Ooths!

[DefyTheNorms]

I have read so much on mantid and mantid care, however I realized this past week that I had no clue about ooths. There really isn't much mention on ooths and unmated females. My budwing laid an oooh then the next day laid another. Today my Shield mantis laid her first ooth. It dried and she was stuck to it. She was literally hanging by her butt and squirmed until she fell to the bottom. She climbed up and seemed fine, but now she has some dried foam stuck to her (photos). I seen her try to clean it, but it doesn't look like she can reach it very well. I have no idea what's normal. First experience with ooths. I thought my girl was just fat.

I have a million questions, in regards to females that have NOT mated...
- How often do they lay ooths?
- Do they normally lay more than one ooth in a day/or over a couple days? 
- How soon after they lay ooth should I wait to feed them?
- Should I feed them normally before they lay?
- How can I tell if she is fat or ready to lay? 
- I was reading they usually die within a few months laying an ooth. is this true?
-SHould I be concerned about the dried foam on her rear-end?
I'm sure there's many things I'm forgetting to ask. Anything else i should know?

 

[Mystymantis]

I think that non mated females will lay about the same number of ootheca as mated, probably around 2-6 or so ootheca.

They usually only lay an ootheca every few weeks, though if they were interrupted or something for some reason they might lay part of an egg case and make another one else where, hence laying 2 in one day or subsequent days. 

I think you can feed her the same day or the next day after making an ootheca, I generally wait one day, and I don't know if there is any general suggestion for this.

Yes feed them normally before they lay. The more they eat the bigger the ootheca can be. Though since they are infertile that probably doesn't matter that much.

Usually they have a span of like 2-4 weeks or so between laying ootheca so you can usually guess when they might be getting close to laying, and plus when they are really fat they might be ready to lay.

If the dried foam is blocking her from excreting then yes it might be a problem. I usually get a wet paper towel and very gently try and wipe off the foam that is stuck if I think it is causing any problems. Check and see if she is making waste or not. If she is excreting fine you can probably leave it.

Mantises only live for a few months so I guess it could be said they die after laying ootheca, but females can live for like 4-6 or so months as adults so no worries!

Hope this helps!

 

[DefyTheNorms]

@Mystymantis Thank you for all the info. She ended up being fine, but being my first experience with ooth laying I was unsure.

 

[Mantis Lady]

thanks for the info too. Cochise has still to lay her first ooth, but she is still unmated because the male I bought for her didnt molt yet.