Ooth Bound Mantis Solution

[d17oug18]

SO, i have been meaning to get this on the forum to see if it works with others or not. I have found a way to "force" a female into having her oothecea AFTER being ooth bound(PLEASE PLEASE dont try this unless you are positive your mantis is ooth bound). Its very simple and its worked for all species i carry(only being about 4-5, violin, s. limbata, gambians, taiwan flowers, and unicorn boxers). STARVING them... i know!!! its so simple and obvious. when a female as an ooth in her for about 2-4 months i starve them and they lay it after only about 2 weeks of food depervation, i was shocked when it worked for all my species. try it out and let me know. 20 out of 20 females successfully laid without dying afterwords.

 

[Mr.Mantid]

Ha! Very interesting!

 

[sporeworld]

Brilliant in its simplicity. Nice work.

 

[Termite48]

I hope I never have to do it. Bit if and when the time comes, I will not be afraid to do this process. Thanks!

 

[psyconiko]

What does "ooth bound" means?she cannot lay her ooth and keep it inside so her belly is swollen?

 

[PhilinYuma]

Sounds like a consistent cure, but why are you having so many ooth-bound females? The usually accepted cause is low humidity, which, as a professional, you probably already know. (I hope that this answer doesn't cost you any free nymphs, mate. Did the last lot arrive yet?) :lol:

 

[ismart]

Nice observation! I have to give this a whirl sometime.

 

[jetsky82]

Is there any way to measure the quality of the ooth? I'd be interested to know whether the Ooth is of lower quality (less nymphs, less healthy nymphs, or no nymphs) when it is "forced out" using this starvation technique.

 

[yen_saw]

Interesting. Did the ooth hatch?

 

[psyconiko]

If "ooth bound" means what I think it does not work with:Sphrodromantis viridis(1 month and a half no food no ooth)

Miomantis paykulii(they die no matter what I do)

Creobroter pictipennis(no food for 2 weeks still ooth bound)

Gongylus gongylodes(1 month no food no ooth it died)

It worked once with 1 Tenodera(the ooth was non viable and looked like a ball of dirt....

I still have some Sphrodromantis viridis starving for more than a month....maybe they will lay something.

But I may have been unlucky or maybe they were not oothbound?I can provide pictures of my "oothbound" viridis if you will.

 

[d17oug18]

Mr PhilinYuma, this isnt a time course of a few months, it was a course of about a year and a half. Just so every knows the ooths they laid, which each female laid more after that, where normal. High hatch rate, low deaths, and nymphs made it to adulthood.

Ooth bound usually means that a mantis holds an ooth in her belly for her whole life, never giving it up. Its rare but it does happen, ive seen it happen to alot of people. Further more if you are misdiagnosing this and just starving a female you FEEL is ooth bound then they will die of starvation =P.

Please dont torture(starve) your mantis unless your are absolutely positive its ooth bound.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Mr PhilinYuma, this isnt a time course of a few months, it was a course of about a year and a half. Just so every knows the ooths they laid, which each female laid more after that, where normal. High hatch rate, low deaths, and nymphs made it to adulthood.

Ooth bound usually means that a mantis holds an ooth in her belly for her whole life, never giving it up. Its rare but it does happen, ive seen it happen to alot of people. Further more if you are misdiagnosing this and just starving a female you FEEL is ooth bound then they will die of starvation =P.

Please dont torture(starve) your mantis unless your are absolutely positive its ooth bound.

Always interesting to hear of a commonplace issue in the hobby that I thought was rare.

First, I have to agree with the above 100%. Do you remember the story of the old lady who trained her cow not to eat, and just when she had it trained...(I choke up at this point). A month without food?

Be aware that "ooth bound" is not the same as egg bound in a chicken, though a similar kind of treatment is often advised. There is no ooth inside the mantis! She contains eggs and protein secreting glands, and the liquid protein and a few other things are mechanically mixed with air to make the ooth as it is being laid.As she starts using up body stores in response to starvation, it is reasonable to suppose that the proteins (oothecins) that make up to 80% of a dry ootheca will start being absorbed. So I still strongly recommend preventative treatment here, by maintaining a humidity level appropriate to a tropical mantis. As a matter of interest, is anyone having this problem with native American species?

 

[d17oug18]

As a matter of interest, is anyone having this problem with native American species?

This was my first ooth bound female, an s limbata =P feed on crickets mostly.