How do I know if my mantis is hungry?

[ladyarcana55]

Hello everyone!

I have been feeding my mantis pinhead crickets. The friend who gave her to me told me to never give her more than two at a time otherwise they might gang up on her and kill her. He also told me to just keep feeding her and just go ahead and leave them in there, she will eat them eventually.

I obviously don't want them to kill her but I can't quite figure out what to do. The crickets tend to hide in the moss so I can't tell if there are any in there. Someone else told me to just feed her when she is hungry, but how can I tell? She is still a young mantis so I worry about accidentally starving her. I am also worried about the crickets killing her when she molts so I don't really want to leave any crickets in there if I don't have to.

I would really appreciate any advice and thoughts on this. Thank you everyone!

 

[River Dane]

Large crickets are dangerous to Mantids, especially when they’re nearly the same size. If the cricket is on the larger size, do not leave them unsupervised.

If you’re havung difficulty with the moss, you can remove your mantis and place her in a special “feeding habitat.” The habitat can be bare, and all you need is to put the mantis and cricket in together. When she’s done, she can be returned to her normal habitat. Obviously, this is much more of a hassle, but it saves you the worry of whether or not she is eating.

You can always tell by looking at the mantid’s abdomen if they are hungry. It is mostly a myth that they will gorge themselves to death, but you should still avoid overfeeding. But overfeeding is less dangerous than underfeeding Mantids. If her abdomen is skinny and flat, feed her immediately. If she is thick, round, and plump, she is good. Don’t wait until she’s as thin as paper to feed her, though.

 

[ladyarcana55]

Thank you so much River Dane, you so rock!

Will she just not eat or hunt if she isn't hungry?

I set up her enclosure in a large deli cup. I decided to set up a second enclosure for her. She likes to hang out on the lid so it's easy to move the lid between the two enclosures. I did this because I couldn't figure out how to fish out the crickets without destroying the set up. But I don't know if this is the best way to go.

How often should I feed her? I was told to just keep feeding her. I don't know about that, but I can't get a straight answer from my friend on when to feed her. I've been feeding her two crickets a day. Is that too much? Is that even necessary?

And since you brought it up, what happens if you overfeed a mantis? Her abdomen is plump but it doesn't look round.

Thanks again!

 

[River Dane]

No problem. And thanks.

She might strike at it, but she’ll likely just release it.

It sounds like your setup is fine, just make sure not to crush her foot when transferring the lid with her on it. 

Overfeeding isn’t really a problem. It might cause “droop-butt” if she eats too much right after or right before a molt, but it’s not deadly. And certainly not something to starve your mantis for to avoid. I should say this is my own speculation, but it might not be true.

You can continue to feed her until she is no longer eating. Basically, if she is eating, keep feeding. However, two crickets a day seems to be a large amount, but if she is still eating but not gaining much weight, it might be that she has outgrown pinhead crickets. What instar and species is she?

 

[ladyarcana55]

I really wish I knew what species and instar she is! My friend didn't know what species she is and he couldn't remember what instar she was when he gave her to me.

She is about 3" and is big enough that I can count the segments in her abdomen. I am guessing 3rd or 4th instar. I have to put up a picture of her but I am guessing she is Stagmomantis Californica (California Praying Mantis).

I was wondering how to tell when she is ready for the next size of feeder. The largest pinhead I have is about the size of her abdomen. I don't know if that helps give you an idea of her size.

EDIT:

I had just fed her one of my biggest pinheads and I realize that she probably has outgrown them. But she isn't really paying it any mind, other than watching it scurry about. I may just feed her the rest of the crickets I have and then go for roaches, for the sake of variety. Maybe I'll ask my friend for another mantis, if he has any left. I'll let you know!

 

[Predatorhousepet]

If you can provide a pic with something next to her to reference size (like a quarter) that would be helpful but if she is 3" pinhead crickets are probably too small for her. Flies are usually well received, you can try houseflies but she might be big enough to handle blue bottle flies (pupa can be ordered online & kept in the fridge until you are ready for them to hatch.)

You don't have to feed her everyday, the best way to gauge if she needs to eat is by watching her abdomen. If its plump, she's fine, if its flat she needs to eat. You can feed her until her abdomen plumps back up and as long as she continues to hunt enthusiastically. How many insects that takes just depends...it could be 2, it could be 6.

The main problem with overfeeding isnt that its harmful in the short term...its that constantly overfeeding will cause them to go through their molts faster and become an adult faster, effectively shortening their lifespan. As long as you don't feed everyday and only when the abdomen is getting flat, this won't be an issue. Accidentally overfeeding every once in a while isn't anything to worry about, as River Dane said underfeeding is more of a problem.

If she is about to molt she will stop eating for a few days but the abdomen usually doesn't get too flat during that time because she has outgrown her old exoskeleton and the new one is taking up all the space...but this doesn't always happen so it is possible for her to molt with a flat abdomen, especially if she stopped eating many days in advance.

When you first get your mantis you are worried you aren't doing everything right but just continue to research their care, you'll get it. They are actually pretty easy to care for as long as you cover the basics.

 

[ladyarcana55]

Thank you Predatorhousepet!

I feel like an idiot, I took a picture of her next to a ruler and realized how terrible I am at gauging size. According to the ruler, she is about 1.5", close to 2". Sorry about that.

Her abdomen is plump but I notice she still hunts. However, there are times it looks like she isn't seriously hunting. A couple of times I noticed that she was watching the crickets. She struck and caught them but then let them go. She did that a few times so I guess she isn't really hungry. Should I go ahead and take them out of the enclosure?

 

[Mintmantis]

I don't think I've ever thought about my mantid's being hungry - I just catch them food and feed it to them as I find it (house flies etc). My mantid's are only about an inch or so long so it doesn't take much to plump their tummies up. Some days they'll get several flies each, some days nothing, it depends on what's available for me to hunt down. I catch flies with a drinking glass.

Last week one ate a cricket from the garden about the same size as her, she was full for several days before she wanted a fly.

 

[Ocelotbren]

Everyone's answers above are good; I just wanted to add that aside from feeding until plump, the frequency of feeding can be up to you.  I think every 2-3 days is common, but if you enjoy watching them hunt, I don't think feeding every day would be bad, as long as you choose the appropriate amount to feed based on abdomen size and how often you are feeding.  You'll get the hang of it and you won't even have to think about it anymore.

 

[ladyarcana55]

Thank you so much everyone! As I am getting to know Bella, (that's what I named her), I am becoming more and more comfortable with her. I even asked my friend id he had another one I can have. I still have to post a picture one of these days to find out what species of Mantid she is.

I have a question about feeding her but I probably should put it in the appropriate thread.

Thanks again!