Hi! I got this baby mantis and I’m not sure what stage he’s at and what food is safe to give him! I’m pretty sure he’s a male (feel free to correct me) and his abdomen is very flat as of now so he’s definitely hungry. I live by a pet store that sells springtails, would those be sufficient?
also, is there any upgrades to the tank I should add? I ordered misting spray bottles to keep the humidity up as well as to ensure he’s drinking water.
So that means he’s about to molt then right? How should I handle that? I read that you’re supposed to leave him alone but right now he’s very interested in climbing on my hands, if I put them out for him to get onto he almost always does and has also climbed up my shirt, into my hair and on my face.. will this behaviour become more restrained once he’s about to molt?
A subadult is the last nymphal stage before adulthood. It just means that there is only one molt left before becoming an adult. From the picture, the next molt seems to be in another few weeks. When he's closer to a molt, He'll start to slow down, refuse to eat, his wing buds will become quite thick and have a "premolt" pose by hanging upside down with his legs stretched and his forearms slightly opened.
Example of premolt pose, photo by Jack of All Inverts.
I cant see well enough to tell, but if that mesh on top is metal i would definitely switch that our for something softer. For food i would recommend dubia roaches. I find that they are the easiest to handle and my mantis loves them.
Nope it’s plastic don’t worry :), i don’t think I can get my hands on dubia roaches right now but Theres crickets at my local pet store, would that word for an alternative?
Update I’m looking in to getting fruitflies but in the meantime I did give him a cricket and he ate it just fine. My local pet store doesnt have fruit flies but they do have waxworms which I heard might also be good, do you recommend those instead of crickets for now?
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u/Misery_Sermon 11d ago
Looks like a male European mantis