u/MiserableConcert3257 — reddlx

Enclosure advice

I got my baby Bella a couple of weeks ago. She has had her first molt (as seen in the photo in her web!) She is the first spider I have kept and I mainly have experience with mantids.

She's eating well and seems happy (as far as I can tell) in the orginal vial that she arrived in. I have a 4x4 cube enclosure set up for when I need to rehouse her.

When should I move her up in to her new enclosure? Any advice is welcome :) thanks!

u/MiserableConcert3257 — 1 day ago

▲ 12 r/spiders

I.D help

Hello. We found this big boy in our garden today and wondered what it is. I'm located in the South West of the UK. It looks quite different than the kind of spiders that I'm used to seeing here.

Thank you :)

u/MiserableConcert3257 — 2 months ago

▲ 5 r/mantids

Dead leaf mantis won't eat

Hello all. I'd really appreciate some advice. I recently got my third mantis (Deroplatys truncata). When she arrived she looked well fed with a healthy abdoman size.

I tried to feed her a couple of days after she arrived, but she refused to eat. I was a bit worried but thought she might be due a molt.

Lo and behold, she molted!!!

But we are now 5 days post molt and she still hasn't eaten as far as I can tell (i have been giving her flightless fruit flies and leaving them in her enclosure, but trying not to put loads in so they dont annoy her). She doesn't seem to pay attention to flies when they cross her path, and when she does notice them, she isn't bothered. The enclosure is not large, and she should be able to see any pray in there with her. My spiney flower who is the same size (l3) as my dead leaf and has the same sized enclosure has had no problems finding the flies i give her.

A couple of days after she arrived, I did notice that one of her antennas was shorter than the other. She was a bit clumsy when i first handled her and put her in to her new home, but I thought it was just because she was small (l2 at the time) and/or stressed. Since her molt, this has mostly grown back and she is a lot more stable and hasn't fallen over at all.

What should I do?? Im scared she is going to die of starvation :(

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you :)

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u/MiserableConcert3257 — 3 months ago

▲ 3 r/mantids

u/MiserableConcert3257 — 4 months ago

▲ 4 r/mantids

This is Stormy (like dark and stormy, the cocktail). She loves it when I spray water on my hand or fingers so she can have a little drink 🥺 (dont worry i only do it when my hands are washed and clean).

Is this more common with flower mantids? As my giant asian (Mojito) seems to never do this and only seems content with his enclosure being misted (and even that he isn't too keen on haha). I know that flower mantis usually need higher humidity but never thought of it as actual water intake!

NOTE- She is still small but would I be right in calling her a she? :) thanks!

u/MiserableConcert3257 — 4 months ago