Deformed Leg

Hello,

I have a noob question. My mantis had the bent abdomen I've read is fairly common with Chinese mantis from hanging upside down in his cage. I was happy to see he was molting as I also read that can remedy the problem but now I noticed his left rear leg seems deformed also. Is that a problem? I'm assuming those are his wings in the middle there. Is that right?

Randal

Not sure where you read that but a bent abdomen can be fatal as food and frass (poop) can become stuck and compacted - and at the very least difficult for it to pass. Although in your photo it does not appear to have a bent abdomen (but as it is vertical so the issue likely is not shown), but thankfully even if it does (unless it is a floppy bending one - only bends when hanging horizontally) it may recover from it.

Also all mantids hang upside down, and said to be a cleaning tactic, with the majority preferring to do so from the habitat lid. As recently mentioned they are like bats in that regard.

Indeed the mass in the middle of the mantids (top of the abdomen) is it's folded wings. In the photo with the exuviae (shed skin) if it hasn't been 24 hours since the molt, it still may finish "inflating" it's wings; although, malformed wings have no health issues in captivity.

The bad hind walking leg has a extreme bend, so it will have issues with it the rest of it's life - as mantids can only repair damage during a molt (legs tend to take at least 2 molts to repair, especially if missing). In a few weeks time though the mantid should be able to learn to use what it has and get around just fine. If the leg does become a problem the mantid will likely remove the leg itself.

Judging by the size of the last abdominal segment your mantid is a female; however, as I can not see the abdomen segments on the bottom I can not be 100% certain. Read here for photos and info to find out for sure as their sex can affect it's concerns (feeding, mating obviously, and more).

I did read the bent abdomen could be fatal but he's had it for at least a month and seems to be doing ok. I try to turn him around vertical but he usually just crawls right back up to the top of the cage

I counted the segments and came up with 6 or 7 so I thought it was a male. Now that he or she has molted again it may be easier to count. Would you say it's full grown now that it has wings or can I expect another molt? i just ordered Keeping Aliens as I'm hoping that will answer many of my noob questions.

What would have caused the deformed leg or is it just random?

If he has had the abdomen issue for a month and is doing fine it seems it isn't a issue for it.

The bend where does it happen on the abdomen (top or middle) and does it bend nearly straight when hanging upside down? A better question might be is it truly a bent abdomen, or is it simply bending it normally? As mantid nymphs can bend their abdomen nearly vertical for balance, but as they age they do it less, especially as a adult as their wings tend to get in the way of doing it (then they use their wings for balance).

A mantid only gets it's wings when it molts to adulthood, as such it will not molt again (adults are done growing and do not molt). The book will indeed help answer many questions, of course feel free to ask here if you have any. Regarding the sex take a look at the link as mentioned as depending on where you start counting that will change your count number too. Females have 5 segments and males have 7, with a count of 6 that could be either.

The leg problem can be common and tends to be caused by lack of moisture/humidity, bad/lacking grip surfaces, feeders in the habitat during the molt, and from handling the mantid before it hardens (24-48 hours to fully harden). That said it can be a issue for various reasons for anyone.

As a mantid molts it will anchor it's legs into the lid, then pull itself usually half out of the old exoskeleton. It will sit drying out for 30 minutes to 2 hours in the half in/out position to harden some (as they are extremely soft/delicate and any stress/touch/movements can cause them to rip/tear or harden in a bad position). They then will finish pulling out of the old skin often pulling itself to the lid by using the old skin or nearby branches. If anytime during the molt the moisture/humidity is too dry it can become trapped in the old skin and bent legs is the most common outcome. This is because the skin dries out shrinking and hardening in place before it can get out of it, and the soft leg is pulled like taffy distorting it or drying in a bad position.

If it looses it's grip it will pull free injuring it's legs typically, or raptorial forearms, as it was not ready to remove them yet (or the grip caused them to be twisted). If the old skin looses it grip and the mantid falls during the molt, that is nearly always fatal or causes such deformities that the mantid rarely survives.

Given the leg, abdomen, and wing issues it is likely the mantid did not dry enough before it left the old skin (if caused due to a loose grip or a complete fall I have no way to know, but can say it was somewhat dry when the issue occurred). Sadly though legs and wings are common molting issues (less so for experienced keepers). With the wings it tends to happen due to a lack of space while they dried and tried to inflate.

Thanks for the info. I watched him pull out of his ekoskeleton and turn around on the glass  right before I snapped that pick. I might have startled him and caused him to pull out prematurely though. I hope I didn't cause the leg issue. He's been in that same position for over an hour now and seems to be doing ok.

One other thing. I've been handling him fairly often as a nymph letting him crawl around and stuff. Now that he has wings is that not advisable as I'd hate for him to take off and not be able to catch him?

Randal

I doubt you did it as you would have to bump the tank to have caused any issue.

Nah, even with wings (ceilings fans off) they are fun. However, with his wings deformed like that he will be unable to fly, so continue your handling as normal.

Looks like a female, judging by the pointed rear. 

Thanks for the replies. Her wings aren't deformed. The first pic is from right after she exited her ekoskeleton and they weren't unfurled yet. Here she is today. Getting around good even with the bum leg. And the bent abdomen seems to be ok now too since she has her wings.

Great glad to see she is doing much better than originally thought. With the leg she should learn to get around better everyday, until the point it won't be much of any problem.