HELP ! My Preying Mantis Nymph refuses to eat under any circumstances

[Vugmavc]

I caught a mantis nymph outside today and decided to keep it,i put it in a fitting enclosure for its' size and put some tiny bugs in there with it which it refuses to eat,i even tried to put one of them right at its' face with a long stick,and it threw them away all 3 times,one of the times it visibly held it before throwing it away,i think it may be molting soon but it seems super young and small so i thought to ask,what do i do?

 

[MrGhostMantis]

I caught a mantis nymph outside today and decided to keep it,i put it in a fitting enclosure for its' size and put some tiny bugs in there with it which it refuses to eat,i even tried to put one of them right at its' face with a long stick,and it threw them away all 3 times,one of the times it visibly held it before throwing it away,i think it may be molting soon but it seems super young and small so i thought to ask,what do i do?

Pictures please. Sounds like you’re stressing it out.

 

[Vugmavc]

Pictures please. Sounds like you’re stressing it out.

Aight

 

[Doodlebird]

Not related to eating, but check the species and make sure it's not endangered. The enclosure also might not be ideal, so if you could add pictures that would help. As far as eating goes, I've never had an invert eat the day I got it, so I would remove any insects you put in there to give your mantis a little while to settle in. I'm not sure what you are feeding, but I would recommend flightless fruit flies or small crickets. Hope that helps!

 

[MrGhostMantis]

Not related to eating, but check the species and make sure it's not endangered. The enclosure also might not be ideal, so if you could add pictures that would help. As far as eating goes, I've never had an invert eat the day I got it, so I would remove any insects you put in there to give your mantis a little while to settle in. I'm not sure what you are feeding, but I would recommend flightless fruit flies or small crickets. Hope that helps!

No native mantis species are endangered to my knowledge. Mantids eat whenever. Doesn’t matter if you startle them or catch them they will still eat if they are hungry/not in premolt. Don’t feed crickets they harbor bacteria and parasites that can kill your mantis.

 

[Doodlebird]

No native mantis species are endangered to my knowledge. Mantids eat whenever. Doesn’t matter if you startle them or catch them they will still eat if they are hungry/not in premolt. Don’t feed crickets they harbor bacteria and parasites that can kill your mantis.

Thanks for correcting me! If you don't mind me asking, why are crickets harmful to mantids but not spiders?

 

[MrGhostMantis]

Thanks for correcting me! If you don't mind me asking, why are crickets harmful to mantids but not spiders?

Knew this would come up, mantids eat their prey without dissolving the innards. It can eat microscopic parasites/bacteria that can be very harmful to a mantis and maybe kill them. Also if crickets eat carrots something in their stomach makes them acidic to mantids and will physically melt their abdomen.

 

[Doodlebird]

Knew this would come up, mantids eat their prey without dissolving the innards. It can eat microscopic parasites/bacteria that can be very harmful to a mantis and maybe kill them. Also if crickets eat carrots something in their stomach makes them acidic to mantids and will physically melt their abdomen.

Good to know!