imderanged
Krissim Klaw
It seems like just yesterday you were telling us they hatched. They grow up so fast.
crying Such a cutie, have you gotten him to fly to you yet?
No! He doesn't really fly! He flapped his wings at me a few times. I wanted to get him to "show off" his wings for the video but I couldn't get him to! He's got a feisty personality though. He didn't want to be picked up the other day so he grabbed me with both claws then bit down on my finger! Of course I let him because I was afraid that if I pulled away I could hurt HIM , lol.
The initial picking up of a mantis tends to be the most delicate time. I have found they tend to be far easier to startle when you are initially reaching into a cage. They probably feel corned by giant hand monsters come to eat them.
One great tool I learned about in the hobby is getting something like those freebie wooden chopsticks fast food places give away or a couple bamboo skewers. They are great for reaching right under the mantises legs and you can lift gently up until they step on them and right out. They also work great for nymphs too. Such a lovely item if you have to try to fish your mantis out of a hard to reach spot in the tank.
The longer you keep them the easier it is to read what their intentions and know when you need to stop for a moment. Any time they curl their abdomens or pull their claws real tight and glare with rigid antennae is a sign they have been startled, or for the feisty ones, offended and need a second to settle down before you continue. I have found lightly rocking my head in a slow swaying motion, much like they naturally do with their bodies, gets them to settle down in seconds. I've never had one grab me out of fear or annoyance but a while back, Tinkerbell struck at my finger in hunger. It was was my pointer finger and I was sitting there clicking my computer mouse with. She thought it was food. Completely missed, but still, she wanted to eat me.
gonk crying heart Usually unless they try to eat you, they tend to let go pretty quick when mock striking. If they aren't budging though you can try quickly puffing air at them with your mouth. Another option is misting them if you have a water bottle near you, or if need be placing something between their mouth and your hand like a pencil or tweezers. Something they will chew for a second and find completely distasteful. Another secret method is if you have long enough hair, just grab some strands and tickle their abdomen.
Tickly things like hair or feathers way over stimulates them and will get even the most hungry determined female to drop her catch almost instantly. I occasionally use a feather boa I have when I get one that gets her claws dug into my net cage while hunting and decides to try and eat the cage with the bug. I also love to have that handy on the rare occasion I decide to breed them.
If you want to try and get him to fly the first thing you can do is get him walking from hand to hand. Then place one hand just out of reach. At first he will stretch out and wave his claws but keep inching out his reach zone. At one point you will see him settle down and sort of tense his legs and then you know a jump/flutter is getting ready to happen. You can use a similar method by setting him somewhere then standing close so he wants to climb up on your hands or shirt but keep moving back out of reach and gently swaying.
As for getting a threat pose display, most people tend to poke them in the heads for that along with sneaking behind and poking their abdomens until they get stressed out enough to display. Personally, I never have the heart to harass them on purpose so the only threat poses I tend to see are on occasion when I startle them on accident.
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