Deacon
Well-known member
Yeah, well my mantids are pawing at the front glass saying, "Feed me!" I'm trying not to look at them
Just give them a mist of water, by now though as it's a new day (and fed nothing yesterday) you can fed themYeah, well my mantids are pawing at the front glass saying, "Feed me!" I'm trying not to look at them
The darkened cerci does sound alarming. Not sure why she has ooth material still stuck to her, as she should have already cleaned it off herself. You may want to try misting the stuck ooth material and see if you can very delicately help her remove it, or break it up a bit. I'll be honest I haven't had a female with stuck ooth material on them before, perhaps it has something to do with the prolapse.Freda still has that big clump of ooth matter on her and I don't see how she can pass frass. I can no longer see her prolapse but it looks like on of her cerci has blackened. And, hardly eating (on purpose), she is fattening up again. Otherwise, she is active. Can't be good, I wouldn't think...
No worries, I hope all is going as well as can be expected.Thomas, sorry for the delay in responding (mom in hospital and now nursing home and taking all my time) but I can give you an update. I did wet her rump down. Finally noticed her trying to kick it off and gave her a gentle hand. Did not note any green prolapse but the next day she had a bubble on one side. The one cerci remains black---other one is normal-looking---and yesterday, she layed her fourth ooth which is the same as her others but 1/3" smaller (and she wasn't bloated as feeding her less.) So she layed her first ooth at 30 days and the others spaced at 22, 23, and 20 days between. Today, she has two large blobs of ooth stuck on her and eating BB's. Sturdy girl despite her afflictions!
I can't speak from experience on trying to breed a gravid female, as I always breed them after 24+ hours after laying a ooth; however, it does make sense that a gravid female would be less responsive to breeding and more defensive while being gravid. That said I have read of some keepers trying to breed right up to the time females lay their ooths.Thomas, of the eight remaining mantids, three are in their eighties (days-old) and three are 105 to 114. My youngest are the Sphodromantids who are 49 and 52 days-old. She is gravid and still waiting for her first ooth but they stare at each other all the time. I keep waiting for her to lay her ooth and then I think I will allow them to mate. I would do it now but from what I've read on the forum, the females don't seem cooperative when they are gravid. I'd rather not lose him as they are the last pair (well except for the 114 day-old Budwings but they both have problems now so I'd never consider them---eventhough they are very sweet mantids.
Regarding the forum, I have that happen from time to time for me as well. It seems for whatever reason since the v4 update it saves your last response, I assume it is so you can resume a reply if something happens (internet kicks you off, power outage, etc); however, it seems to have a bug as even though a message is sent, it will re-show the reply anyway. I've even had it show some really old ones once in awhile when it happens too.Thanks for that info, Thomas.
Off topic: I'm having that issue with another post that when I try to reply, it pops up the old post---like that day you said you had already answered my question? So, I'll give you the answer here: My Popa spurca, Daisy, layed her first ooth at 34 days and she is now 83 days-old. Aside from that, my Dbl shield layed her first at 33 days, and is now 86 days-old. So, same routine for them. My funny little Ghost waited 79 days to lay her first and has now layed three in the last 25 days--the last one yesterday was twice as big as the first two! The Budwing layed her first at 30 days, and has produced ooths about every three weeks since then (four total). My Sphodromantis is 49 days old with no ooth yet. Looks like there is no pattern at all. These are all different species. Wonder if they were the same species if their laying patterns would be similar to each other?
Sure there are exceptions to that, as it is just a basic guideline. That is kind of the point behind it, adjust it as needed.Obese can also be a really gravid female though Had a female like that and she laid an ooth half her size
Glad to her Freda is still doing well and got another ooth laid successfully. You are right on that, before it has a chance to harden would be a good time to try to clean it off. No problem, plump is where you want them to be, and after laying a ooth she is bound to be really hungry.Well, Freda, Budwing, layed her fifth ooth today. Considering her anal prolapse, the left-over ooth on her from last time, and the desicated cerci she is doing really well. Yes, her rump is covered in ooth matter again/still. Guess this girl just dosen't know how to clean up! I'm going to wet her today while it is fresh and see if she can kick it off now instead of waiting til it is hardened off. This last ooth is half the size of her biggest and she looks as skinny as I've ever seen her although according to your beautiful chart she is still "plump" as her side slit is visible.
So, Thomas, I'm glad to know it is not just me who gets stuck in repeating replies.
And, mantisman 230, I do have three obese females who need to lay their ooths. I feed them much less, but they stay fat!
You may see if your local pet stores are interested in buying your excess Dubias, as many are always looking for a bargain. If nothing else do a store credit, your likely get more, and you can use it to get things you would need anyway. It's always nice if you can make the hobby pay for itself.Mantisman 230,
When my mantids were younger, I never thought about over-feeding. I mean, they make their own decisions in the wild (granted, they don't have someone bringing them food every day!) So it wasn't until they became adults (I'm only referring to the females as none of the males have ever gotten fat) that I've had issues with obese mantids with prolapsed anuses (three of eight females). Now I am spooked about allowing the girls too much food---even though they still stay fat on diets. And the dubias, OMG, they just keep producing and I don't feel like I can feed them to my big girls anymore! (I need to find someone with about ten adult beardies who can take the roaches off my hands either that or they are going in the freezer!)
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