Ordered Preying Mantis's

[NosyBe15]

Hey Everyone.

I just ordered a couple cartons of Preying Mantis's Eggs. I would like to raise them up to a certain size and be able to use them as feeders for my Cham.

Anyone have any idea on the best way to keep them healthy so they grow a bit? What should there main source of food be?

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

Oh man... Praying Mantis are the only insects I feel bad for. I wouldnt feed a cham a praying mantis dude. I would feel guilty about it after. I used to catch them and keep them as pets when I was a kid. I think that a cham could eat them and be healthy, I just wouldnt do it.

 

[maxttu]

Fruit flies and pinhead crix will work as feeders. No matter how much you feed them, they will cannibalize each other. You'll need patience as depending on which type you ordered, they'll produce 100-200 hatchlings.

 

[little leaf]

Hey Everyone.

I just ordered a couple cartons of Preying Mantis's Eggs. I would like to raise them up to a certain size and be able to use them as feeders for my Cham.

Anyone have any idea on the best way to keep them healthy so they grow a bit? What should there main source of food be?

keep them well fed, fr/ flies are what I used, but they still ate each other- lots of plant cover - LOTS ! its best to keep them separated if you can - I started w/ like 300 + = I have ONE left ( I did feed off some of the new hatched , but most were eaten by their kin )

you will still get a lot to work with, but those were the issues i had ~
good luck

 

[SSimsswiSS]

Careful, you may turn into a bug farmer.

 

[NosyBe15]

Thats right... I forgot they eat each other. Thanks everyone for all the answers, if it doesnt work out I can always take them over to my moms garden and let them go. I just want to get some variety in my boys diet.

 

[chefboyardee]

I would feed them fruit flies or pinheads and keep them all together till they reduced their numbers to a more manageable amount. Once I had about a hundred or so I separated them all into their own little container. I used a few of the nut/bolt organizers I got from home depot

that way I could open all their containers at once to feed them, and still keep them from eating each other. I drilled a small series of holes in each spot for ventilation. They had enough space to grow a couple inches or so, which was plenty big enough for a feeder insect

 

[NosyBe15]

Thanks Chef. That is a really good Idea. I like it!

 

[Olimpia]

I like these things as baby cham feeders the best, since they hatch and the babies will pick them off before the bugs can eat each other! Good luck raising them!

 

[GabeCastro]

Good luck with mantids, heard they're a pain to keep alive from eating eachother.

Another suggestion would be giant banana roaches...They can get pretty big and they're GREEN lol. Oh, also males can fly a bit.

thats on my next feeder list, they're just a bit pricey.