Toilet trained mantids ??

[5eyesUK]

Is it possible that like....ermmm (thinking from personal experience lol) rabbits or guinea pigs etc, mantises could have some predispositions to litter training by prefering to go to the toilet in the same place lol?

My gastrica has left these poops all in one place, its certainly NOT her favourite place to sit or eat, she mostly hangs from the ceiling.

She left them, so to speak, on her DOORSTEP, on the rim of her lower entrance that I use a lot more than her top lid to enter for feeding her or watering her plants etc.

 Its probably a sheer coincidence but since she repeatedly pooped there, omg it feels almost as if the left them there for her room service to take them away!

Could this really be?

I have seen this particular mantis pooping in one spot before but it was a previous enclosure with no side door.

My spiny has also collected poop all inside her plastic flower but that one i put down it being her favourite place to sit. I cant say them same about gastrica and her side door...

Maam, why do you think we have springtails in the substrate?

 

[MantisGirl13]

That's funny! I don't think mantids can be toilet trained, but who knows?!

- MantisGirl13

 

[hysteresis]

That's funny! I don't think mantids can be toilet trained, but who knows?!

- MantisGirl13

Next science fair.

 

[MantisGirl13]

Next science fair.

Haha  

How would I do that?! Hmm... 

- MantisGirl13

 

[5eyesUK]

Ha ha yes

But do tell me someone why oh why are there 4 poops in one place by the door?

 

[5eyesUK]

@MantisGirl13 ok so when you train an indoor free ranging pet bunny to be litter trained, i imagine similar with a kitten ??, you simply put the poop all in one pile in the designated area, thats about the gist of it and hope they get the message....

Its worth the experiment, Mantisgirl13

Btw did your parents put your research article online? Any response so far?

 

[MantisGirl13]

@MantisGirl13 ok so when you train an indoor free ranging pet bunny to be litter trained, i imagine similar with a kitten ??, you simply put the poop all in one pile in the designated area, thats about the gist of it and hope they get the message....

Its worth the experiment, Mantisgirl13

Btw did your parents put your research article online? Any response so far?

Ya, Idk if that would work...

Maybe I'll try it someday! No, they didn't. I forgot to ask them to! Thanks for the reminder.

- MantisGirl13

 

[ohaple]

Most vertebrates can be trained using very similar methods. "Stupid" animals like chickens and fish can actually be trained more easily than you might think, and the exact same techniques work on dogs, monkeys, and humans. My wife is training to be a dog trainer and we have trained guinea pigs, rats, cats, and dogs. That said, any attempt to "train" invertebrates has been a failure for us. I think the general consensus is that they are too stimulus and instinct driven rather than using more complex problem solving or memory.

Particular problems with training invertebrates include inability to communicate using signals (most vertebrates use audio-visual triggers for training) and troubles with reinforcing behavior. For example, how do you reward a mantis? Typical clicker training requires that the reinforcement be provided almost instantaneously to provide the best training. The lower the animals' intelligence, the faster you need to be or else they won't associate the reward with the behavior. Giving a fly to a mantis is not nearly fast enough.

I am not saying that training cannot be done, but I think the intelligence and lack of easy rewards makes most invertebrates impractical to train on even simple behavior. The next best thing is to give stimulus that feeds into the behavior you want. For instance, a puck light on the lid of the enclosure may provide a warm spot that the mantis likes. Since they like it, they will hang there more and therefore poop there more. Using this simplistic stimulus, you can guide the behavior you want, but I wouldn't count on them remembering the behavior when the stimulus is taken away.

If you want to work on training animals, I would start with Karen Pryor for information on effectively and humanely training animals. And if you like small animals, rats are a joy to keep and are one of the very easiest animals to train. They are by far my favorite caged pet.

And check out this short video showing results of chicken training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLqsnavi-bY

 

[Granny's Mantis Mayhem]

None of mine go in one place, they are a mess, food and um other stuff everywhere LOL  I wish they could be trained to one spot

Do any of you think Mantis are smart enough to train? I will admit we got Humble to fly to my granddaughter with hand gestures. But he doesn't do it every time.

 

[MantisGirl13]

Check this post out. I did a whole science fair project on mantis intelligence.

- MantisGirl13

 

[Granny's Mantis Mayhem]

Check this post out. I did a whole science fair project on mantis intelligence.

- MantisGirl13

I posted what my opinion about you and your presentation on the original thread, but just wow. 

They seem pretty intelligent to me for insects and given your study it really shows that there may be some propensity for learning.

Great job!

 

[MantisGirl13]

I posted what my opinion about you and your presentation on the original thread, but just wow. 

They seem pretty intelligent to me for insects and given your study it really shows that there may be some propensity for learning.

Great job!

Thanks! They are fairly intelligent insects, but can really only learn by repetition and even so they don't retain the memory of the learned behavior for very long unless they get refreshers.

- MantisGirl13

 

[hysteresis]

Thanks! They are fairly intelligent insects, but can really only learn by repetition and even so they don't retain the memory of the learned behavior for very long unless they get refreshers.

- MantisGirl13

Funny, my larger mature female orchid has been tapping at the enclosure in my direction and only stops when I feed her. She's had three separate feedings tonight. Just wow. 

 

[MantisGirl13]

Funny, my larger mature female orchid has been tapping at the enclosure in my direction and only stops when I feed her. She's had three separate feedings tonight. Just wow. 

That could be coincidence, or it could be that she is learning something. See if it keeps happening!

- MantisGirl13

 

[hysteresis]

That could be coincidence, or it could be that she is learning something. See if it keeps happening!

- MantisGirl13

I think she was seeing the black IR bulbs and wanted to reach for them. LoL. 

 

[MantisGirl13]

I think she was seeing the black IR bulbs and wanted to reach for them. LoL. 

Lol

It could be that too. I think we tend to assign more intelligence to our pets than they actually have. My study shows that they have a degree of intelligence, but I doubt that they actually associate things like tapping on the cage with a good reward. 

- MantisGirl13

 

[Mantis Lady]

Mine mantids let their poop fall where they are. They poop even during eating.

 

[hysteresis]

Poop gets stinky in warmed enclosures. Especially orchid enclosures using cotton pads as substrate. Ick. 

 

[Mantis Lady]

Poop gets stinky in warmed enclosures. Especially orchid enclosures using cotton pads as substrate. Ick. 

I still need to eat