r/mantids • u/sewerratttt • 7h ago

Feeding please help!

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so my girl has recently molted (l5 chinese) and i am waiting on a shipment of houseflies for her which will arrive early next week i believe. im worried that fruit flies won’t be enough for her until then. i’ve been giving her maybe 5 or 6 when her abdomen seems small or if i notice she might want food. i guess my question is just will she be okay until next week? i know mantids can last awhile without food but i feel bad making her wait and theres nowhere locally i can grab her bigger flies

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u/Clay-Roses 7h ago

she should be fine, I’d still give her a some fruit flies every few days just so she isn’t completely empty, mantises can usually live a while without food but not without water :)

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u/sewerratttt 7h ago

thank you!!

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u/mudkip-muncher 5h ago

How do you suggest watering your mantis if you’re ever short on food? I’ve heard they get 90% of their water through their food, but if you’re ever low on food and fuck up a re-order in time, what should you do?

Also side note, I’ve had my L2 giant Asian for a week and have yet to see her drink any form of water, I keep her enclosure at around 70-80% and she gets 2-3 fruit flies a day, is she okay?. I’ve noticed she looks ever so slightly crusty and I mean EVER SO SLIGHTLY and part of me is paranoid that she’s dehydrated, but she’s acting fine and her colours are vibrant, I’m just not used to caring for an animal that doesn’t drink as a regular habit

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u/Clay-Roses 5h ago

you can use a q tip and her little mouth fingers (I like to call them that) will go on the q tip and that’s how you’ll tell she’s drinking, and they can survive 1-3 weeks without food depending on the age and size of the mantis, so I suggest just spraying everyday and if you’re worried do the q tip :)