Just caught this guy. Have questions

[Branchler]

Heyyy so im a 30 year old chick who found a mantis in my freaking front yard and was so damn excited that these are even in my state, that i caught it and set up a house in one of those giant UTZ cheese ball plastic jug things. I put coconut substrate on the bottom, 'activated' that with water. Put sticks from the same yard i found him in, made sure there are places to hang upside down from. And I grabbed a grasshopper from the same yard and put it in there.

So far the mantis barely and rarely moves. Always hanging upside down. Appears to be male by counting its belly segment things. Seems to have wing buds so I guess not quite full grown. He isn't interested in the grasshopper. I've even held up the grasshopper in front of the mantis and made sure the grasshopper wiggled in front of the mantis. No interest in grabbing the food.

And then there's water. Where I caught the mantis was insanely dry. our yard has tall dead grass and it's been super hot and super dry for months. So when do I give it water, and how? Do I use a spray bottle with a mist setting all over the inside?

Should I be concerned about his disinterest in eating? Should I put him back outside? I'll be a little sad but I want even a bug to be happy lol. (yes im even trying to catch and release the scary spiders instead of mushing. a life-long habit im trying to kick.)

THIS is the current enclosure (above). 

 

[Connor]

Hello! If he is not eating and is not moving while hanging upside down it could be that he is molting. Don't worry about him not eating, he looks pretty full from the picture. That enclosure looks a little small for him to molt in, but I can't tell from the angle(a 32-64 oz deli cup would work wonders, with mesh on the top for him to molt on).  Anyways, he also may not be eating because of stress. I also freaked out from the first wild caught mantis I had, he didn't eat.... but within a day or two he was eating non stop. I would spray some water on the side of the tank and see if he will drink it. You should also keep the humidity up in case he has to molt. But I don't live on the west coast and am newer to mantids so I can't reliably identify the speices. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will pop in and tell you all the nitty-gritty details.

Anyways good luck!

 

[Branchler]

Hey Connor. Thank you. He is actually in a large container. Here I have some Dropbox links. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h9rhzesn7nqkvkt/20170828_174704.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2k550x20q3kcbsx/20170828_174653.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a2zykxhk7yf5u8q/20170827_173703.jpg?dl=0

I put some leafy stuff in there to keep his meal alive, lol.

 

[Connor]

Oh ok, that enclosure is definitely big enough. I would recommend putting some mesh/screen on the lid to help him when he molts. As far a food, he may not be eating because that grasshopper may be too big for him to take down, and might end up hurting him.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Pretty sure that is a female, although it is a bit hard to tell from that angle. She is pretty plump for a subadult. The wingbuds also look like they might be fairly swollen which is a sign she is getting ready for her final molt. I am concerned about your current cage. She really needs something textured on the lid like netting/mesh. She also needs double her length of free space under the lid for her final molt. This includes making sure the stick isn't in her way. Similarly if the stick is the only proper texture surface in that cage she needs at least double her height between the upper parts of it and the floor for molting.

As for water you can lightly mist in front of her or on her upper body/claws to provide some water. I suggest taking her out when doing this because the cage doesn't look like it has much airflow so you will only want to provide a sparing mist/moist paper towel at the bottom for humidity. The general rule of thumb when misting an enclosure for humidity is the droplets on the sides should dry up in a half hour or so, otherwise you risk mold.

Do not leave the grasshopper in the cage with her if she is not interested. If she goes to molt the grasshopper could disturb her and cause a fall.

 

[Branchler]

Pretty sure that is a female, although it is a bit hard to tell from that angle. She is pretty plump for a subadult. The wingbuds also look like they might be fairly swollen which is a sign she is getting ready for her final molt. I am concerned about your current cage. She really needs something textured on the lid like netting/mesh. She also needs double her length of free space under the lid for her final molt. This includes making sure the stick isn't in her way. Similarly if the stick is the only proper texture surface in that cage she needs at least double her height between the upper parts of it and the floor for molting.

As for water you can lightly mist in front of her or on her upper body/claws to provide some water. I suggest taking her out when doing this because the cage doesn't look like it has much airflow so you will only want to provide a sparing mist/moist paper towel at the bottom for humidity. The general rule of thumb when misting an enclosure for humidity is the droplets on the sides should dry up in a half hour or so, otherwise you risk mold.

Do not leave the grasshopper in the cage with her if she is not interested. If she goes to molt the grasshopper could disturb her and cause a fall.

I need to know if you've seen the links i provided in a reply above. I posted it's actual enclosure. The plastic lid is riddled with holes and the mantis is currently hanging from those holes. Which spooked me when I opened the lid lol. He or she got all kinds of animated then! xD

 

[Krissim Klaw]

I need to know if you've seen the links i provided in a reply above. I posted it's actual enclosure. The plastic lid is riddled with holes and the mantis is currently hanging from those holes. Which spooked me when I opened the lid lol. He or she got all kinds of animated then! xD

Missed the photos. The cage is big enough but I would not trust a plastic lid with holes for shedding. The mantis may be able to hold on to them now, but during the shedding process I would be concerned with the mantis slipping. Do you have any sort of netting or highly textured fabric you could pull over the top instead? I would also definitely take that grasshopper out. Your nymph is already plump and that grasshopper is way overkill. It is best not to let the nymphs get too fat because it ups the risk of a fall during molting.

 

[Sarah K]

Yeah, based on the pictures, your mantis seems to be having a hard time holding onto the lid as it is, so if it tries to molt, it will be a disaster. An easy solution to the mesh problem is to buy some pantyhose (Knee high style even better), and you can just fasten it to the top of the UTZ jar with a rubberband.

 

[Branchler]

Okay update. based on the wonderful advice you all have given (thanks so much) I removed the grasshopper and replaced the plastic lid with a large rough rag that is very breathe-y. he or she has been hanging from it since.

So I guess in a few days I can check in with you guys? ^_^

 

[Connor]

Sounds good. If you notice the abdomen getting smaller, I would try to feed it. Maybe try a fly instead of a grasshopper. Or it might just be getting ready to molt.