Stinky Hierodula

[SkittishMale]

I have two adult female Hierodula that seem healthy and eat when given prey. One of them has already mated too. What I don't understand is why they have a funny, unpleasant smell. I keep them on coco coir as a substrate and I spot clean by picking out dead prey parts so I know that stuff isn't building up on the substrate. The smell is hard to describe and I don't know what may be causing it because both the enclosures are kept clean. Right now, I also have an adult female Chinese and adult female Ghost and they do not have this strange odour.

This is my first time with adult Hierodula. Is it normal for them to have a strange odour when compared to other species?

 

[LAME]

Mine doesn't stink... Is it sick? Have you checked for signs of vomit or runny fecies?

 

[idologrl]

I had an idolo that did that. Couldn't get the smell off my hands! IT was a musky smell..She got over it on her next molt.

 

[SkittishMale]

I haven't seen any vomit and the feces look normal to me. They are sort of round and dark coloured. It's strange that only my Hierodula have the stink but not my other species. I guess musky is a good way to describe it.

I completely cleaned out their enclosures and replaced the substrate and within a few days, the tank had that musky odour again. I smelled the mantises themselves and the smell was bad. They are not very ferocious feeders and don't take from the forceps but they will strike and eat prey in their enclosures when left alone. I am thinking that it may be some kind of sickness but I have never read anything about this problem and they have been this way for weeks and have not yet died.

 

[idologrl]

I haven't seen any vomit and the feces look normal to me. They are sort of round and dark coloured. It's strange that only my Hierodula have the stink but not my other species. I guess musky is a good way to describe it.

I completely cleaned out their enclosures and replaced the substrate and within a few days, the tank had that musky odour again. I smelled the mantises themselves and the smell was bad. They are not very ferocious feeders and don't take from the forceps but they will strike and eat prey in their enclosures when left alone. I am thinking that it may be some kind of sickness but I have never read anything about this problem and they have been this way for weeks and have not yet died.

My girl didn't die, she just smelled gross for a couple of weeks. Then it went away. I kept cleaning out her enclosure and fed her honey and water daily. It may be bacterial so the honey helped flush it out?? I have no clue but it was gross. I couldn't get the smell off my hands even after washing them several times. I've never had one do it since.

 

[Sticky]

I have never heard of that. None of mine do that. Keep us updated?

 

[LAME]

I had a Stagmomantis carolina female (wildcaught/adult) that I had mated, after about 2 weeks into owning her she also developed the musty stink SkittishMale is referring to. It really does have a stench to it... Cleaning the tank never helped and since she was already at the peak of her lifecycle I never got to find out if a molt would've helped.

However I never noticed any illnesses due to it ( running fecal matter, vomiting..) and she lived out her full life, mated twice, and provided 6 ooths. She just..... Stinked? ^_^

 

[idologrl]

I had a Stagmomantis carolina female (wildcaught/adult) that I had mated, after about 2 weeks into owning her she also developed the musty stink SkittishMale is referring to. It really does have a stench to it... Cleaning the tank never helped and since she was already at the peak of her lifecycle I never got to find out if a molt would've helped.

However I never noticed any illnesses due to it ( running fecal matter, vomiting..) and she lived out her full life, mated twice, and provided 6 ooths. She just..... Stinked? ^_^

Thank God my girl cleaned up! It was a gross smell. Someone suggested the honey because it helps control bacteria and it seemed to work for her. She smelled much better after a couple of weeks. So maybe its some form of non threatening bacteria that they get, I don't know.