Idolomantis Consolidated

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His mantis are beautiful in Mexico is not as easy to get, but over here we have S. limbata, Yersiniops sphodrónica, bactromantis Toltec, and other endemic species. But we can also get African species, Oriental, etc..

By the way, I'm new to this page, thanks for accepting me as one of you.
Sorry for my English, google translator is not very good.

 
Wow, a bunch of useful information, thanks to those who've kept this species and passed on the info.

 
Here is the start of my first Idolomantis enclosure. I went through the threads and pictures, and this is what I came up with. Any advise is appreciated. The front will be a screen door made by Bug Trader.

 
Looks great Sally!

Be good to my babies ;) Mist every day and keep them warm(84-88), if your keeping them together feed them well, too many flies is better than not enough, they have been known to snack on a fellow molter if not tip top full in earlier instars. :)

 
Looks great Sally!

Be good to my babies ;) Mist every day and keep them warm(84-88), if your keeping them together feed them well, too many flies is better than not enough, they have been known to snack on a fellow molter if not tip top full in earlier instars. :)
Yes, I will be good to them! I have a humidifier, also a fan, and if needed a reptile humidifier for in the tank. Plenty of hydei and mels in there :)

 
Maybe I should have messaged you(but people need to know) they can and really should have house flies at L2 and can even eat BB's now, I only use ff's for they're first few feedings at L1 then it's house flies and at L3 it's all BB's there up. They may be saying "where's the beef" lol as they already are used to larger prey, it helps keep them from looking at one another as the next belly full. :)

 
I love how well this Idolo discussion went! In my experience heat above 70 degrees is crucial because anything below it will cause the mantises to become lethargic and their metabolism will be slowed down and they will not be interested in the food they are offered. Temps above 85 degrees are best and no greater than 105 degrees. The heat speeds up the Idolos metabolisms so with little of it will cause mismolts, no interest in food, etc... I am glad people are realizing that sticks and plants are crucial to successful molts because mismolts make no one happy especially when it is an Idolo. Good to know the many people in the hobby that are really getting good at writing caresheets on Idolomantis! :D ^_^ :sweatdrop:

 
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MANTIDBRO'S IDOLO EXPERIENCE

Temperature: 80F - 95F

Humidity: 70% - 80%

Prey They Prefer: Fruit flies (L1), Blue Bottle Flies/House flies, moths, grasshoppers, darkling beetles (L2 and up), Dubai roaches (boiled to kill bacteria and then hand-fed in bits and pieces).

* I've tried feeding mine bees before... one of the bees bit the Idolo's claw and wouldn't let go! I haven't used them since.*

Prey You Shouldn't Risk Feeding Them: Crickets!! A lot of mantids can't seem to handle the bad bacteria on them, and will become sick (vomiting) before dying. Some may survive the sickness if given honey and water.

TIP: Idolos are hard to feed. They are picky. if you run out of food by Winter, it's a good idea to freeze some prey that they enjoy in the freezer. Try teaching them to be hand-fed as young as possible. Patience is key when teaching them how to be hand-fed.

MOLTING

Molting Time-Table (days):

Female:

L1-L2: 14
L2-L3: 13
L3-L4: 11
L4-L5: 15
L5-L6: 18
L6-L7: 26
L7-L8: 43
L8-Adult: 65

Male:

L1-L2: 17
L2-L3: 18
L3-L4: 11
L4-L5: 16
L5-L6: 25
L6-L7: 31
L7-Adult: 44

*It very much depends on how much they are fed.*

Successful Molting Surface For L1-L5: Molts have been very successful using gauze bandage.

caring-gauze-bandage-roll.jpg


Successful Molting Surface For L5-L7: Drawer liner works very well for when they're older and bigger/heavier. I use this exact type.

get-a-grip-rubberized-nonskid-shelf-liner-roll.jpg


* Safety nets are useful for molts past L6. They seem to have trouble without one. I align the sides of their containers with drawer liner and/or Polyester Cargo Mesh.*

Successful Molting Surface For L7-Adult: Polyester Dive Mesh/Polyester Cargo Mesh (the netted material found in swim shorts). This has worked so well that a female actually held onto the exuvia (shed skin) with two of her feet after molting and the exuvia didn't fall. They get an incredible grip on this material. You can use this material through out their entire lives as opposed to switching from material to material.



TIP: Long enclosures are a good idea, but wide ones aren't as helpful. It seems that once they get bigger and heavier, it's better to have them in narrow enclosures for their molt. I align the walls of their molting enclosure with polyester cargo mesh and/or drawer liner, so that once they're ready to pull away from the exuvia that they'd been hanging from, it's much easier.

Example:

med_gallery_6731_331_2319481.jpg


See how he uses the wall of the enclosure before hanging upside down from the top? It helps lessen the chance of them falling once trying to transition from hanging from the exuvia to gripping a surface.

Issues I've Run Into:

Heat lamps placed directly above the mantid can cause problems. One of my Idolos mismolted from L5 - L6 because of this. He lost the walking hairs (the hooks used for gripping/molting) on two of his feet because they got stuck in the exuvia because he molted right underneath the heat lamp and the heat lamp dried up his feet. The mantis below ended up having to be put down because he fell during his next molt due to the absence of those walking hairs. Here you can see, what NOT to do:

IMG_20150729_013611_zps487bebf6.jpg


My first adult female Idolomantis diabolica (Baline):

baline_molting_to_adulthood__idolomantis_diabolica_by_alexandersmantids-d9hs6ub.jpg


med_gallery_6731_331_1907165.jpg


My First Adult Male Idolomantis diabolica (Heterodox):

med_gallery_6731_331_648204.jpg


To Be Continued (Breeding).

 
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Just figured id give my input!

My idolos like 80-95F with around 60% humidity. At night it drops to 70-80F. I have moss at the bottom.

They molt well from shoes laces, at least for L1-L2. Ill update on later molts about that.

I tried giving mine some little bees, one bit my idolos claw and wouldnt let go! I wouldnt feed mine bees or wasps.
Bro, feed bees and wasps only at L5 and adults. It's their favorite.
 
Bro, feed bees and wasps only at L5 and adults. It's their favorite.
They werent regular bees, they were about three centimeters long. Im not sure which species they were. But were definitely bees. Idk if im gonna risk doin it anymore though... Not unless i kill the bee first then hand feed. But thats not as fun as watching them catch their own prey lol

 
A quick question. I just started keeping one of these guys after I got a L-2nymph. Last night it molted to L-3 and I moved it from the deli cup it came in to a 10 gallon tank with large and small sticks hot glued to the sides and metal screen on top. I have started offering it flies that I catch from outside but it seems that she is unable to catch them. She tries but just fails each time. Should I move her to a smaller cage until she completes another molt or is there some way I can help her? She has now not eaten in 2 days so I'm kind of worried. She hunts better at night so I'm hoping she might get one while I sleep.

 
A quick question. I just started keeping one of these guys after I got a L-2nymph. Last night it molted to L-3 and I moved it from the deli cup it came in to a 10 gallon tank with large and small sticks hot glued to the sides and metal screen on top. I have started offering it flies that I catch from outside but it seems that she is unable to catch them. She tries but just fails each time. Should I move her to a smaller cage until she completes another molt or is there some way I can help her? She has now not eaten in 2 days so I'm kind of worried. She hunts better at night so I'm hoping she might get one while I sleep.

 
A quick question. I just started keeping one of these guys after I got a L-2nymph. Last night it molted to L-3 and I moved it from the deli cup it came in to a 10 gallon tank with large and small sticks hot glued to the sides and metal screen on top. I have started offering it flies that I catch from outside but it seems that she is unable to catch them. She tries but just fails each time. Should I move her to a smaller cage until she completes another molt or is there some way I can help her? She has now not eaten in 2 days so I'm kind of worried. She hunts better at night so I'm hoping she might get one while I sleep.
I'd move her into a smaller container for now, since she is still only at L3. I honestly kept mine in delis until they reached L5. You just gotta be sure to have the sides of the deli lined with drawer liner or something of the sort so molts are successful.

You can also try hand-feeding, but I'll warn you that it's tough. Idolos seem to be a bit skittish. But I've been hand-feeding them since the beginning so it CAN be done, as long as they're hungry. Does your Idolo look starved? They can go without food for a few days if they're already stuffed. Or if she just reached L3, she won't want to eat for a couple days anyways.

 
I moved her to a smaller container. She has managed to catch at least one fly. Well I found one pair of wings on the ground so she maybe ate more but completely. Tomorrow I will bring home some slow moving wasps from my lab. Only makes so there is no danger but she should have no trouble killing them. I did all try the hand feeding with crickets but I lacked the dexterity to let go when she grabs and she let go too fast.

 
I moved her to a smaller container. She has managed to catch at least one fly. Well I found one pair of wings on the ground so she maybe ate more but completely. Tomorrow I will bring home some slow moving wasps from my lab. Only makes so there is no danger but she should have no trouble killing them. I did all try the hand feeding with crickets but I lacked the dexterity to let go when she grabs and she let go too fast.
dont try crickets! there are always mysterious deaths after feeding mantids crickets

 
dont try crickets! there are always mysterious deaths after feeding mantids crickets
At the time she wasn't eating anything and had fasted for several days. I would rather have risked possible problem foods over letting her starve. I figured out that the problem was that she was having a hard time hanging upside down on the mesh I had at the top of her cup so I glued medical gauze onto it and she quickly got comfortable and is now eating well. In fact today she molted into her 4th instar.

 
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