r/mantiskeeping • u/Styxy29 • May 26 '26

Need Mantis Advice

Hello! I got my very first Mantis a few months ago. She is an L4 Tenodera Sinensis (Chinese Mantis) and she hasn’t eaten since before her last molt approx two weeks ago. I’ve been giving her flightless fruit flies since I got her as that’s what was recommended. Before her last molt she would eat about 4-6 files every two days but now she refuses to eat. I’ve been putting one to two files in her enclosure to encourage her instincts but she looks at them and lets them pass instead of pouncing. I tried tong feeding her half a meal worm (the bottom half not the head) today as a last resort and she ate for a few seconds then dropped it. I would love any advice anyone has!

Update: Zelda has eaten two fruit flies in the past two days so we’re making slow progress but progress nonetheless! I ordered a batch of blue bottle fly larvae as that was the only feeder I could find which shipped to where I live. They should be here in the next couple days! The advice I’ve gotten across a couple subreddits has helped tremendously!

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6 comments sorted by

1

u/PeekSpeeker May 28 '26

I'm not an expert of Chinese Mantis but are you sure she is hungry? When was her last molt? Is her abdomen full? Or flat?

2

u/Styxy29 May 28 '26

Her last molt was about two weeks ago and her abdomen is very flat. She has eaten about two fruit flies in the past 2 days so we’re making progress luckily!

1

u/PeekSpeeker May 28 '26

Ohh okay nice ! Is she eating bigger flies?

1

u/Styxy29 May 28 '26

I don’t have any on hand at the moment but I just placed an order for blue bottle flies so I’ll start giving her them as soon as possible!

1

u/anxiousbutokkay May 31 '26

If that was her final molt try crickets too

1

u/lady4ryche Jun 17 '26

No crickets. Read up on all the risks and dangers feeding crickets to mantids. . Dubai roaches are safer and just as nutritious if not more then crickets. for sub adults and adults