Oothbound for months!

[izbiggs]

My p. agrionina has never laid an ooth since she molted to adult many (five?)months ago. She seems to be acting fine! Still eating, drinking droplets, and climbing around, but she is quite the fat mantis. I've tried putting her on plants free in the house, putting sticks of all sizes and shapes in her enclosure, misting more, misting less, turning up the heat, turning down the heat, feeding more, and feeding less, all to no avail. She simply won't lay!

I feed her flies, waxworms, and gut loaded and beheaded mealworms, never crickets. She's in a net cube cage and I mist her in the morning and in the evening (I live in a very dry place). She's three and a half inches long! I'm not too worried as she's still eating, at least. 

https://imgur.com/tYUR7ns

 

[Connor]

She looks like she's ready to lay. But have you ever mated her? Infertile females take a long time to lay. I've even known instances where they never lay.

 

[hibiscusmile]

She will never lay, I have seen it plenty. Most happen with to much food, and little excercise, same thing happened to me.......

 

[cwebster]

She sure looks chubby. Our only wild caught Chinese mantis, Heavens Breath Mantis ( type of plant where i found her), is starting to look like that. Will feed her less and hope for an ooth. 

 

[Connor]

She sure looks chubby. Our only wild caught Chinese mantis, Heavens Breath Mantis ( type of plant where i found her), is starting to look like that. Will feed her less and hope for an ooth. 

I wouldn’t feed her less. Just don’t overfeed her. Is your girl mated?

 

[Krissim Klaw]

As others have mentioned sometimes they simply never lay but generally they can still live full, long lives. As was also brought up, I've found unmated females to be more prone to this. She still seems within the healthy range for a mantis, but I personally prefer to feed on the lighter side with mantises that aren't laying as I feel it is easier on their bodies. After a point they really don't need a ton of food because they can only prepare so many eggs/ooth material in their body before they are maxed out and need to lay to free up more space before they can expend energy on a fresh batch.

 

[cwebster]

Dont know uf our wild mantis mated before we found her and brought her inside due to the cold temperatures.