Non insect foods mantises can eat?

[Bugmankeith]

Are there any non insect foods mantises can eat?

 

[Sticky]

Honey, milk and bee pollen come to mind.

 

[LAME]

I've read online honey, small pieces of banana. Though I've tried my luck with both with no results. I'd stick with its natural diet, imo.

 

[Bugmankeith]

I understand bee pollen only because they sit on flowers and if they eat bees they also eat pollen.

What about honey, technically that's inside bees too.

 

[Mime454]

Small frogs, small birds, small fish.

Seems sort of cruel to make a vertebrate die like that though.

 

[Aryia]

Banana and honey, you have to stick in their mouths and then they'll gladly take it.

Anything small and edible really. One of my Rhombodera females took a frozen mouse that my snakes didn't want. I heard they can take raw meat too, though I would just stick to insects. Make sure to humanely euthanize in case you do try it out~

 

[Rick]

What about honey, technically that's inside bees too.

Not exactly.

 

[Domanating]

Also lizards. I gave my mantids a lot of lizards throughout the years. Keeps an adult female Religiosa full for several days. Though I only feed them lizards when Insects get scarce

 

[LAME]

Not exactly.

agreed with Rick.

 

[LAME]

Fyi you can also pass salmonella and/or botulism (typo) from feeding them meats.

like I said before, I'd stick to its natural diet.

 

[Domanating]

Fyi you can also pass salmonella and/or botulism (typo) from feeding them meats.

like I said before, I'd stick to its natural diet.

They are most likely resistant to such diseases and they also harmlessly carry their own. Don't forget that small birds, fish, mammals and reptiles are more common prey for mantids than previously thought.

 

[Aryia]

By the way.. my reply is directly to the OP's question, about what mantises CAN eat.

The answer would definitely be different if the question were what mantises should be fed. Personally I would find it way too expensive to feed my mantises any type of meat.

And as far as I know I don't believe mantises are affected negatively from salmonella though I assume they can carry it. Which just means that you shouldn't be kissing or eating your mantises, and should be washing your hands after handling them or their enclosure. Which I hope everyone does anyway because who knows what insects can carry and transmit.

*Edited spelling

 

[PookaDotted]

Yep, I agree with Arya. The only non-insect feeder I entend to feed my mantises is maybe a feeder dusted with a bit of pollen. Honey I can feed to a feeder. Whatever you feed your feeders can also end up in your mantis, so i would take that into account as well. The more varied and healthy diet you give your feeders, I would assume the better.

 

[cdcrocks]

I remember having read somewhere that the protein that insects use to make and maintain their exoskeletons isn't present in vertebrate meat, so a diet solely of meat wouldn't be a good idea for any long length of time.

I've yet to try feeding anything but insects myself.