Mantis questions - Stagmomantis limbata...

[NMTs]

I found this big girl in the gutter on my nightly walk - almost stepped on her, actually. I picked her up and tried to put her in a nearby bush, but she was very clumsy and kept falling out. Best I can tell, she's freshly molted and somehow fell out of the safe place she molted. I brought her home and put her in a spare T enclosure with the intention of letting her harden up, feeding her once or twice, then releasing her.

My questions are:
- She is freshly molted, right?
- I know that it's good to wait for a T's fangs to completely harden (turn black) before feeding. How long do I need to wait to feed a mantis after molting?
- Is the clumsiness due to recently molting?
- How do mantis prefer to get water - spritzing or a water dish?
- Anything else I need to provide for her to be comfortable for a few days?

She started grooming in my hand, which I thought was pretty cool.

 

[NMTs]

Bumping this. Any mantis people out there that can advise? @Smotzer @orchidloveXTM @egyptiancrow

Is it possible she's just white? She hasn't gotten any darker and it's been about 20 hours since I found her... I mainly want to know if/when it's safe to try to feed her.

Thanks!

 

[Tarantulafeets]

You can normally feed larger mantids a few days after they molt. You can try feeding her, if she doesn't take it you can try later. For water, my mantids normally drink the water droplets that gets on their arms, they don't really go down to the bottom of the enclosure that much for a water dish. Some other things might be taping a mesh or paper towel on the ceiling of the enclosure, as mantids like to hang upside down. Probably not neccessary though, if she's staying only for a few days.

 

[NMTs]

You can normally feed larger mantids a few days after they molt. You can try feeding her, if she doesn't take it you can try later. For water, my mantids normally drink the water droplets that gets on their arms, they don't really go down to the bottom of the enclosure that much for a water dish. Some other things might be taping a mesh or paper towel on the ceiling of the enclosure, as mantids like to hang upside down. Probably not neccessary though, if she's staying only for a few days.

Cool, thank you. That's a good idea about putting something on the top for her to hang on - she seems to be searching for a foothold there.

I decided to try to feed her earlier, and she happily accepted a couple small/medium crickets. The first one was completely gone in a matter of minutes, but she is taking her time with the second one.



I was sure that I would release her after she'd eaten a couple times, but she is still really clumsy and uncoordinated... and white. I may try to keep her until spring then release her - the temps are already dropping here and I'm not confident she's fit to survive the winter on her own. Plus, I'm kind of fond of her - it feels like she's making eye contact with me when I look at her...

 

[paumotu]

She is not teneral, simply a lighter color form. 1-3 days after a molt, and they should be eating fine, as she seems to here

 

[Smotzer]

I agree just a light color form, actually quite nice too very pretty! Enjoy keeping it; mantids are the bomb!!

 

[NMTs]

My white mantis has been doing well - eating anything I offer her, drinking plenty of water, and she seems to slowly be regaining her coordination. You guys must be right that she's just a light color form, because she's not developed even a hint of green since I brought her home. I don't see many white ones around here - every once in a while I'll see brown or darker tan, but no white, and I'm guessing that's because they stick out like a sore thumb and get eaten... She's the one doing the eating lately, though!

 

[Smotzer]

Congrats on her doing well! She’s a beaut!!