New guy say'n hey

[poopface]

Ok so basically I have no knowledge of mantis' or experience in care for them so any help is appreciated. I have managed to keep "Bertha" alive for a month so far. I only started housing her cause it is getting too cold for her outside(from what I read) and did not want her to die.

So have been feeding her various insects from outside the office(keep her at work). She looked plumby when she came in and I assumed she was pregant and sure enough last monday I came in and she was a little sack attached to the top of her enviroment. Not sure when the eggs will hatch office is usally about 72 degrees if this makes a diffence.

Then found this forum and was excited to learn as much as possible, not 100% on what to do with the babies when they come. Do I seperate them from mom. Will they eat each other? What should I do when they come as far as housing them?

Ok I will stop here and add more as I go , if not I would be posting all day lol.

Thanks a lot for any help

 

[guapoalto049]

hi poopface!

First off, your Bertha may not have mated. Mantids lay eggs regardless of mating, similar to a menstrual cycle. If fertilized, the egg case (called an ootheca) will hatch if kept at a constant 72 F, but if you are unsure of yourself you can put it outside for the winter until you are more prepared.

The best thing to do if you are planning on keeping the babies is to get ahold of a large container. When the babies hatch they can be fed on fruit flies around 1-2 days after emerging. Cultures of fruit flies aren't very expensive; petsmart sells smaller ones in tubes that are good for up to ~20 mantids. If you wait until spring, you can release the extra babies.

Now finding something that has ventilation and prevents fruit fly escape can be tough. I highly recommend the white net cube cages that mantisplace.com and mantispets.com sell. Get yourself something to mist the youngsters with and keep them fed and they'll thrive!

 

[gripen]

Welcome!

 

[hibiscusmile]

Welcome, most likely she is fertile, babies comin!

ps, r u related to my grandson? he thinks poop makes the world go round! :tt2:

 

[patrickfraser]

Welcome, scat cat! :lol:

 

[lancaster1313]

Welcome.

 

[Rick]

Welcome. Since she was wild most likely the ooth is fertile. If left indoors it could hatch in 4-6 weeks.

 

[poopface]

So got in this morning and she laid a new ooth. Um how many babies are we talking here , cause I read 10-400?? Also how much should I be feeding her each day. She seems to eat well but sometimes she just ignores the crickets or whatever I put in there.

Thank you for all the welcomes and hibiscusmile your grandson is wise beyond his years. I do like poop,talking about poop, poop jokes, but if my dog accidently drops 1 in the house I get my wife to pick it up cause I will puke.

 

[guapoalto049]

Somewhere in the 100-200 range. Very large ooths of Chinese will get around 200, but as the mantid ages the ooths typically get smaller and have fewer nymphs.