jules77 said:
On a positive he was out on top of his rock when I got home last night but slipped back into the rocks within a few minutes. I was thinking of putting music on in my fish room during the days so he gets used to hearing odd noises.
They usually get more outgoing with time, and with activity in the area. If he is used to massive (you) creatures lumbering by and peeking in, then he may start to not freak (bolt into his hole) every time you do.
My mantis:
Baron Munchausen,3' G. viridis: Still a scardy-cat...never comes out.
I've had him for just over a year. He does come out from time to time to wage war upon the heater and the thermometer (I replaced the glass ones after he killed two of them).
Baba-Yaga, 4" G. ternatensis, very active from the start. Likes to observe me, re-arrange her tank,smack at the wall from time to time.
I've had her 9 months or so.
Glaurung, 3.5" G. platysoma. Despite what people say about this species being a hide-all-the-time sort of mantis, mine is out quite a lot. He likes to swim all over the place. Maybe the Gods wanted to balance out the Baron's personality.Picked him up at the same time that I got Baba-Yaga,9 months.
Dagon,4" O.scyllarus (Peacock). very active, patrols, builds, likes watching people, especially likes getting into staring contests with Perci, one of my cats.I will get a picture soon, btw...
Had him 6 months or so.
Lo Pan (R.I.P.) 2" N. wennerae. very active.
Freya.3" G. chiraga medium activity, she stays in her burrow most of the time, but when i introduce food, she isn't shy about coming out to hunt it down. had her about 5 months.
Hydra,5" O.scyllarus. very active, not shy at all. In fact, when i tap on the glass and show the feeding stick, he darts over like a puppy begging for a biscuit. I am almost convinced that he had a previous owner,he is so 'socialized'. the LFS said that they got him directly from a distributor, however. 2 Months or so.
Achilles,3" G. chiraga (I think). Very active...in fact he whacked me, and it stll hurts (I probably have a light bone bruise).Aggressive towards me (whacked the tank as well), but not shy at all. I have some very cool new pics of him(her?). Achilles even lays about on the sand in the open, not shy at all.
Had Achilles less than 2 weeks now.
Typhon,2.5" G. graphurus (most likely). Aggressive, semi-active.
He was the product of my indecision between him and Achilles, so he got the 1.5 gallon hex for now (lots of filtration,minimal bio-load,so nobody panic). He hides,peeks ut...I caught him standing on a rock last weekend, peering at Achilles in the next tank over (Tank envy?).
Hope that may have helped a bit.
BTW, they don't have ears, so music,per se isn't going to do much to them. They do feel vibration, however, so if it is a bass-heavy style...hip-hop, drum-n-bass, I play Death Metal (both on myguitars, as well as on my stereo), then they may notice it. I moved my amplifier into another room (Loud amplifier,8x12 " speakers...), so as not to disturb them or my little goby/pistol shrimp in another tank.
Sorry for the lengthy post, hopefully you will get some help from my various mantis' activity levels.
Just be patient, not every mantis is a Baron Munchausen.
-Ron
