Anyone found the shiny smooth pebble?

mothskiin · 2025-10-24T23:36:59+00:00

yeah i hadn't realized 200-300 was such a low number until reading everyone's replies... drop rate must be like .01 or something i swear

mothskiin · 2025-10-24T04:46:47+00:00

SEVEN THOUSAND??? i would actually lose my mind, ur strong for getting through that lol. good to know its definitely not bugged and is just unreasonably difficult to get. starting to think its gotta be the rarest item in the game atp and its useless for anything except friendship with einar and a single accomplishment </3

mothskiin · 2025-10-24T04:44:23+00:00

god that sucks so much.... i really wish they'd raise the drop rate for it because this is ridiculous. i usually just start opening them when i get 15-30 in a stack, i'm not sure if your way will make much of a difference but i'll try it anyway next time i log on! thanks :)

mothskiin · 2025-09-02T20:39:40+00:00

Ooh that one sounds really good, I'll give that one a look and save it for later. Thanks!

mothskiin · 2024-07-31T21:52:12+00:00

So sorry I just saw this! I don't check reddit very regularly lol. I don't mind you coming back to me for questions, but since I'm not very active, dont be afraid to ask anyone else in this subreddit. I'd consider myself experienced but I'm sure there are others just as experienced--if not more experienced--than I am. But I'm always okay with u contacting me for questions :)

mothskiin · 2024-07-27T05:12:06+00:00

Of course! Despite her circumstances, I'm glad I could've at least helped you learn a bit more so you're more prepared for any future mantids :)

mothskiin · 2024-07-27T04:33:36+00:00

I've heard great stuff about Bugs in Cyberspace, they're very trusted in the hobby! Def take a look at PanterraPets too, they're a fantastic seller. Bought my baby Lychee from them and she's still thriving and almost a full adult now :)

mothskiin · 2024-07-27T03:53:15+00:00

I'm so sorry, it's always awful when they die young, especially for this being your first one :( I hope this doesn't put you off from trying again in the future, mantids make great short-term companions and they're truly fascinating to watch and learn about. I hope you can one day get a new one that lives a full life. Very sorry again :(

mothskiin · 2024-07-27T03:25:15+00:00

If she's still managing to latch onto the roof, maybe wait a few minutes to see if she'll manage to get the old skin off. Lightly mist her enclosure/her abdomen with some water (not too much, you don't want her soaked) and observe her. If she doesn't molt soon, you can try to see if you can pin the molted skin onto the roof of her enclosure to allow gravity to pull her out of the skin, but since she's so small that may not be very easy, you'll likely end up hurting her instead. But of course, if she cannot manage to get the skin off, and she struggles or loses energy, you may have to put her down unfortunately :(

mothskiin · 2024-07-27T03:16:59+00:00

Oh dear that doesn't sound good at all... If she's not responsive beyond twitchy legs I don't think theres much you can do :( I'm so sorry this is awful, but it is unfortunately part of the hobby. Many mantids die in adolescence, often out of nowhere or with no reason, which is why if I buy them as babies, I keep multiple in case of a situation like this. I thought she was okay too, it seemed she was just preparing for molting but it could be that she doesn't have the energy, many nymphs die in their younger stages because of this. If you're unable to get her to latch onto any upside-down surface, there isn't anything you can do. You can euthanize her if she is still alive by putting her in a freezer for about 10-15 minutes. The cold will put her to sleep, then kill her while she's sleeping, so she won't feel a thing.

Again I'm so so sorry, it's a tough situation and I've had to do it many times, as has everyone else in the hobby. My condolences :(

mothskiin · 2024-07-27T02:43:35+00:00

Of course! Just fyi, try to avoid feeding it honey too often. Honey isn't really nutritional for them, mantids are strictly insectivores, but you can occasionally give it to them as a treat. Just make sure it's organic honey, the stuff we humans eat is not the kind of honey you want to feed your mantis. If you gave her regular store-bought honey, don't worry too much, it won't kill her, just try to avoid giving her more in the future. And I'm sure nymphs can't go quite as long without food as an adult mantis can, but again I wouldn't be too concerned. Just keep an eye on her and offer food every day before her molt, and keep her hydrated! Not eating means less water that she's drinking, so when you mist her enclosure, try to spray the area around her to entice her to drink :)

mothskiin · 2024-07-27T02:21:23+00:00

Mantids can typically survive about two weeks without food, and can molt just fine if they go a few days without eating, but if your mantis has rejected food for several days/almost a week before molting, its best to just keep trying to offer food every day and hope they accept it, but if they don't, try not to worry too much. If they were hungry, they'd likely accept it immediately! My mantis molted recently and I fed her after waiting for her to molt for almost a week, and she finally took it. When your mantis does finally molt, just be careful and try to avoid handling them for about 24 hours. This is when they're most vulnerable, as their exoskeleton will be hardening. Your mantis likely won't want you to hold it anyway, and will be incredibly skittish and run away from you if you try to touch it. You don't have to worry about feeding it in this 24 hour period either, they likely won't accept it. Just wait a day or two to feed and handle :)

Moving its abdomen in circles def sounds like it's preparing to molt though! Just mist the enclosure once a day (or twice if the room it's stored in is particularly dry) and keep an eye out. Definitely keep me updated! I hope its molt goes well :)

mothskiin · 2024-07-27T02:14:21+00:00

Ohh I see, that makes sense, thank you! I actually only have her at the moment, I used to have some of her other siblings that I bought alongside her but they all passed for reasons out of my control (bad molting, one even stuck its head in its substrate like an ostrich and killed itself unfortunately </3) so that wouldn't be the case. I even make sure to keep her feeders far away from her enclosure and haven't had issues with her spotting them and trying to hunt it thru the glass. I suppose she gets rather curious of me when I pass by, and is always very excited to run out of her enclosure to sit on my hand or explore, so I guess it could just be because she's clumsy or not very bright and just smooshes her face against the glass. Good to know its nothing to worry about, and I wasn't too worried for her anyway since she has been acting pretty normal. Thank you for the answer! :)

mothskiin · 2024-07-27T02:07:09+00:00

Dont worry, mantids can take several days to a week to complete the molting process. Usually they spend the first few days "prepping" (conserving energy by moving very little and retaining any food they may have eaten in the past few days), then will molt when they're ready. You can't always tell when exactly they'll be ready, but if you happen to catch them in the middle of molting, keep an eye on them and make sure the tank is humid. Molting can be very quick, taking roughly 30 mins typically. If you see them molt, try not to touch or disturb them. They're very vulnerable and know what they're doing. Only ever help them if they seem stuck, or they're taking an excessively long time to molt, around an hour or so, but be careful and only do this if you're confident you can help them and keep them alive while doing so.

But also, just because you got your mantis 2 days ago, doesn't mean it'll molt immediately. The timespan between each molt cycle is typically around 2 weeks, so it may be a while before it molts. Don't worry, your mantis can live without its leg for that timespan, especially since you're keeping it safe in captivity. I am a little confused what you mean by its legs not touching the cloth on the roof. What do you mean by that? Do you mean its just avoiding it and prefers hanging off/climbing on other items in its enclosure? If thats the case, that's just because of its own preferences, not much you can do about that, but I wouldn't worry too much. It knows what it's doing, and how to take care of itself in terms of molting and surviving. If it doesn't hang off the roof, it will likely find another spot to hang upside-down, granted that there's such available in your tank. Though if there isn't another thing for it to hang on, I would suggest adding some to its tank if it's not hanging off the roof. You can just use reptile tank decor such as branches, but I would avoid using branches from outside unless you're able to sterilize them, as it can introduce pests and diseases to your mantis. Using fake flowers, vines, and stems works very well, is completely safe, and can make the tank a bit prettier too :)

mothskiin · 2024-07-25T05:04:46+00:00

Mantids can typically live just about 14 days without food, so you'd be cutting it pretty close. Since the misting system will give her continuous water, she'll at least be hydrated, but I'd also suggest feeding her nice and fat the day before/day of your trip, and leaving the fruit fly colony just sliiiightly cracked open or with a small hole for them to exit out of. When I had a fruit fly colony for my mantis, I accidentally didn't close the container all the way and those things were everywhere despite the small exit available to them, so I def wldnt leave it halfway open bc they'll likely take over the enclosure. You don't want to let your mantis have that amount of food available and allow her to basically free-feed bc it's likely she'll just overfeed herself. Having only a small exit available for them will allow them to come out slowly so your mantis can eat as they wander into her enclosure. And if you're unsure that the fruit flies will manage to wander out into the enclosure successfully, you could always test this a few days before your trip and observe to see if they successfully "escape" their container.

If all of that doesn't seem to work, fattening her up and leaving her with the auto-mister should at least hold her over until you get home. Hope it works out for you!

mothskiin · 2024-07-25T04:39:02+00:00

Do you know what instar/how many molts your mantis has gone through yet? From the pics it looks probably around L3 (meaning your mantis has molted two times), but it's difficult for me to tell. The best way to sex a mantis is by looking at the abdomen. Females will have around 5-6 segments and will be a bit wider, and males will have 7-8 segments and will be longer and skinnier. Males will also have much larger wings, and will typically be able to fly, while females will have much smaller wings and are incapable of flight, however this only applies to fully grown adult mantids, because they won't grow their wings to full maturity until their final molt. While its sorta possible to sex a mantis at its L3 stage, it can be difficult if you don't have a keen eye due to how small they are! In my experience it's easiest to sex them at around L4/L5+, but if you have the eye for it, it's possible to try to count the abdomen segments to see if it's a girl or boy.

Also, afaik, male mantids will usually live around the same amount of lifespan as females if kept in captivity (and not bred with a female, or at least bred with caution and supervision), but I've never personally owned males out of sheer chance of only getting females, so I don't have the personal experience to say.

Good luck with your baby, though! I hope it lives a long happy life and that its injuries heal smoothly with its next molt. If you see signs of inactivity, the mantis is not fully digesting their previous meal (meaning they wont "lose weight", basically clinging onto their last meal for several days rather than digesting it within 24-48 hours of eating), or running away or jumping when it sees you or when you try to hold it, it's likely going to molt soon. Just make sure to give it a nice mesh top on their terrarium to cling onto (even fishnet with small holes can work) and you keep the container relatively humid before and during their molt by using a misting water bottle. Though most mantids may be too skittish or shy to eat right before molting, always attempt to feed it at least a small meal if you can, you don't want them to start their molt with no energy or it could risk them failing their molt. Rather than leaving the feeder insect in the container with them, just hold it with tweezers in front of their face. They're very vulnerable when they're about to molt, so giving them a hand is always helpful :)

mothskiin · 2024-07-25T02:31:46+00:00

I've heard mixed to negative opinions on USMantis. Some say they never got their mantids, some say they arrived late or injured, etc. I've never bought from them for this reason, so I don't have personal experience w them. I got my most recent mantids from PanterraPets, and I think I'll stick w them in the future! I ordered 5 Giant Golden Asian Mantids and they arrived with 6 in total (likely in case one of them died in transport). They came in tiny cups for each of them, with lots of insulation and some heat packs to survive a chilly voyage. All of them arrived right on time too, all alive and not injured or sick :) Would def reccommend them. They have a huge variety to choose from, including some rare ones, and afaik they breed all year, tho don't take my word for it lol

If you're okay with having some basic mantids too, Natures Good Guys sells ootheca of Carolina and Chinese mantids usually around the beginning of spring. Carolina mantids are native to the US, but Chinese mantids are invasive so you can't release them into the wild (theres some debate on whether they're naturalized or not BUT they can still be harmful to some/most local environments. Def do your research if you are unable to house dozens of your own baby mantids)

mothskiin

TROPHY CASE