My first Mantis!

[D_Hemptress]

When i saw the first picture of the enclosure thought that it may be able to get out of the top... i should have mentioned it...

get some nylon and glue it to the top and that will never happen again... along with feeders escaping as well

 

[shaneckc]

Thanks for the good advice, everyone! I put a paper towel between the lid and the tub last night, so he won't be escaping like that again any time soon. I'll fabricate a more permanent solution when I get some free time at my shop.

 

[shaneckc]

Any advice on how to help this little dude grow faster? I feed him daily. He'll usually eat a few aphids a day before he loses interest in them. I've been doing my best to keep the humidity and temperature up in his habitat as well. Does anyone know where I can get mantis steroids? (Just kidding :lol: )

 

[hibiscusmile]

He just needs bigger food, I think what he has is not fulfilling his tummy. And he is tired of chicken...

 

[jrh3]

he should be eating hydei flies, the above member sells them on her site and she sends tons of them on a producing culture, lol.

 

[ladygigi]

it looks like a little stagmo to me as well. but you cant *** them until later in life. the last time i tried to guess that i had a boy it ended up being a girl

p.s. its amazing to me that you saw that little dude. before keeping mantids i had never seen any that size

Yep, looks like it's probably a stagmomantis limbata. I have a few L1's of that species too. It's impossible to tell if they are male or female until about L3 or L4, but congratulations!

I find it interesting that you are saying that it looks like a Stagmomantis because it looks just like my Iris Oratoria nymphs as well. . .

 

[Dartania]

Welcome to this wonderfully weird & interesting world!

 

[shaneckc]

Geoffrey ate his first spider yesterday. I'm a proud dad haha!

 

[Coneja]

Haha, isn't it funny how proud we get of them over each of their new accomplishments?

 

[sally]

Good job Geoffrey!

 

[Crazy4mantis]

wow you're doing a great job with your first mantis!

He might have gotten out because the lid wasn't tightly on? also, L1s usually molt pretty quickly, so any day now! these are a native species so they shouldn't need extra humidity or temps.

My little ones usually go in one of these bad boys

http://www.mantidpets.com/shop/article_57/32-oz.-Nymph-Cup.html?shop_param=cid%3D5%26aid%3D57%26

so I admire your setup! :lol:

 

[shaneckc]

So I just noticed today that Geoffrey has molted!! I came home from work and saw his old exoskeleton sitting at the bottom of his habitat =) he seems to be better at climbing already!

 

[Coneja]

Hurrah! That's always exciting.

 

[ladygigi]

Congrats Geoffrey! Oh-and you too Daddy! LOL :lol:

 

[shaneckc]

So it's been 23 days since Geoffrey molted from L1 to L2. I've been feeding him as generously as possible. At least every other day I'll find him a decent fruit fly or small moth that seem to be a pretty big meal for the little guy. I'm just anxious for him to molt again but it seems like 23 days makes the L2-L3 molt a little past due. Also, after feeding, his abdomen has been swelling so I can see the segments on the underside more clearly now. I think I count only six... Geoffrey may be a girl!?

 

[shaneckc]

Here's a few recent pics and vids of him eating.

 

[Nicolas]

curled up abdomen, may be a large species. congrats, i hope geoffrey makes it to adulthood!

 

[DinehCaveman]

I also came across a stagmomantis nymph at work, it crawled across my monitor screen. I thought it was a big ant at first. Looked trippy backlit by a colorful hi def screen, so of course it took it home, I don't come across nymphs in the "wild".

 

[shaneckc]

28 days since Geoffreys first molt... Today I tried feeding him and he played around with his prey for a bit but did not fully grab it or eat anything. He looks plump after his few large meals from a couple days ago, and he's just been hanging out at the top of his habitat. I made sure his habitat is nice and humid for him and put him back in by himself. I'm really hoping that he will molt today or tomorrow.

 

[Nicolas]

If he's just flicking the prey around, he may be ready to molt. My subadult female Hierodula M. Is doing that, and I see the wing-buds are very "hard" looking and she is ready to molt.

Good luck with Geoffrey!