l4 mantis molting?

[yaih0550]

i recieved my first mantis in the mail on oct. 12 as an I4 nymph (ghost mantis). when i got her she ate one fruit fly and has refused food since. shes been hanging upside down since i got her so i think shes ready to molt. i increased the humitidy in the tank and slightly raised temperature but she hasnt shown signs of actually molting and its been 3 days. does it usually take this long or is something wrong? is there anyway i can help her besides raising humitidy? sorry if this is a stupid question im super new to this.

 

[TheWolven]

Well for one thing, i4 ghost nymphs are too big for fruit flies. She's big enough for houseflies or small roaches. She could possibly just be ignoring the majority of the fruit flies until something larger comes along. She could also be about to molt. It's hard to tell, but she is still too big for such small prey.

 

[yaih0550]

Well for one thing, i4 ghost nymphs are too big for fruit flies. She's big enough for houseflies or small roaches. She could possibly just be ignoring the majority of the fruit flies until something larger comes along. She could also be about to molt. It's hard to tell, but she is still too big for such small prey.

thanks for letting me know, i had no idea she was too big for fruit flies. the website i ordered from said they were eating d. hydei so thats what i got. she did end up molting but it sounds like im going to have to go bug shopping again

 

[TheWolven]

thanks for letting me know, i had no idea she was too big for fruit flies. the website i ordered from said they were eating d. hydei so thats what i got. she did end up molting but it sounds like im going to have to go bug shopping again

You can get housefly pupae from TheMantisPlace for a good price! (Make sure to choose feeder shipping if you're just getting houseflies). She also has a great little container for flies that I like to buy when I need.

 

[Ckowsky]

^Agree on housefly pupae for your L4 and using MantisPlace

They're larger, easier to feed off (can cool flys in fridge for several minutes and tap into mantis enclosure), cheap, and the pupae last for quite some time refrigerated.

 

[yaih0550]

^Agree on housefly pupae for your L4 and using MantisPlace

They're larger, easier to feed off (can cool flys in fridge for several minutes and tap into mantis enclosure), cheap, and the pupae last for quite some time refrigerated.

I'll have to order some of them soon. I looked at houseflies online and my mantis is absolutely too small for them (she's not even the size of a dime). I think the place i ordered from was wrong about what molt she's in or maybe she's just small (or that's how big l4/l5 ghosts are??? idk). she'll only eat 4-6 fruit flies every other day as of the moment but ill get some houseflies and see if she'll go for it.