Mantis Feeding schedule

Mostly you ID them by using body shape.

Assuming it is in the family Gonodactylidea, you can determine if it is in the gonodactylus genus by (1) the eye being sub-cylindrical, the cornea is not broader than the stalk when you look at it from the top,
(2) and the ocular scales are broader than basil width of the rostral spine.

From there you can determine if it is a chiragra if the rostral plate has an anterior margin and is distinctly concave. If it is slightly concave or flat it is a G. childi... I attached visual aids. ;D

 

Ok Stepho, i follow #1 but no so much on #2. I'm wondering what a rostral spine is, and where it is located on the mantis. Is it the pointy thingy in between his eyes? Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge!
I checked on him tonight and he has blocked off one entrance with some LR, I'm thinking he's about to molt. I'll get pictures tomorrow if he doesn't.

 

well, my smithii got tired of krill after awhile then i fed him a diet of little snails and moved him to a different tank and now he loves freeze dried krill again. I think maybe it because i moved him, try redoing your scape a bit and see what happens. I spoiled him with a turbo and then he wouldnt eat the krill.

 

Yep its the point thing between his eyes. The spine stays the same size though its the ocular scale that changes and it is difficult to impossible to see while the animal is living. If you can see it, its definitely a Gonodactylus though

If the first part is satisfied and we assume it is a common species in the trade we are left with the genera Gonodactylus, Gonodactylaceus, Neogonodactylus, and Gonodactylellus.

It has white meral spots right? If so we can rule out Gonodactylaceus.

So it could be:
G. childi, G. chiragra, G. platysoma, N. wennerae, N. bredini, G. viridis, or G. caldwelli

If you can get a couple good pictures I can help you ID the species, but they all have similar care requirements, with the exception of chiragra being able to chip thin glass when its fully grown.

The angles to shoot for when taking pictures would be a telson shot, a full body dorsal view (top down), and a meral spread from the front.

 

Looks to me as if he's molting, hasn't come out of his burrow today, when he's done i'll send you a pm Stepho with some pics!

 

Well the little guy started tucking himself away about 2 weeks ago, and then blocked himself in completely. It's been 1 week today. I've heard clicking and popping, so i'm assuming he's okay. But i'm ready for him to come out already!! I'm so anxious to see him, and get some pics!

 

If it is a chiragra it may take longer for it to molt than other species of similar size. chiragras have thicker exoskeletons, which is the cause of the prolonged molt time.