praying mantis

[leerob001]

Hey guys do any of you feed mantis to your chams? Do they like them?
only asking as i can get hold of some captive bred not wild chinese praying mantis and wondering wether to or not as a treat etc?

Cheers Lee

 

[naich]

i have no clue, can you really how much are they..arnt they a little too big?

 

[leerob001]

i can get hold of the sort of cocoon thing which they hatch out off called an Ootheca or something like that, So therefore hatch them etc.. and feed them to cham when they get to a suitable size.
30-150 hatch out apparently in a small one.
£4 for a small one.
£5 for medium.
£6 for large.

 

[BocaJan]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/feeder-database-2631/

Check out this feeder database found in the Forums under feeders.

 

[MutantHybrid]

Chameleons do naturally eat praying mantises, however; be cautious as mantises are quite nasty predators all their own. I used to raise praying mantises over several generations and can attest to how difficult it can be to keep them. You will have to wait until the eggs develop, wait for them to hatch, usually around spring though a little shorter time period if kept inside in the warmth, keep the nymphs mostly separated as they will eat each other, provide fruit flies and other tiny insects for them, and provide lots of climbing and hiding spots for them. They will start off about 1/4 inch long and many will die off within the first few weeks. Every few weeks they will shed until they are adult by about the 7th shedding. According to species, they can grow as large as 2-6 inches. Always ensure that the chameleon is much larger than the mantis and observe the eating behavior. Mantises can put up a good fight and injure, or even eat, creatures up to twice their size. I have a scar on one finger to attest to how voracious mantises are. One large female tried to eat my finger.

I would suggest using mantises as occasional treats only.

 

[Lizardlover]

Mantises (when small) are a good enrichment feeder, chams enjoy them, they just arent a good staple diet

 

[Ricardo]

Ootheca etc...

Its a bit annoying thing to wait till the mantids grow in the ideal size for your cham - as i think. The grow slowly, and when joung, they only can fed with fruit flies (or food at the size of it, and live). But if u buy some it should be good for variating the "menu".

If u buy mantids and wana rise em up, i wish u a lot of patience too!

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Mantises (when small) are a good enrichment feeder, chams enjoy them, they just arent a good staple diet

They are an excellent enrichment feeder (I think I have used those words before)
But I also believe they would be a fine staple .... albeit impractical.
As someone recently mentioned on the forums, few of the feeders we typically use as staples are insects that a chameleon would encounter in it's natural environment.
Wild chameleons eat a lot more praying mantis (of all sizes) then they do crickets or super worms.

-Brad

 

[Lizardlover]

Good Point

They are an excellent enrichment feeder (I think I have used those words before)
But I also believe they would be a fine staple .... albeit impractical.
As someone recently mentioned on the forums, few of the feeders we typically use as staples are insects that a chameleon would encounter in it's natural environment.
Wild chameleons eat a lot more praying mantis (of all sizes) then they do crickets or super worms.

-Brad

So thats who i got it from... makes sense though, chams wouldnt come across crickets or superworms in the wild, good point there

 

[MutantHybrid]

They are an excellent enrichment feeder (I think I have used those words before)
But I also believe they would be a fine staple .... albeit impractical.
As someone recently mentioned on the forums, few of the feeders we typically use as staples are insects that a chameleon would encounter in it's natural environment.
Wild chameleons eat a lot more praying mantis (of all sizes) then they do crickets or super worms.

-Brad

Yeah, I know. But a little caution is best. Just because a Chameleon might encounter and eat a wasp successfully in the wild does not mean I would suggest trying it for a captive chameleon. One out of a hundred times the wasp might get in a rather nasty surprise for the chameleon. Mantises have been seen fighting with birds and snakes several times their own size, and winning. Now chameleons would be more than capable of surprising a mantis and getting a definitive chomp in before the mantis could bring it claws to effect (the chameleon's technique uses a weakness in insect psychology in that most insects and spiders lifted directly from behind/above with no foothold are surprised and simply stiffen for a brief few moments confused) , but every so often I am sure a mantis puts up a good fight against a chameleon that tries to pick on one a bit too large. I use the back lift technique with tarantulas and mantises and they just stiffen like a board. Let one foot get a purchase and you are going to get nailed by jaws and claws though.

 

[CammieNLeno]

Raising hatched mantids is a pain the butt, majorly. You have to seperate them all because they are cannabalistic. I got 2 oothicas (sp?) a bit ago, and they both hatched. I had like 400 little teeny tiny mantids running around in a bin for the first few days, but then attempted to seperate them all in dixie cups.. man what a PAIN. They are super fragile at that age, and just overall wasnt worth it. Fun idea.. but i would imagine that by the time you raised them to appopriate size, you might be a bit more attached then just crickets.

I have also read you need to feed them gutloaded gutload heh. So its like a 4 step process feeding to your cham...gutload the mantid with a gutload that is gutloaded!!!

 

[ColorCham427]

I'd love to watch my Mitsio destroy a good sized Mantid. But, no matter what size the Mantis is, I'd cut off it's arms and mess it's mouth up. Those things are martial artists LOL, plus take chunks with a bite.

 

[leerob001]

cheers guys some good advice there i might give it a go and im guessing that i will get frustrated with the little buggers but i might try and get a few to a decent size for my cham however still small. i am fully aware how dangerous they are and no way wouldnt put a big one in with him.

cheers again i shall let you know how i get on haha.

 

[leerob001]

i got a small ooth a while ago and last night it hatched wow i got loads of the little buggers, spent all after noon get 20 out at a time and putting em into old cleaned out locust tubs 20 in each tub at the moment i got about 150 at present until they start eating each other.
they will be tucking into some wingless fruit flies tommorow.
they werent as bad as i thought and look awsome.

 

[Lizardlover]

how long did it take them to hatch

 

[leerob001]

it took it about 3 weeks room temperature (21C-23C).
they are cool little critters and have been attacking fruit flies today

 

[codiwatkins]

so the store near my house sells them to put into your garden......what if i bought like 6......would it be ok to leave one or two in his condo with him?