Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The ooth hatched on the 20th of Oct. So these mantids are just over four weeks old. One of them just molted to L5. Seems they are growing really fast. They are well fed.

L5 in two weeks? Are you sure about this? I've never heard of any Mantis species growing this rapidly, let alone the Chinese. The fastest growth rate I've ever heard of for this species is 9 to 10 weeks, and that's when it's hot and they're fed constantly. Under normal circumstances, it takes several months for most any Mantis species to reach adulthood, with some taking about a year or more. Hope this helps, and that you have luck with your Mantises.
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Give me Mantises, or give me death!

>>L5 in two weeks? Are you sure about this? I've never heard of any Mantis species growing this rapidly, let alone the Chinese. The fastest growth rate I've ever heard of for this species is 9 to 10 weeks, and that's when it's hot and they're fed constantly. Under normal circumstances, it takes several months for most any Mantis species to reach adulthood, with some taking about a year or more. Hope this helps, and that you have luck with your Mantises.
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>>Give me Mantises, or give me death!

Darn typos, I meant four weeks in the first sentence.
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Give me Mantises, or give me death!

One is an L6 now. He is bigger than my female carolina mantis that is mature. They molt every week. I feed them a few crickets every other day. He has molted 5 times already. One more is about to do his fifth molt any day now.