Orchid Turned Skittish! Could Use Your Opinion

[sppc9876]

Hi all, was wondering if I could get some opinions on what's going on with my female orchid. I originally got her as an L3, and mainly kept her in styrofoam cup midway through most of L4. She mostly ignored me when I looked at her inside the cup and remained calm. I then moved her into a vivarium with a real orchid and artificial lighting, to which she then molted into L5. As the orchid flowers have started to drop, she's been very easily spooked when I look into the vivarium (she mostly ignored me when orchids were in full bloom), and flattens completely. If I do any work in the vivarium, she goes BANANAS and just starts running and hopping around and hiding in little cracks. I thought I'd try to handle her a bit so she gets used to my presence, but she always freaks out when I get home and look at her in the vivarium. I moved her back to a cup, she always catches my movements from above, no matter how slight, and does the whole flattening thing. I'm not sure what may have caused the change in behavior and if it was because the light casted a huge shadow that has scarred her! She's now noticeably WAY more timid than my male which is odd. I'm wondering if there is any way of reversing it or if she will grow out of it as she gets bigger. Would more handling help? Thanks much for the feedback! She's a healthy eater and remains plump if you are wondering. You can see the viv below.

 

[MantisMatt14]

She's being a mantis. They are naturally scared of you because we ate considered predators to them. Maybe if you hold her she will become more calm.

 

[Sticky]

Try giving her honey when she sits still somwhere. Buy some wooden skewers. The length will help you reach her with the honey where she hides.

Hopefully the honey will teach her that you are not such a scary giant after all. Ive used it to teach my mantids to sit calmly on my hands. It's a yummy place to sit!

 

[sppc9876]

Thanks for the responses. I spent a good day with her today handling and feeding her honey. She was still a little on the edge but soon warmed up. Made her do little jumps between my hands. Really appreciate the encouragement to quell my paranoia!!!

 

[Sticky]

Wonderful!

 

[dmina]

the more you hold them.. the more they decide, they like to be on your hand... and if you have sweet treats... BONUS!

 

[sppc9876]

Mantis molted! Now L6. pictures to come soon.

 

[Mantis Man13]

Awesome! My Orchid male and female are both L3 at the moment! Just wondering but how long did it takes yours to turn to L4, L5 and L6? Thx.

 

[sppc9876]

I got them at L3 too. Didn't take them long to molt to L4, probably a few days, but I think I got them at the tail end of their L3 instar. From L4 to L5 was about 2 weeks. I was feeding my female as much as possible, but kept my male on a slim diet. However, they both molted to L5 about the same time. Temps the past month or so have been around 80F so I think that definitely speed things up for both of them. My female passed my male molting from L5 to L6, also probably in about 2 weeks maybe a few days over, but my male will be molting to adulthood, so I guess he's spending more time developing. Experts correct me if I'm wrong, but females become adults at L8? Anyway, here are some photos as found in another thread of mine.







The tank is now overrun by blue bottles that have emerged in bulk. She's going to be FAT.

 

[MantidBro]

It's probably because you moved her to that terrarium, she thinks she's wild now, it's a good sign! Mine act the same way when I let them in the wild cage for play time haha. Yes handling does help to tame them, you may just need to give her a bit more one on one time! They also remember things better than you'd think... if you scare them one day, they'll remember it for days to come, you have to sort of put a new image in their mind, so when they see you, they're not thinking "the scary one!" they're thinking "oh the one who lets me explore/feeds me!" I've never owned this species but plan to some day, they're beautiful, your girl there is a real looker!

 

[Vespertino]

That's a reminder for me to handle my mantids more often. I have one that seems to forget who I am and freaks out from time to time.