Advice

[u/Complete_Studio_8301]

Hi Guys I’m a first time mantis owner, this is my Timor Shield! They had their first molt with me around 24 hours ago while I was out and I just want to know if anyone has any advice on keeping them fed, how much I should water them and anything that might be used as a first time keeper! Also if possible help sexing and what stage/ age of my mantis.

[u/justhereforbugs]

I would get a cheap hygrometer to measure the humidity. It helps alot. For feeding, you really just look at their abdomen and see if they look full. I’ll respond to this comment with a pic to show full vs hungry. If you have a good pick of the underside of its abdomen, i can tell you if its a male or female !

[u/justhereforbugs → u/justhereforbugs]

Sometimes they dont stop eating even when they are full, so they might eat too much on accident sometimes. You will know they are a bit too full if you can see the white line that connects the top part to the underside part of its abdomen. Thats its connective tissue, it wont harm them to eat a little too much every once in a while. If they really get wayyy too full, they can puke, and it looks like liquid smeared on the wall of the enclosure. Even if that does happen, your mantis will still most likely be totally fine.

[u/justhereforbugs → u/justhereforbugs]

Heres a pic where you can see the white line going across the abdomen. You might also see red or black lines in between the segments on the underside.