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Odd! Is she eating a lot? Maybe she's just very bottom-heavy and is more comfortable letting her abdomen rest this way.

This is Stradivarius, my wandering violin. I am not really an experienced mantis keeper yet, but she seems to be doing just fine anyway! 

If the legs are malformed and growing to twice their normal size, that's a genetic issue. It sounds like less of a mismolt and more of difficulty molting due to a physical defect. That in itself may not be life-threatening but it's probably not the only genetic abnormality, and something you...

I've used deli cups and similar containers with a cloth lid, with no problems. I usually put a bit of plastic mesh on the top in case they need a better grip for molting, though.

Personally I would freeze her. :(  I'm sorry. If she'd managed to get out of the molt it might be worth it to see how she did, but with everything stuck I don't think there's anything you can do for her other than put her to sleep. 

My male ghost molted to adult! I'm very excited, and it appears to have been a perfect molt. He has a tiny little bit of exoskeleton stuck to his crown, but I imagine that will fall off or I can carefully remove it later. 

Holy cow. That is amazing. One of the coolest vivs I've ever seen.

Bugs In Cyberspace has a leaflitter soil mix that has plenty of leaves in it. If you just want the leaves, I've gotten the oak leaves from Josh's Frogs. My millipedes have been chowing down on the oak leaves with no problems.

I purchased five mantids from Kermit. Great transaction. He sent an extra mantis, provided me with care information, and the mantids arrived very carefully packaged. I would definitely do business with Kermit again!

Misting is fine. For mine I put some coco fiber in the bottom of the container and keep it moist. That seems to be plenty of humidity for my ghosts.

Vinegar is what I use when the sides of my tanks get a little scummy. Just moisten a paper towel with the vinegar and wipe/scrub the sides of the tank. Usually it comes off really quickly.

Try offering it a different option if you can? Maybe it would take a pinhead cricket or a fly. You can also try a waxworm, although you might have to cut it in half and offer the cut section to the mantid's mouth. It might also take a bit of banana or honey. Best of luck, although keep in mind...

With a really bad mismolt like that I think you did the right thing with the freezer. It's better than letting it suffer. I always hate having to put my beetles in the freezer when they start to go from old age, but I figure it's kinder to them that way. :(

1. I don't have enough experience with mine yet to be able to tell when they're about to molt with much accuracy. I mist mine every night because the air is very dry in Arizona, and it hasn't been a problem. Once they begin molting, however, I don't disturb them until at least the day after. ...

I have them in 16oz deli containers full of substrate. Once they're adults they'll be going into a small aquarium tank to hopefully make lots of babies! :D  I don't know a thing about hercules beetles, unfortunately. 

I have some larvae at the moment but no experience with the actual beetles as of yet. They seem to have a long prepupal period - mine have made pupal cells against the container walls but are taking their time about it! The larvae have been curled up in there for weeks, just shifting around...

Can you tell us some more about their setup? Are they all together? What do you keep them in? How often do you mist the enclosure and what temperature is the room they're in? 

I'll be driving through Texas this summer, and I would love to track down some of these beetles. From everything I can find online, they're mostly found around the Austin area, with College Station mentioned as a good location. Oak and pecan trees are mentioned as prime habitat.   Anybody here...