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how much should i have been feeding and how do you know she is pregnant( for future use ) thanks. i hope i didnt harm the ooth or her by not feeding the correct amount.

 
sevenoaks said:
how much should i have been feeding and how do you know she is pregnant( for future use ) thanks. i hope i didnt harm the ooth or her by not feeding the correct amount.
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No, you should be fine, after all they don't always get to gorge themselves in the wild. I'm just saying that breeders typically stuff their females once they've been mated (and before actually to avoid cannibalism). You didn't know that she was pregnant obviously and there is no real way of knowing (unless you witnessed mating) besides her girth (which isn't reliable because she could have just ate a large meal. They're are other "signs", but these usually appear right before the egg laying process begins. She and the ooth (assuming it's fertile) should be fine. And to answer a possible future question, I say "assuming it's fertile" because very often a mantis will lay an infertile ooth filled with unfertilized eggs. But since yours was caught outside as an adult, it is possible that she mated before being brought inside. There really isn't a correct amount, it's just breeders feel comfortable making sure their mantids are fully nutritious before they lay. This can possibly increase ooth size and maybe even the strength of the unhatched nymphs.

 
oh thanks. i feel a bit better. what are the signs of a mantis ready to lay if you dont mind me asking. thanks again.

 
sevenoaks said:
oh thanks. i feel a bit better. what are the signs of a mantis ready to lay if you dont mind me asking. thanks again.
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No problem. Well in my experience, the female will stop eating for a short period. She can be seen "testing" the structure that she is on to determine whether or not that is where she will lay. "Testing" can be described as the female rubbing the tip of her abdomen on whatever structure she may be on. She'll bend her abdomen down and just rub it along while kind of scraping it. I guess it's testing whether or not the structure can support her ooth (wonder why you never see ooths layed on a blade of grass?). It's kind of hard to describe and I wish I had a pic. And of course, she'll be moving less once she finds a suitable place to lay (from an hour to a day in my experience) before she lays. Of course once you get the hang of it, you can kind of predict when she will lay, as they start to get a pattern if temp, food, and other conditions are constant.

 
i guess i was asking because i thought she was dying the day before she layed. (maybe she still is) strange how nature works. she lays to carry her species on before she dies. she kept falling and she just layed on the ground sideways after one fall and i thought it was it for her. by morning she was laying after i thought id find her dead on the ground where she was laying. maybe this ooth isnt fertile because i think she must have layed before outside before november. dont know how she had this ooth in her becasue she is weak and ready to die. amazing.

 
sevenoaks said:
i guess i was asking because i thought she was dying the day before she layed. (maybe she still is) strange how nature works. she lays to carry her species on before she dies. she kept falling and she just layed on the ground sideways after one fall and i thought it was it for her. by morning she was laying after i thought id find her dead on the ground where she was laying. maybe this ooth isnt fertile because i think she must have layed before outside before november. dont know how she had this ooth in her becasue she is weak and ready to die. amazing.
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They can lay ooths countless times after mating once, so you won't know if it's fertile until it does or doesn't hatch. I had a M. religiosa female who got very weak after mating. She still kept her voracious appetite but it was harder for her to climb trees etc. Then she finally laid an ooth and she was halfway back to normal. Then it started up again. She laid her second ooth and then died a couple of days later. Maybe "weakness" does coincide with nearing ooth laying. Just never count them out. But in your case, I doubt she'd lay another ooth so soon plus the fact that it's January points to her not having long to live. Nature is indeed strange my friend. But it's also wonderful, especially when you see all the little nymphs looking just like their mom, scattered everywhere in a container. Good luck. You should read Peter's guide for caring for an ooth.

 
All of my Chinese mantises had died by the end of November, you are blessed to still have one this long!

Emerald was the only one of my Chinese mantises to lay ooths. She laid two, and in both cases they were laid on sticks pretty much away from the reach of any crickets. I put those ooths outside in the garden on the side of my house, she was buried in the same spot not too long after. I hope they hatch!

 
thanks, she actually ate two large crickets today. i feel so bad that i didnt feed her enough while she was pregnant. i didnt know as i read online somewhere to feed her every three days! and it also said her belly could rupture if i fed too much and her belly looked huge(babies) so i thought she was full but it was babies so i didnt offer any food. i also never sprayed her until i read it here. i feel so bad.

 
Don't feel bad; you saved her from a frosty death by bringing her into your home. You're one of the few people lucky enough to still have a live mantis from last summer. My last one died about a month ago and my gf's last one died last week.

 
Yes, you are quite lucky. My last summer Chinese male died on Christmas Day. I still have 2 female Carolinas from the summer but every day I fear more for their health.

You have done great with her and given her a comfortable home!

Rebecca

 
thanks guys. i have been giving her lots of crickets now. i hand feed her (hand it to her) because she may be too weak to catch it. she doesnt move much. could it be she was born later in the year (summer)and not in spring and that is why she is still alive?

 
sevenoaks said:
thanks guys. i have been giving her lots of crickets now. i hand feed her (hand it to her) because she may be too weak to catch it. she doesnt move much. could it be she was born later in the year (summer)and not in spring and that is why she is still alive?
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Good chance that is true, as they are usually born in the spring or early summer. ;)

 
yea she seems like a summer bug! LOL

i just tried giving her a tiny bit of banana she grabed at it and it fell, but she is now licking her arm barbs(sorry dont know the correct name) i know i should be feeding her more than just crickets but i dont have access to anything but red worms and super and meal worms and she didnt go for them. i should try again. maybe if i hand it to her like i did the cricket. ill get more today.

 
sevenoaks said:
yea she seems like a summer bug! LOL i just tried giving her a tiny bit of banana she grabed at it and it fell, but she is now licking her arm barbs(sorry dont know the correct name) i know i should be feeding her more than just crickets but i dont have access to anything but red worms and super and meal worms and she didnt go for them. i should try again. maybe if i hand it to her like i did the cricket. ill get more today.
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You can keep her just on crickets. Or try to coat the crickets in honey or something. They won't take just a plain banana. Lol

 
just gave her a meal worm and she took it. i tried a wax worm and she didnt budge but i think she was sleeping when i was dangling it in front of her face with tweezers . she jumped a bit after a while.

i cant believe now i am caring for her properly when she is gonna die!

 
sevenoaks said:
just gave her a meal worm and she took it. i tried a wax worm and she didnt budge but i think she was sleeping when i was dangling it in front of her face with tweezers . she jumped a bit after a while.i cant believe now i am caring for her properly when she is gonna die!
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It IS sad when they start to decline, but maybe she will start a love of mantids for you and you can have and enjoy others. I'll always remember my first mantis. He was special.

Rebecca

 
lol im sure you will do fine this was my first year and i had some worries...but now i have 6 ooths hatched....lots of little mantises running around and still a lot more to hatch...have fun :lol:

p.s. my last adult died november 23rd but like i siad im busy with the nymphs now some of wich has molted twice.

 
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