izbiggs
Well-known member
The title is pretty self-explanatory. Something killed most of my mantises.
I was feeding them wax worms and flies with the very occasional (gut loaded) mealworm. No crickets. Then, they all started dropping. The little nymphs first. They would refuse food, have a large abdomen, vomit foul smelling vomit, and end up dead the next day. It was so fast-moving. The nymphs died almost all at once. Of course, I immediately switched my feeder supply, but by then, it was too late. My bigger mantises started getting it. One of my b. mendica has it and is currently still alive, but there is a pulsing black liquid in-between the segments, vomit everywhere, refusal to eat, and really weird sticky, black poop. The lighter mantises I have turned black and died. I lost one of my wahlbergii, two of my orchids, five of my ghosts, one of my cat mantises, the b. mendica, so many little r. megaera nymphs... there was nothing I could do to stop it. When I looked in the enclosure, there would be the dead mantis at the bottom, black, lightish vomit smeared on the walls and this horrible vinegar-like smell. I would see the mantis alive one moment, and the next moment it would be dead.
For some reason my violins and p. medioconstructa don't seem to be affected so far. I'm hoping they won't be. It hasn't affected my tarantulas.
Obviously, I'm quite shaken up over this. I really do care for my mantises and I felt so helpless and frustrated as I saw them all die. My favorite mantis died. RIP Molly.
I noticed that some of the wax worms had black dots on them, but I thought that they were just wounds that had healed. I don't know about the flies, maybe it could have been them carrying harmful bacteria. I did try everything... feeding honey, spraying, putting under heat, even just doing nothing. Nothing helped.
I guess this is just a warning to all you mantis keepers out there. Always gut load your feeders and check them thoroughly for any abnormalities. And make sure to take lots of pictures and have good times with your mantids.
I was feeding them wax worms and flies with the very occasional (gut loaded) mealworm. No crickets. Then, they all started dropping. The little nymphs first. They would refuse food, have a large abdomen, vomit foul smelling vomit, and end up dead the next day. It was so fast-moving. The nymphs died almost all at once. Of course, I immediately switched my feeder supply, but by then, it was too late. My bigger mantises started getting it. One of my b. mendica has it and is currently still alive, but there is a pulsing black liquid in-between the segments, vomit everywhere, refusal to eat, and really weird sticky, black poop. The lighter mantises I have turned black and died. I lost one of my wahlbergii, two of my orchids, five of my ghosts, one of my cat mantises, the b. mendica, so many little r. megaera nymphs... there was nothing I could do to stop it. When I looked in the enclosure, there would be the dead mantis at the bottom, black, lightish vomit smeared on the walls and this horrible vinegar-like smell. I would see the mantis alive one moment, and the next moment it would be dead.
For some reason my violins and p. medioconstructa don't seem to be affected so far. I'm hoping they won't be. It hasn't affected my tarantulas.
Obviously, I'm quite shaken up over this. I really do care for my mantises and I felt so helpless and frustrated as I saw them all die. My favorite mantis died. RIP Molly.
I noticed that some of the wax worms had black dots on them, but I thought that they were just wounds that had healed. I don't know about the flies, maybe it could have been them carrying harmful bacteria. I did try everything... feeding honey, spraying, putting under heat, even just doing nothing. Nothing helped.
I guess this is just a warning to all you mantis keepers out there. Always gut load your feeders and check them thoroughly for any abnormalities. And make sure to take lots of pictures and have good times with your mantids.
