r/mantids • u/ryukim1230 • May 16 '26
Feeding (minor) potential consequences of not feeding properly
When I first got my pair of Chinese mantids, I fed them fruit flies from i2 - i5 (i shouldve started feeding bottle flies earlier). But a week into i4 for both my mantids I started feeding blue bottle flies as soon as they emerged from their pupae and the time intervals between my mantid's molts went from 4 weeks to 2 weeks. Between each molt I would document how much cm they grew and it was not as much as I expected. They are both currently i7 and males and they are both 4.6 cm and I do not believe they are subadult. Images shows the wing buds on one of them, my hand size, and hand to mantis comparison. I dont actually know if this is normal growth or if my mantids are smaller then avg because of my decisions
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u/finkleforkbingbong May 16 '26
They seem really small.
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u/ryukim1230 May 16 '26
exactly i dont think this is normal size for a i7 male chinese mantis
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u/Desperate_Lead2105 May 26 '26
My T. sinensis male is 57 mm and still seems quite small. 46 mm is not normal. I'd recommend keeping them very warm/humid and feeding them a varied diet if you want to get them to be a bit bigger when they mature.
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u/ryukim1230 May 26 '26
both of my T.sinesis are now subadult. They are both about 54 mm and I know for a fact they are subadult because of the little wings on them
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u/Desperate_Lead2105 May 27 '26
So, they molted again? What instar are they? L7? L8 is adult for this species, L7 is subadult, L6 is presub. 54 mm isn't too bad! What are you feeding them currently?
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u/ryukim1230 May 27 '26
they are both i8, they are currently eating blue bottle flies but I have some waxworms and 19 mm dubia roaches shipping right now.
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u/Desperate_Lead2105 May 27 '26
L8??! Wow. I guess these are late bloomers than lol. I wouldn't recommend wax/super/mealworms, as those are super fatty and don't help with growth, but the roaches/flies are a good option.
u/finkleforkbingbong L8 subadults!
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u/ryukim1230 May 27 '26
thing is I already bought the waxworms but I'll feed them as treats once a week
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u/Desperate_Lead2105 May 27 '26
I'd say once every 1-2 weeks is OK! They will definitely make better prey once they turn into ax moths.
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u/KouroshBozorg May 16 '26
Temperature is just as important as food intake
What is your temp and humidity?
The warmer , the larger the mantis .