not eating!

[Ricardo]

I just got into mantises and bought a 12 dollar african mantis. When I bought it there was no specific name but this guy is pretty tiny and hatched sometime in august. He's tan/white and is to grow to about 3 inches.

Anyways he hasn't eaten since I've gotten him, starting to worry I bought him on saturday

 

[Jesskb]

He may be getting ready for a molt. When a mantis is getting ready to shed its skin, it usually won't eat. I would make sure he has enough room in his enclosure to provide a good place for him to molt. He needs to have room at least 3x as high as he is long. Give him a good mist before you go to bed and hopefully he'll shed.

 

[Ricardo]

He may be getting ready for a molt. When a mantis is getting ready to shed its skin, it usually won't eat. I would make sure he has enough room in his enclosure to provide a good place for him to molt. He needs to have room at least 3x as high as he is long. Give him a good mist before you go to bed and hopefully he'll shed.

Well I picked him up on saturday . . . you really think he's going to molt?

also my plastic tub is looking quite muggy and humid. little foggy. is this good? Is it TO moist?

 

[Jesskb]

You want to have moisture in there for sure, but not a ton of it. If you take the paper towel out of his container and can wring water out of it, that's way too moist. You should only spray his container once or twice a day before you go to bed.

Edit: in your other post you say you're using wet paper towel as substrate. The paper towel shouldn't be "wet" maybe damp at most.

 

[Ricardo]

You want to have moisture in there for sure, but not a ton of it. If you take the paper towel out of his container and can wring water out of it, that's way too moist. You should only spray his container once or twice a day before you go to bed.

Edit: in your other post you say you're using wet paper towel as substrate. The paper towel shouldn't be "wet" maybe damp at most.

Yes I'll check to see if it's to damp. The guy who sold it to me also recommended some sort of coconut mixture for the base. how much are these types of substrate and how often do I need to replace the substrate? also I think my mantis is molting and I don't want to interupt him so . . . how long does it take to prepare to molt and molt.

 

[Jesskb]

substrate choice is really up to you. I use paper towels in all of my mantis enclosures. A mantis can take a few days to molt, and then a couple days to dry and harden back up.

 

[Ricardo]

Yes I'll check to see if it's to damp. The guy who sold it to me also recommended some sort of coconut mixture for the base. how much are these types of substrate and how often do I need to replace the substrate? also I think my mantis is molting and I don't want to interupt him so . . . how long does it take to prepare to molt and molt.

I do hope he molts. If he doesn't and still doesn't eat. . . does that mean he's done for?

 

[hibiscusmile]

Hows the ventilation? There shouldn't be fog on the container all day, need more air holes, and what is he got to eat?

 

[Ricardo]

Hows the ventilation? There shouldn't be fog on the container all day, need more air holes, and what is he got to eat?

I just put him in a new enclosure. not foggy in the new one, better ventilated. I poked various holes on the top.

Here's a pic of the little guy clinging to the chopstick I put through the enclosure.

 

[MrPitseleh]

:lol: I love that pose my European Edward does this when there's a fly loose in his Enclosure and he's crouched and waiting to strike.

 

[Ricardo]

ungh. do they sell feeder moths or anything? I can't find any around the house . can they eat mosquitos? I have a ton of those around.

also this guy's very small. hatched in august. how many times do you think he's molted?

 

[Jesskb]

mantisplace.com sells housefly pupae and fruit fly cultures ( I don't know your mantid's exact size.) If he hatched in August it would be safe to say that he's molted at least a few times already. I don't know your location, but if you're someplace where its still warm, then go collect small moths out by lights if you want. Small crickets would be fine to feed him as long as they're not too big. How big are the crickets in comparison to the mantis? Smaller is better and I wouldn't go any bigger than 1/3 of his body size.

 

[Ricardo]

mantisplace.com sells housefly pupae and fruit fly cultures ( I don't know your mantid's exact size.) If he hatched in August it would be safe to say that he's molted at least a few times already. I don't know your location, but if you're someplace where its still warm, then go collect small moths out by lights if you want. Small crickets would be fine to feed him as long as they're not too big. How big are the crickets in comparison to the mantis? Smaller is better and I wouldn't go any bigger than 1/3 of his body size.

The crickets are very small, I think babies. None are even half of godfrey's size. Id say in length, 1/3 of his size, but in width, the crickets are not that much thinner. I'm from canada british columbia. can he have mosquitos to tide him over until I can find a way to get something in his belly? he isnt molting and has not eaten for 4 days

 

[Jesskb]

You can feed him whatever he'll take. Four days isn't a long time for him not to eat. If he's flicking the crickets away then he doesn't want them. Don't worry until his abdomen starts to look really skinny or flat. Up the humidity a little and see what happens.

 

[Ricardo]

You can feed him whatever he'll take. Four days isn't a long time for him not to eat. If he's flicking the crickets away then he doesn't want them. Don't worry until his abdomen starts to look really skinny or flat. Up the humidity a little and see what happens.

he ate his first cricket today .

Looks like he's settled in and fine now.

 

[PeterF]

Good Good!

As for the mosquitoes. They might be too small, they might not. You can try them. They won't be bad for him. But if they are too small he won't be able to take them.

That said, if he's on crickets, then stick with crickets.

I used to feed mosquitoes to small adult ground spiders. It was easiest for me to let them bite and then put the jar over them (I don't really feel mosquito bites).

And a story!

A few times I tried feeding the spiders mosquitoes that were full of my blood, thinking this would make a better meal. They, uh, popped when the spider jumped them.

Mantids eat different, but I wouldn't really suggest trying it.