I didn't realize my mantis was about to molt!

When I woke up this morning, she had molted! I'm kind of freaking out because she was really low on her branch when it happened so she's a bit bent. There is a bend in her thorax and in some of her wings and I just realized one of her legs is bent and she can't use it. Will she be okay? Is there something I can do or is it too late?

I didn't realize she was about to molt because she ate yesterday morning. Her abdomen looked plump, but I thought it was because she had eaten. She was really active yesterday. When I woke up she was caught in the crook of the branch that's in there. It looked like she was struggling to get out so I took her out to free her from the branch and I put her back in her enclosure. I put her on the cover to give her more room. Now she isn't moving, I am assuming to give herself more time to dry. Every so often she wiggles her abdomen and I am not sure why.

Is this okay or did I really mess up? Is there anything I can do?

Thanks again everyone!

Mismolts happen, but some of the time, they just get deformed, and still end up living a long, happy life. Can she still catch prey? if not, don't panic. You can hand feed her pretty easily. What type of mantis is this? Can you post some photos? I'll do all I can to help you out.

- MantisGirl13

Thanks MantisGirl13!

Her front legs look okay, but her back legs worry me. One is bent out of shape and the other she has been holding straight. Her wings look crumpled now and I am assuming she is dried completely by now. I put in a cricket but I think I'll switch her over to cockroaches once this batch of crickets are done. I get too worried about the crickets hurting her.

As for what kind of antis she is, I suspect she is a California Mantis. The friend who gave her to me had no idea so I am just guessing. As soon as I take photos, I'll put them up.

One more question, how long should I wait to feed her? She molted late Friday evening.

Thanks again!

if she is a california mantis her wings will be short, hindwings will be deep red, and under the wings will be 3 black lines across the abdomen

if her wings r short and her hindwings r yellow she's an arizona bordered mantis

Her wings look short to me and I don't see any red. I'm a little worried because her wings look a bit ragged, but I am sure it's because she was caught in the branch. I tried tong feeding her a cricket but she backed away so I dropped it in her enclosure. I am hoping she will see it and go after it.

Anyways, here are the pictures I have so far. I tried to get as many angles as I could. You can see the bend in her thorax and the odd way her back legs are. I am hoping it won't impede her hunting abilities.

male bordered mantis

Male? Before the molt I was able to count six segments on the abdomen, that's why I thought it was a 'she'. Did I do it too early?

And when is a good time to try to feed him? I tried earlier and he doesn't seem interested yet

ladyarcana55 said:

Male? Before the molt I was able to count six segments on the abdomen, that's why I thought it was a 'she'. Did I do it too early?

And when is a good time to try to feed him? I tried earlier and he doesn't seem interested yet

Click to expand...

you can tell by the last abdominal segment. it ends in a plate and the dude is so skinny

he wont need food for 5ish days

Five days? Thank you so much, I was getting worried about him. So I don't have to worry about putting food in there right now.Cool!

I feel so bad. I totally thought he was a female because when I counted before his molt I counted six segments. I tried to double check but I couldn't see past his wings. So instead of Bells I guess I have Bruno. LOL

How is he doing, has he eaten?  The only real concern I would have is the bend in the thorax preventing food from going down, but if he can eat, I think he should do just fine.

Hello Ocelotbren!

He seems to be doing okay. He ate for the first time last night, (he molted on Friday). But I am concerned that he's not eating as much as I think he should be, he's only eaten a small cricket. I put him and a cricket in a smaller cup but he doesn't appear to be all that interested. Should I worry?

Thank you!

Males generally don't eat a lot as adults so that may be acceptable.  I'm not familiar with that species specifically though.  You could also try different prey, such as flies, to see if he shows more interest in that, or otherwise just keep trying once a day with a cricket.  Also if you notice that he is able to poop, then I would think he's doing okay.

If he is not catching his food, also try hand feeding him until he is stronger.

- MantisGirl13

I tried hand feeding and I scared him. He is catching the crickets okay but i am thinking of switching over to roaches. I worry too much that the crickets will hurt him.

And how do I know when he is full? I'm looking at his abdomen but it doesn't look that much different. I notice that it did get a little thicker but nothing like before.

If I give crickets, I give them with tweezers so my mantis can grab it from there. That works fine and they can't hurt your mantis.

I tried that and he backed away from the tweezers. I'll try again tomorrow. How often should I feed him?

Males of this species (and most other species) don’t get particularly fat. At most, their abdomens look more like an elliptical tube. I fed my male only around 3-4 times a week. Whenever he seems thinner than you feel comfortable with. You can’t really overfeed them.

Thank you so much!

It gets so confusing because the friend who gave him to me has been keeping mantids for along time but he never really did any research about them. He told me to go ahead and keep feeding him but I don't really want to leave them in there with him if I can help it.

You’re right, I’ve heard people say that crickets can be dangerous to Mantids, especially with injuries like this. But as long as you’re able to watch over them, he should be alright. I would suggest trying the tweezers a couple more times, and if he still refuses, the roaches would be a good idea.