Mantid newbie

Arklier · Oct 22, 2007

Yesterday I picked up my first mantis at the Northwest Captive Breeder's Expo in Washington. A very small orchid mantis, only about 1/2" long and tall. I've always thought they were fascinating creatures, so I took the plunge. The breeder said it was an L3, I think. Going by the picture guide, I think it's a she but too small to reliably count the thorax segments. Have to wait until the next molt.

I have her in a plastic quart jar with a mesh top, a foam plug in the side, and a stick and some moss in the bottom, which is the enclosure the breeder was selling them in. Right now I'm feeding 'her' hydei. I have dart frogs (I know some of you keep darts so if you're wondering if this is the same Arklier on Dendroboard, yes it is) so I've got FFs coming out my ears. I also have dwarf white woodlice to feed my frogs, and was considering adding them to the mantis container to act as a janitorial crew, eating poop and leftover meals. They don't climb, so I doubt the mantis would bother them much, and even if she did it would just be an extra meal. What do you think?

Looking forward to keeping these beautiful animals.

hibiscusmile · Oct 22, 2007

Washington Huh! Must of brought them off of Nick Barta from Mantisplace! Am I right? There is nothing wrong with feeding it that, if it does not like it, it won't eat it. If you get a chance could you post a pic of the woodlice and let me know you did, I want to see what they look like, can't imagine anything wanting to eat them

. Does that mean if she doesn't eat them eventually you will have to delice her?

BTW Welcome to the forum, from OHIO

asdsdf · Oct 22, 2007

Welcome! I'm going to do the same thing, with my mantids! (Thanks bellerophon!)

Rebecca: Why not? Once the woodlice move, it's over! :lol:

(P.S. Woodlice=rolly pollies when I was a kid.)

Arklier · Oct 23, 2007

LOL! Woodlice are rolly polys that can't roll up. The kind I have is supposedly Trichorhina tomentosa, but there's a ton of tiny white woodlice, so it may not be the exact species. Dart froggers use them as a food source and cage cleanup crew, and Tarantula people use them in with their humidity loving Ts because they eat what the Ts leave behind, and also eat mites. That's what gave me the idea to use them with my orchid mantis, since they need it humid for shedding purposes. It would be mostly for cage cleanup duty, not intended as a food source (though I know mantids will eat anything in the right size range that looks edible and gets within reach). The woodlice stay very small, only growing to around 6mm, so I doubt a larger mantis would see them as food. Plus they breed like crazy. The babies are TINY! Like only 1mm.

Don't remember what the name of the guy was, but the vendor list for the show lists a Mantid Madness, and there was only one booth selling mantids, so I'm guessing that's where I got her.