ok Rumour, im on my 3rd mantis, caught this one at movie theater.... its light brown.. and def. chubby. i was hopin it was preggy... ill get a pic tomorrow after Ted eats. so are chubby ones guys or girls? beer gut?
ok Rumour, im on my 3rd mantis, caught this one at movie theater.... its light brown.. and def. chubby. i was hopin it was preggy... ill get a pic tomorrow after Ted eats. so are chubby ones guys or girls? beer gut?
Girls, filled with eggs. She'll make these foamy cocoon things that harden into the brown crunchy things I sent out.
Because of the # of segments he has, and his inactive personality; we belive this mantid is a male. He has a "chubby" belly, but I think that has more to do with the fat, juicy northern Michigan crickets that we've been feeding him.
I don't think there's any eggs in that "chubby" belly.
My Mantid is still alive and kickin. he be eatin good must be because his belly is HUGE. Heres some pictures I just took Monty (his name) standing behind his Cuda All praise the Holy Monty Oh my! watch out Monty! that Metal mouth is gonna get you! I Have been so busy lately I barely get him out of his tank. I think this is the first time in about a month. He seems extremely excited to be out and able to walk around a little more.
I was at my job site just over a month ago and we were finding several mantis running around so I took one home. It eats lots of crickets and is a blast to play with. I thought it was a male but this morning it did this. (see picture) I feel bad because I dont think I've feed it for the last three days. I'm going to find some more food for it right now. Now that she has laid her eggs does this mean she is going to die soon? And when can I expect them to hatch? Is it posible that she could lay these eggs and there be nothing in it?
I never got a chance to post any recent pics of ours. I came home that night, and he wasn't looking good at all. So, we decided to set him free, to live out the rest of his life in peace. It's still pretty warm for this time of year, so hopefully he'll make it for a few more weeks.
That's a very nice mantis! They can lay many of these egg cases before they keel over, and depending on whether she ever "danced" with a lil' boy mantis, it may or may not be fertile.
My wife called me at work one morning all flustered saying the mantis had exploded, it had eaten well the night before, turns out it was just an egg case. Phew! Here are some recent pics. Has anyone ever lost a cricket? I had one get away and it is now living under my fridge. How do I know its there? It chirps...incessently (must be a female). Kevin
seriously guys!! if no one wants tons o baby mantids to take care of, i have a BORING college life (little town..) and would LOVE to have a "Family" to take care of....PM ME!!
How can you tell when your mantis is about to pass on? Today when I woke up mine was just laying there sideways on the bottom of the tank. I thought for sure that he was dead. But unfortunatly I didn't have time to clean him up. So when i got home I started to clean out the tank and when I picked him up he moved. It kinda seems like he broke his right back leg. But sometimes he holds himself up with it and sometimes not. Right now he seems to be resting his whole body on the ground. Is he dieing? or is his leg just broke? Hes lookin around and stuff. But doesn't seem to want to be active. What do you think?
Nick
Edit: Ok among closer examination I find that he dont have a foot at all. I don't know where it is. Does anyone know if there extremities grow back?
Edit #2: Ok now he is having extreme spurts of energy. He trys to push himself forward while his "stomach" area moves vigoursly up and down, almost like he is tryin to take a big dump or something. Its really crazy.
[This message has been edited by spud321x (edited 10-26-2005).]
Edit: Ok among closer examination I find that he dont have a foot at all. I don't know where it is. Does anyone know if there extremities grow back?
Edit #2: Ok now he is having extreme spurts of energy. He trys to push himself forward while his "stomach" area moves vigoursly up and down, almost like he is tryin to take a big dump or something. Its really crazy.
Their legs grow back, on their next molt. if it has wings, it's reached its final molt. The leg is GONE? is there a cricket in there? maybe the cricket ate it. Is the mandid's butt "fat"? it may be a female, and it may be gettin' ready to make an ootheca (egg case). After they do that, they get REALLY tired. and hardly move much. To the point that you think they are dying. Then, they perk up, and a few days/weeks later, they make another Ooth, then get tired, etc... finally, they just get tired, and do the croak thing.
One of my mantids, "Manty" laid an egg case, and then was tottaaly exhausted. I gave her some red bull through a straw, and by the next morning, she was wiggin' out all over the place! (probably the sugar)
The belly doin' those movements may also be it trying to breathe, and it's on its way out...
Try putting the mantis on a low branch, or at least prop it so its standing sorta upright. If it sparts making foamy crappola, that's its egg case.
Dip somethin' in water, (like a pen) and get a droplet to run down toward its mouth. see if it drinks it up.
Sorry your little guy(girl) is slowin' down...
[This message has been edited by FieroRumor (edited 10-26-2005).]
Thanks for the reply. I have been up all night making sure nothing serious happens to Monty. I have snaped some pics of my current situation. Here is his/her's current stance: Its actually his/her's left foot that is missing. Not the entire leg just the foot area: This is Monty's Stomach area. Its not very large in size so I don't think its going to push out a eggcase but I could be wrong:
Also I noticed that it looks as if a cricket had nibbled on the end it its wing....Damn them crickets!! I'm off to stab them repeatedly with my new knife
Thanks for the reply. I have been up all night making sure nothing serious happens to Monty. I have snaped some pics of my current situation.
Nick
Hmmm... that may be the "Ok, I'm about to meet my maker" stance, but ya never know... mine looked like that, then the next morning, she was running all over...
It does nothing.... earlier last night it would respond if I touched its antennas or any other part. now it just sits there and is barely moving. its head is all the way down inbetween its front "claws". I think she is gettin ready to go. I hope its painless
Well nevermind, Monty passed on. He is as stiff as a board. Going to bury him out by the old oak tree along with our other pets. Thanks Rumor for all your help. I would rate you a plus but of course I already have.
Nick
[This message has been edited by spud321x (edited 10-26-2005).]
A friend from work had a mantis over the summer. He finally let it go a while back only to have it fly up and get picked off by a bird. Bummer. They are cool little critters though.
Lemme toss you some pics of "manty". (when I get home from work)
I have a few with her that would be appropriate for a shirt or mousepad...
I woke up this morning to about 300 more insane scambling beasties!
The first egg case hatched a few weeks ago, and there were 4 left...I think I'll split the batches up and end up with two this time. In a month or two, I'll go snag some more Oothecas, and send them out to whoever wants 'em.
-FieroRumor
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[This message has been edited by FieroRumor (edited 12-23-2005).]
Well, I went on a quick Mantis hunt a few days ago, and didn't find too many egg cases. I brought a few home, but I'm not 100% sure they are "new". If you want one, PM me with your address, and I'll send 'em off to ya.
It's my understanding that the environment, for 'hatching', needs to be moist. I've found some styrofoam like stuff that flourists use for cut plants. At Walley's they call it Foliage Fresh. The 'brand' name escapes me but it's been around for years. The instructions say "Float foam in water untill submerged and saturated. Excellent water retention for longer lasting arrangements". Seams like I could kill 2 birds. by sticking the egg case, some misc. twigs for climbing and perhaps not have to worry about misting the hatching chamber as often. This green stuff looks like it has a lot less texture than styrofoam and is fairly cheap. Any body have any negative experience with this stuff around critters? It says "Contains floral Preservatives". Like is it toxic?
It's my understanding that the environment, for 'hatching', needs to be moist. I've found some styrofoam like stuff that flourists use for cut plants. At Walley's they call it Foliage Fresh. The 'brand' name escapes me but it's been around for years. The instructions say "Float foam in water untill submerged and saturated. Excellent water retention for longer lasting arrangements". Seams like I could kill 2 birds. by sticking the egg case, some misc. twigs for climbing and perhaps not have to worry about misting the hatching chamber as often. This green stuff looks like it has a lot less texture than styrofoam and is fairly cheap. Any body have any negative experience with this stuff around critters? It says "Contains floral Preservatives". Like is it toxic?
So, we decided to set him free, to live out the rest of his life in peace. It's still pretty warm for this time of year, so hopefully he'll make it for a few more weeks.
