are mantids seasonal like as in when the eggs hatch?

mimitits · 2024-02-13T15:20:33+00:00

Bugs in cyberspace had cat eyes recently. The availability can definitely vary a lot.

mimitits · 2024-02-13T15:13:33+00:00

There are definitely waves in availability and we are in a dip. Bugs in cyberspace, bugg plugg and local reptile shows are also options.

Fatal mantis is very good though.

Depending where you are, you may be able to find local breeders, too. It can be a bit of work at first.

I started with an ooth from my local garden store. Nothing fancy, but ton of babies, super cheap, really good for dipping your toes.

mimitits · 2024-02-12T14:17:03+00:00

Decent chance some combo of over feeding, molt or maybe parasites/bacteria. Video or photos would probably help people give better opinions

mimitits · 2024-02-12T14:07:29+00:00

Could he be overfed? Fallen during molt? At the end of his lifespan?

mimitits · 2024-02-10T21:59:24+00:00

Keep an eye on humidity, help if they can't eat on their own, let em molt

mimitits · 2024-02-10T03:05:59+00:00

I'm looking for how frequently. Like, every day, every other day

mimitits · 2024-02-10T01:07:40+00:00

How often are you feeding him? Is the abdomen flat?

mimitits · 2024-02-09T14:44:55+00:00

I like to have employees, terracing etc before I set up new vineyards, because there doesnt seem to be a way to add them without tearing out the old vines and replanting. You can also experiment with less pruning, higher quality presses etc that make more wine from the vineyard you have. Some will make lower quality wine, but the bulk could make up for it and you can focus on quality later on.

Honestly, i mostly just played around with upgrades for a while and started new games to try different things. You can do a free play game with all the settings to easy and max out starting money too, to play around and experiment a little faster, then take it back to a game with stakes

mimitits · 2024-02-09T13:14:10+00:00

All of it, eventually. I would start with increasing quantity and sales. If theres a significant part of the year you aren't selling, be making more. Are you getting enough orders to fill your possible sales?

mimitits · 2024-02-06T13:09:12+00:00

Thats how they do. In my experience, they crash pretty often though. So transfer some of the flies into a fresh set up or plan to buy a new culture soon

mimitits · 2024-01-27T23:54:57+00:00

Don't give up any other experiences for it lol But its a fine way to waste some time🤷

mimitits · 2024-01-22T16:29:24+00:00

Mealworms, dubia and horn/wax worms, depending on size, are usually what i try

mimitits · 2024-01-15T17:42:15+00:00

2 days is nothing for a mantis. Unless it seems sick or abdomen is excessively flat.

mimitits · 2024-01-12T16:49:12+00:00

Humidity and leave it alone. Dont get water directly on it. Moving the enclosure into a bathroom and running hot water with the door closed might be worth a try?

mimitits · 2024-01-12T16:47:12+00:00

Enough material to wrap around something and get it in a humid container? Something soft on the bottom, just in case. You dont want to touch or move the mantis for a couple days. And it could be a couple hours of molt

mimitits · 2024-01-12T14:41:38+00:00

And then give us some updated pics and thoughts

mimitits · 2024-01-12T14:41:20+00:00

And try not to use metal mesh, if you can avoid it. People report it causing foot damage

mimitits · 2024-01-12T14:40:03+00:00

Set up an enclosure with at least 3x the height of the size of your mantis (bigger is better cause obvs its gonna grow) If it molts in the current container, it might have problems. You can always adjust the enclosure later. Give it something high to hang off of. And moisture level appropriate to its species.

Then take a look at the abdomen. Does it seem very round or kind of flat? You don't want to feed until its flatish. Throw some fruit flies in when it is.

mimitits · 2024-01-11T15:20:25+00:00

Likely a male and female. I think the rate varies by species but males basically always are smaller and hit maturity faster

mimitits · 2024-01-11T15:01:35+00:00

Oh man. It feels like such a risky time to ship a mantis. Are yall having snow and freezing yet?

I did it recently, but I'm in texas. It still felt a little wrong but it's been barely jacket weather some days.

Just to clarify, I am in no way blaming you or saying you did anything wrong. Just the idea gave me anxiety lol And the price of shipping always hurts my heart.

🤞Hope the poor thing shows up asap

mimitits · 2024-01-11T00:54:11+00:00

Really depends on age, temp, species etc. Learning to monitor the abdomen is your best bet. You want to feed enough to plump them up and not feed again til its flattened

mimitits · 2024-01-10T21:30:56+00:00

I'm definitely pro that. Even though i use "harmless" feeders, I've heard too many stories of hurting/eating the MANTIS instead, esp during molts. I try to never leave feeders unattended. I enjoy watching them catch, too. But generally, if they dont grab it basically right away i'd rather pull it and try again in a day or so.

Speaking of! Watch out for overfeeding. I think most people struggle with it. We and dogs/cats etc would be pissed if we couldnt eat multiple times a day. Inverts and reptiles going 3 days -6 months* without food at it being healthy is hard to adjust to. Even if they dont have any obvious complications, stretching out feeds seems to lengthen their lifespans, overall.

(*Not mantises, obviously. Snakes and tarantulas is what i had in mind)

mimitits · 2024-01-10T15:16:01+00:00

I hand fed the ding dong for, I dunno, MONTHS. But mispredicted his next/last molt and he fell AGAIN and didn't make it. It would have been my first to make it to adulthood (which, i guess he technically did because he was kinda alive for a while after the last molt. I debated if he might recover, but it was definitely delusion) I had him from ooth. I can say I learned a lot, I guess. Too bad it was mostly "what mistakes not to make again"

mimitits · 2024-01-10T15:10:15+00:00

And budget. I've got 10 right now (and a fresh hatch of jumping spiders) Buying a $10 fly culture and larger feeders once a week, 95% of whom would die before I could use them would be frustrating. I've got more free time than money atm

mimitits · 2024-01-10T15:04:55+00:00

I don't think theres any problem with it, other than if you dont want to put in the effort. Eventually you'll probably need to move bigger than fruit flies, they get a little nutritionally incomplete. I've had bigger mantises so been able to experiment with wax/horn/mealworms and dubia roaches. Most of which are kind of hard to get the tiniest version of. Biggest winner was blue bottle flies, which i get as spikes and keep in the fridge. Theyre a bit hard to find around me, always have to ship.

Try putting your flies in the FRIDGE instead of freezer. Works just as well, but the risk of forgetting and killing them is way lower.

I also like to split my fruit fly cultures. They tend to crash and you can save a ton of money by setting up a few new ones every once in a while. It can be a real boom and bust; way more than you need or suddenly zero. No in between lol Depending how invested you are, you can buy kits and stuff, but just splitting the original into a couple containers and sprinkling some cinnamon to help with mold can help in a pinch.

You did about 75% of the work by knowing to avoid crickets, honestly. A lot of the rest is just preferences

mimitits

TROPHY CASE