have oats and plenty of fruit and veg to go around as well.

Best wishes,

Dave

 

[PseudoDave]

Weetabix always goes down a treat as well :-D

 

[Rick]

My crickets' cage is has a layer of oatmeal in the bottom. They also get fed fresh mixed leafy greens.