So, my mantis last molted on Oct 3. Prior to that she went 4 days without eating. Now it's Wednesday, she hasn't eaten since last Thursday so 5 full days without food, and I keep thinking she's going to molt but nothing yet... she seems uninterested in eating, she just looks at the bugs and makes no attempt to catch them and hasn't really moved much for days. When should I start worrying? Or let me rephrase that - I'm worrying, should I be?? She's a European mantis, unsure of the insta but may be pre sub or sub adult.
My mantis is worrying me, again!
- Thread starter loislane
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MantisGirl13
Well-known member
What have you been feeding her? Can you try a roach and break it in half and feed her the goo?
- MantisGirl13
- MantisGirl13
She has crickets. I tried getting one in tweezers and offering it to her but she wasn't interested and I got her out and had a cricket run right by her but she didn't go for it. I also offered her honey and water on a q tip but she wasn't interested.
MantisGirl13
Well-known member
Ok. Have you tried dissecting the cricket and holding the abdomen up to her mouth? This is very strange behavior for a normally aggressive species of mantis.
- MantisGirl13
- MantisGirl13
Hmm, no i haven't tried that. It is strange.. when she's hungry she normally really goes for the bugs as soon as she sees them, which is why I thought she was molting, but it's been so long now ?
MantisGirl13
Well-known member
Yeah, that is interesting. Try holding the inside of the cricket up to her mouth and see if she will take it. If she wont take it, try smearing some honey on it as well. This works almost any time with my mantids who won't eat.
- MantisGirl13
- MantisGirl13
Ok, I'll give it a try. Do you think there's any chance she's just taking a long time to molt?
MantisGirl13
Well-known member
Ok. How big is she? If she last molted on Oct. 3rd, then it could be that she is molting soon.
- MantisGirl13
She is about 3cm, so 1.2 inches or so. I don't want to try to make her eat if she's prepping to molt but then I don't want to just assume she's going to molt and let her starve!
MantisGirl13
Well-known member
Ok. She will probably molt sooner than later. How long was the time between her last two molts? You can still try to get her to eat, she will just refuse to eat if she is ready to molt. Good luck with getting her to eat!
- MantisGirl13
- MantisGirl13
She's only molted once since we've her, I think we had her for 2 weeks and then she molted, so I don't know how long the gap was previously.
Thanks!!!
MantisGirl13
Well-known member
Ok. She is taking perfectly normal time to molt then, I would not be worried about that anymore. She will most likely molt soon, so it is likely that she will refuse food until she molts, but you can still try to hand-feed her.
- MantisGirl13
- MantisGirl13
Prayingmantisqueen
Well-known member
I am sure she will molt when ready!
Thanks, I hope so! I guess a big part of my worry is I don't actually know how long she can go without food. I know adults can go a couple of weeks but she's not an adult yet.
Prayingmantisqueen
Well-known member
Yeah, my carolina male died somehow while preparing for a molt, so idk
