Nanodot
Well-known member
Hi Everyone,
My Orchid female, Opal, fell at the end of her adult molt. She was almost ok, except that one of her raptors ended up tucked under her chin while she finished hardening. This caused her mandibles and one raptor to be slightly malformed. She was very weak before her molt so I wanted to get some food in her asap.
I soon determined that she could not scissor her mandibles together enough to cut a bite of waxworm, though she certainly tried. She can't even sever the tissues in waxworm guts. But, she can drink honey water just fine. I thought maybe she could eat a liquid diet of powdered insects. (My other option was to get out the blender....)
I looked online for powdered insects. There are several brands for human consumption and pet food. I chose a reptile food, Repashy Grub Pie, which is 75% BSF larvae meal and 25% seaweed, vitamins, etc. It's like an insect feeder that has a high-quality gutload. It is a powder that smells a lot like peanut butter.
Grub pie can be cooked into a solid gel, but for Opal I just mixed it with water to form an easy to lick slurry. She seems quite happy with it. I smear a few drops on her raptors, and she licks it off and eats it. I repeat this until she starts spitting it out or flicking it away. It is messy, but it works. It takes half an hour or more, but she is sitting next to my computer, chillin, so it's no trouble. I'm hoping to train her to eat it right off the stirring stick soon.
She is much stronger already on her second day of eating this. She was crawling on all six legs yesterday, but today she is alert and upright on her back legs. Hopefully this food will work long-term.
Mantids will instinctively clean themselves, so this may be a good way to feed mantids who are reluctant to eat. It could also be an emergency food if you run out of feeders.
I bought mine on amazon, but this website has the ingredient list and everything. http://www.geckodan.com/product/repashy-grub-pie/
I would love to hear other people's experiences with this stuff.
May the odds be ever in your favor.
~Daphne
My Orchid female, Opal, fell at the end of her adult molt. She was almost ok, except that one of her raptors ended up tucked under her chin while she finished hardening. This caused her mandibles and one raptor to be slightly malformed. She was very weak before her molt so I wanted to get some food in her asap.
I soon determined that she could not scissor her mandibles together enough to cut a bite of waxworm, though she certainly tried. She can't even sever the tissues in waxworm guts. But, she can drink honey water just fine. I thought maybe she could eat a liquid diet of powdered insects. (My other option was to get out the blender....)
I looked online for powdered insects. There are several brands for human consumption and pet food. I chose a reptile food, Repashy Grub Pie, which is 75% BSF larvae meal and 25% seaweed, vitamins, etc. It's like an insect feeder that has a high-quality gutload. It is a powder that smells a lot like peanut butter.
Grub pie can be cooked into a solid gel, but for Opal I just mixed it with water to form an easy to lick slurry. She seems quite happy with it. I smear a few drops on her raptors, and she licks it off and eats it. I repeat this until she starts spitting it out or flicking it away. It is messy, but it works. It takes half an hour or more, but she is sitting next to my computer, chillin, so it's no trouble. I'm hoping to train her to eat it right off the stirring stick soon.
She is much stronger already on her second day of eating this. She was crawling on all six legs yesterday, but today she is alert and upright on her back legs. Hopefully this food will work long-term.
Mantids will instinctively clean themselves, so this may be a good way to feed mantids who are reluctant to eat. It could also be an emergency food if you run out of feeders.
I bought mine on amazon, but this website has the ingredient list and everything. http://www.geckodan.com/product/repashy-grub-pie/
I would love to hear other people's experiences with this stuff.
May the odds be ever in your favor.
~Daphne
