# What can I hand feed baby praying mantis?



## bugmankeith (Jun 24, 2014)

A few emerged from egg case deformed from getting stuck in shed, but can eat. I know if they can grow enough to molt their bodies will repair and they can be set free.

I know healthy babies eat fruit flies, but unless I feed them dead ones they can't catch prey. There is also can O crickets squished guts are easy to eat. What about beef baby food, easy to eat and full of protein. Adults can eat small animals.

I have cat food I can mash into a paste, but the fact it had grains and vegetables mixed in means they can't eat that right?


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## CaraMia (Jun 24, 2014)

I have heard of people using cooked beef in general for praying mantises but have never tried it personally. If you have a cricket you could try pulling a leg off and seeing if they would eat the "thigh meat" portion.

Wouldn't recommend the cat food or baby food. 

Best of luck to you!


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## bugmankeith (Jun 25, 2014)

All but one already died the last looks like its dying too, guess I didn't get the good in them soon enough, they were very thin to begin with. The can O crickets mashed up got one or two to actually eat I guess they were too weak to pull through.


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## McGuiverstein (Jun 25, 2014)

Sorry to hear they're all dying man.. I would've also recommended the raw meat. Haven't had the opportunity to try it yet myself, but I've read about several people having success with it.

Sidenote about hand feeding: Last year when one of my male Popa spurca matured, he fell during the molt and I had to surgically remove him from what was still stuck on his body. He survived, but he came out a mangled mess with both his grasping arms twisted and useless. My girlfriend and I had to hand feed the poor guy crickets for three months or so. Talk about a labor of love.. Here we were, holding a half chewed up cricket up to this guy's mouth while he attempted to grab it with his shriveled up front arms. I should've filmed it. I know I kept him somewhere after he died. If I can find him I'll upload a picture here.


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## bugmankeith (Jun 25, 2014)

McGuiverstein said:


> Sorry to hear they're all dying man.. I would've also recommended the raw meat. Haven't had the opportunity to try it yet myself, but I've read about several people having success with it.
> 
> Sidenote about hand feeding: Last year when one of my male Popa spurca matured, he fell during the molt and I had to surgically remove him from what was still stuck on his body. He survived, but he came out a mangled mess with both his grasping arms twisted and useless. My girlfriend and I had to hand feed the poor guy crickets for three months or so. Talk about a labor of love.. Here we were, holding a half chewed up cricket up to this guy's mouth while he attempted to grab it with his shriveled up front arms. I should've filmed it. I know I kept him somewhere after he died. If I can find him I'll upload a picture here.


These babies were pretty deformed, twisted necks so they looked like exorcist, some missing all but 2 legs, a few were underdeveloped and couldn't eat, only one was partially active and ate but they were in a cage 2 days before I realized they hatched so most were starving and help came too late anyway, I'm expecting more to hatch so if any have issues I have food to feed them right away.

I'd like to see your mantis! I've had hissing cockroaches that were deformed and hand fed them and most recovered after a shed, mantises are delicate when little so there a little harder to help.


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## darkness975 (Jun 29, 2014)

I have had similar bad luck with mantids falling during molt.  Not sure why they are so susceptible to this.  The hardest part is when they survive but are deformed and it makes it hard to try and feed them


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## bugmankeith (Jul 4, 2014)

I found more and 2 have been alive more than a week and should molt soon, I wonder if they will look normal after?


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## Louise E. Rothstein (Jul 15, 2014)

Tiny springtails might feed them.


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## JZC (Jul 15, 2014)

Flightless fruit flies?


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## Vapelord (Sep 19, 2019)

We had a bunch of wingless fruit flies we fed to Jarvis and Jasper jr (Chinese mantis), Jasper jr died within the day of getting them, and Jarvis seemed to eat them just fine, they have a short life span (wingless fruit flies) and shortly died off. Ordering them in the mail takes forever so I asked my boyfriend to try giving him some ground beef since I was cooking. He put it on the end of a q-tip and he snatched it off and chowed down.


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## Ellenantula (Sep 19, 2019)

Old thread!!!!  

All I remember when I bought a a sac of praying mantis is that when they hatched, I put most of them outside (it was springtime) and I kept a dozen inside, in one container, to keep as 'pets." 
That dozen quickly turned into one fat mantis.  They are cannibals.  lol   
The ones I put outside thrived and reproduced -- I enjoyed seeing quite a few mantis for several years afterwards -- may be there still, but I moved.


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