Quick Question...

[Joe Caruso]

Since she arrived yesterday my Mantid has spent virtually all her time (we're talking 98%) on the roof of her terrarium. Is this normal behaviour? I've seen her climb up and down the side of the tank so it can't be that she's unable to get back down again, and she's eating well, so it can't be that she's ready to moult. Should I be concerned?

I mean, is it too much to ask that she get her butt down from there and spend just a few minutes frolicking on the fine orchid bark substrate I paid good money for? :blink:

 

[idolomantis]

neh they do this al the time

 

[chrisboy101]

thats perfectly normal for mantids. u have nothing to worry about.

 

[ismart]

What your mantis is doing is perfectly normal. It just needs some time to get used to it's new enclosure.

Most mantids like to climb to the highest point and hang upside down, so chances are you will rarely see you mantis forlicking on the nice orchid bark substrate you spent good money on :lol:

 

[Joe Caruso]

What your mantis is doing is perfectly normal. It just needs some time to get used to it's new enclosure. Most mantids like to climb to the highest point and hang upside down, so chances are you will rarely see you mantis forlicking on the nice orchid bark substrate you spent good money on :lol:

Well that's just plain selfish if you ask me. <_<

 

[The_Asa]

Mantids are definitely not the most considerate animals

 

[idolomantis]

he, somtimes they just sit days on the same spot

 

[hibiscusmile]

Definately not ground dwellers, this bunch likes it upside down, makes me dizzy!

 

[OGIGA]

It'd be slightly abnormal if your mantis wasn't up here.

 

[darkspeed]

It is perfectly normal mainly due to their feeding habits. Many mantids are known to take on prey with as much if not more mass than themselves. In an upright stance this would put alot of strain on the mantis to keep its prey elevated enough to keep the struggling insect from gaining a foothold on something and puling itself away from the mantis. However in and upside down stance the mantis can use the prey's own weight against it, suspending it well away from anything to grab ahold of. This is so deeply ingrained into the the mantids instincts that whether the mantis knows why or not, it is programmed to do so.... so it does.

Mother nature always takes the path of least resistance.

 

[Joe Caruso]

Hmmm, interesting. This morning for some reason she seems slightly more nervous than usual. I tried to feed her a meal worm, but after making a half-hearted attempt to grab at it, she let it drop to the floor of the terrarium and climbed down from the roof and onto a log that lays on top of the substrate, (this is the first time I've seen her down so low). She's been there all day so far.

Now every time I peer in to look at her she swivels her head to look back at me with an expression that seems almost one of shock. Then she scurries away and hides somewhere. Before, she'd turn to look at me, but in a way that suggested she was more wary or curious than anything else. When she percieved I wasn't a threat she'd go back to doing whatever it was she was doing. Now she seems terrified of any attention...

 

[idolomantis]

is your mantis an adult female? if so she might lay an unfertile ooth if not... i dont know.

 

[Joe Caruso]

is your mantis an adult female? if so she might lay an unfertile ooth if not... i dont know.

I'm fairly sure she's female, but she isn't adult.

Anyway, she's back on the roof now. She's still not showing that much interest in eating though. Maybe there's a molt coming on...

It's quite funny. I'm finding that these mantids are hard work, but it's hard work of a very different sort to that which you'd expend on your average mammalian pet. With a cat or a dog you can generally tell what's wrong with a little observation, (and if not there's always the vet). With these little critters I find I'm constantly guessing, and every odd, unexpected thing they do has me imagining a whole host of malign causes. I guess that's where experience comes in...that and trying to quit being such an obsessive worrier.

 

[idolomantis]

sounds to me like a moult than, just wait and make sure she there nothin to block her in the molt.

create enough space to prevent her from getting crippled, remove some decoration until she shedded.

ye these asre just wonderfull lil buggs :lol: