More Mantis Questions

GlennFrog

Member
I'm really interested in using the Chinese Mantis as a feeder for my young veiled, Rinoa. Here are a few pics of her (she's a little camera shy). What I'm mostly wondering about is the size of the newly hatched mantids, and whether they'd be appropriate for feeding her right after hatching, or if I should grow them for a little bit before feeding them off. How long after hatching until they're too big to be fed to her? I'm also wondering about the nutritional value of mantids; do they need to be dusted like other feeders or not? Thanks for reading/helping everyone.
 
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At hatch, the Mantids are too small for her. Although she may eat them as appetizers, you will want to grow them. Raising Mantids will work best if you separate them at 2 molts; they begin cannibalizing.

She will be able to take down sub-adult, and may even take adults, as she will grow before they hit that 5 inch length.

CHEERS!

Nick:D
 
Cool, thanks for the help, Nick. I'm going to try ordering some in the coming week or two, then hatch them and separate them when appropriate. When using the "space between her eyes" rule, I'm measuring against the larger value, right, i.e. the length of the mantis, as opposed to the relatively small width?
 
Hatchling mantis are the perfect feeder for baby chameleons, and just a tad too small for sub-adult to adult chams. Not really much meat on them either. Definitely want to wait for feeding. Would not recommend the shake and bake method with them, they are quite delicate. All that said, every one I have ever offered never lasted more than 4-5 seconds with a cham.
 
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Cool, thanks for the help, Nick. I'm going to try ordering some in the coming week or two, then hatch them and separate them when appropriate. When using the "space between her eyes" rule, I'm measuring against the larger value, right, i.e. the length of the mantis, as opposed to the relatively small width?

The space between the eyes rule will often not be followed by a chameleon; they will take bigger food, don't get rigid on that point…;)

If we follow that "rule" a full grown super worm is too big for adult chams...

CHEERS!

Nick:D
 
Cool, thanks for the help, Nick. I'm going to try ordering some in the coming week or two, then hatch them and separate them when appropriate. When using the "space between her eyes" rule, I'm measuring against the larger value, right, i.e. the length of the mantis, as opposed to the relatively small width?

The space between the eyes rule will often not be followed by a chameleon; they will take bigger food, don't get rigid on that point…;)

If we follow that "rule" a full grown super worm is too big for adult chams…


Also, to raise them individually, use the 32-ounce insect cups like the ones my feeders come in on my ad, the Mantis will hang from the vented lid, and he/she can molt in the early stages in that height. Another trick is to drill a hole and plug it with a foam stopper, so you can feed the mantis without opening the cup.

CHEERS!

Nick:D
 
Wow, thanks for all the help, guys. Definitely feels less daunting than it did before. My google-fu turned up a couple of sites that sell cups/lids, but is there a specific type/brand that is better than the others (vented fabric vs vented aluminum)?
 
Either will work, cloth keeps in the Melanagastor fruit flies from escaping which are your first feeder for new hatched mantis better than screen.

As long as the 32 ounce cup fits an insect lid it will work fine.

CHEERS!

Nick
 
Thanks again, Nick. I really appreciate the time and help. I think I'll shop around for combinations of cups and lids, then, until I'm ready to order. The last site I looked at had plastic lids with holes punched in, advertised as being fit for raising fruit flies, so I'll probably go with those. Thanks for the help, everyone.
 
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