A very sweet Cilnia- my favorite mantis

[Psychobunny]

This poor girl has had a rough life. Two mis-molts have deformed her, she has one useless back leg,

and the other is missing about 1/3 of the leg.

She has a hard time clinging to stuff and falls a lot.

She is only 5 months old, but is slowing down.

She is a real sweetheart though, very friendly and loves attention and being hand fed.

The longest I have yet to keep a cilnia alive is only 6 months. Her Sister (6 months old) died yesterday

I focused on her face in the first pic, and in the second, you can see her deformed wings better:

 

[mkayum]

I'm sorry

Try to make her comfortable as possible. She look so pretty! especially her bright green color!

 

[Bryce08]

awww shes very good looking mantis though, and i love the shape of the cilnias heads...she has a very nice color though, i like it

 

[CoolMantid]

Aww. The one in the worst conditions are the ones we love the most. I hope she lives a long life and I bet you she is more happy with all that attention than healthy mantis.

 

[Psychobunny]

She perked up a bit after I fed her. I didnt realize she was having such a bad time catching her food, and

was starving!!

I hand fed her 4 big BB's and a little honey, and washed it all down with a drink of water.

When she saw me walk by her net cage, she was looking at me and scratching on the clear front side as if

to get my attention.

She does not mind being gently grabed and picked up, and when I got her in my hand, she started to nibble

on my finger to let me know she was hungry!!

Now I know I have another one to hand feed!!

She had almost died when she had her last shed, and I was just about ready to send her to the North Pole!!

She was bad off, and I had to feed her smashed cricket guts on a chop stick for a week or so.

She made a great recovery, but is still handycapped!

 

[Psychobunny]

Aww. The one in the worst conditions are the ones we love the most. I hope she lives a long life and I bet you she is more happy with all that attention than healthy mantis.

That is so true

This mantis, out of all I have ever had, is the friendliest and sweetest of all.

She is a real pet.

It's so sad that her time is running out, but I will make sure she is as comfortable as possible all the way to the end.

 

[twolfe]

Sweet story. I also become attached to the ones that need my help.

 

[Psychobunny]

I'm sorry

Try to make her comfortable as possible. She look so pretty! especially her bright green color!

Thanks, she really does have a nice apple green color.

I was finally (after waiting a very long time!!) able to buy some cilnia stock from Yen.

They just hatched, so he will wait until they are L2 before he ships them to me.

They are so hard to find, and I am told, difficult to breed.

But I think that depends on were you are, your climate and such.

I also discovered, in my research, that there is a lot of misinformation regarding how to care for this

species.

Some say they need 60% RH or higher, moss substrate, and daily misting.

Others say the opposit, dry and mist twice a week!! LOL!!

So, I ignor them and just follow what Yen tells me to do.

He has enough experience with cilnia to be an expert as far as I am concerned.

 

[patrickfraser]

I should be getting some, too. I can't wait. I've been wanting to get my hands on these.

 

[Psychobunny]

I just wish I could have afforded more then 10 nymphs! LOL

Seems like when I have money, nothing is available.

But when I am flat broke, there they are!!

I should set asside a little money every payday and put it in a savings account for such emergencies

Call it my "bug fund"!

 

[Psychobunny]

Sweet story. I also become attached to the ones that need my help.

When they really need you, they can be so sweet.

She is perfectly content laying in my lap for hours while I am on the computer.

I put a small towel over my lap, and she spralls out like she is at the beach.

It's so cute the way she looks up at me, it just grabs me every time

 

[CoolMantid]

Aww. i hope she is still going strong