vacation feeding

[novaz]

I read most of the posts on overfeeding but wondered what you peps do when heading out on vacation I maybe gone for around 10 days at holiday time so some tips would be welcome.

Thanks

Royz

 

[LauraMG]

I would have someone else feed them at least once, although this is a tall order for most house sitters! :lol: Definitely have someone water them a few times in between

 

[sporeworld]

I put my pupa in very small solo cups (with lids) and leave them for a friend to pop in every other day when the flies emerge. Or, with House flies (that last longer) I put them in simlar cups with food & a wet sponge. My friend just puts the cups in the side door of the cage with the lid dislodged. You can blow it the rest of the way off after you close the door.

I've seen small match box size containers useed for queen bees that have a wax cork on them. The resident bees have to chew through it to get to her (and by that time, they've acclimated). I suspect there's a similar design that could be made for flies (like drop pods) maybe out of solidified honey, thay they would spit through. Like the length of the cork would work like a timer...?

I also imagine there are vacation feeders for fish that could be loaded with pupa to do the same thing.

Hope that got something sparking...

 

[Colorcham427]

I read most of the posts on overfeeding but wondered what you peps do when heading out on vacation I maybe gone for around 10 days at holiday time so some tips would be welcome.

Thanks

Royz

Keep your mantids at cooler temps would be my best bet. Like? 10-15 degrees lower if it is a 100 degree mantis. Let a bunch of flies hatch, put a shallow dish of sugar mixed with water. And a small sprinkle of powdered buttermilk.

If you're going to be away for more than 2 weeks, I strongly suggest asking a friend to do it. As the person above stated, the separate cup thing would work out well, especially if you already have them hatched out, just chillen in the fridge. BB's not house flies though, house flies don't do very well chillen in the fridge for more than a week. BB's last forever in the fridge. Might not fly after a month in the fridge but will walk around.

 

[Colorcham427]

I read most of the posts on overfeeding but wondered what you peps do when heading out on vacation I maybe gone for around 10 days at holiday time so some tips would be welcome.

Thanks

Royz

And oh, if these are smaller nymphs that feed on d mel. or hydei, put a already producing culture inside of their enclosure. Poke a 1/4 inch hole in one of those punched holes that have the cloth over it. I bet a nice amount of flies will crawl out every day. Hopefully not too much though!

Again, cooler temps. would prevent from them eating more and more.

 

[Rick]

With ten days I would be more worried about water than food. I just feed them extra in the days leading up to the vacation. Before I leave I put in some food. If flies are on the menu I also stick in some pupa that are scheduled to hatch soon. Ten days isn't a big deal really.

 

[novaz]

Thanks to all for the replies

most of my Mantids will be adults by the time I go

only house sitter I might have "hates bugs and creepy crawlies"

I think theres a couple of ideas there i will give some thought

one thought i had was to place all my containers lower than a water supply say a plastic bucket and then let some fabric trail into each one as well as placing some deli containers in there with honey water, this also brings up a question do Mantids only ever eat live food I have seen my Male Chinese munching on the cricket cubes i put in but maybe thats only for the moisture content.

Thanks

Royz

 

[Dirtmonkey]

Be sure to test out the bucket idea well first... the capillary action of the fabric can actually keep the water dripping instead of just stopping when it's wet. You wouldn't want to drown anything or have the whole bucket of water on your floor in a day or so.

 

[Dirtmonkey]

It could be a better idea to have the cloth above the water level and see if it wicks up enough to be useful.

 

[PhilinYuma]

It could be a better idea to have the cloth above the water level and see if it wicks up enough to be useful.

Yeah. I've tried "wicking down". You'll have a flood for sure. To be frank with you, if you leave fly/bluebottle pupae in the pots plus about four eclosed flies per mantis, feed them heavily for a couple of days before leaving, clean out all the frass and drop in a small saturated sponge (the kind that you use for bungs) you should find them all alive, if slightly bad tempered when you get back.

 

[sporeworld]

I put an entire vase of water (capped with foam or netting) in my enclosure to ensure some long term humidity. But even my super squeemish girls at work have been able to hold (and pose) with my most menacing critters (eventually). So misting the cages is no big deal. But messing with flies required the cup system.

On the high-end, you could also looking into misters - something that runs right from a (reliable) hose. I mean, it's practically a sprinkler system with a timer at that point, but who knows.

Maybe a neighborhood kid could "pet sit" for a couple of bucks...?

If you want to run some wires, I've those little Zen garden trickle falls at Target that could work, too. Very little chance of drowning with so little water.