# L2 orchid catching but not biting his prey



## wuwu

i have a L2 orchid that's doing the strangest thing. it would catch his prey but not really eat it. i've seen it hold on his prey for over half an hour and wondered why the fly was still so full of life. it turns out that it wasn't eating it. i don't see any big wounds on the fly. then after a while, it'll just drop the fly.

does anyone know why it's doing this? i've already lost 2 orchids, i don't want to lose another one.


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## robo mantis

sometimes it happens he may shed soon (some mantids attack prey as defence but they will not eat it because they are going to shed)


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## 13ollox

my Membranacea used to do the same . more likely its going to shed . if not . maybe your humidity is unsuitable . i know the wrong humidity puts mantids off there food .

Neil


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## Rick

> my Membranacea used to do the same . more likely its going to shed . if not . maybe your humidity is unsuitable . i know the wrong humidity puts mantids off there food . Neil


Doubt that humidity thing. That might be the case with orchids as I have never kept them but it has not applied to anything I have come across. Probably about to shed but usually they won't even catch the food but instead just strike at it.


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## robo mantis

my male chinese from a while ago caught and killed the prey before he shed because it was annoying him


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## wuwu

i've noticed that behavior with mantids before they shed too but i'm pretty certain that this is not the case with mine because it has a relatively flat stomach. it hasn't eaten much since it's molt from L1 to L2. all the mantids that i've seen have a good sized tummy before it molts.

it almost seems like it's mandibles aren't working or something, like it's just trying to bite and chew but it can't, or it's having a hard time doing it.


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## robo mantis

try hand feeding(use tweesers to hold prey and hold it by him mouth)

tip: if food is to fast put it in the freezer for like 5 min and it will be very slow.


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## wuwu

he has no trouble catching the prey, he has problems eating the prey.


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## jonpat83

perhaps try raising the temperature, i've noticed orchids and gongys are not very interested in food when they are cold although they may catch it, this will speed up its metabolism and may help


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## julian camilo

ages ago when i had a small group of gongs together, they went through a phase of catching flies, eating them a little, then letting them ago. so the tank was full of half-dead, half-eaten zombie flies missing legs, abdomens, half a throax, an eye, etc. it was a strange sight. i never quite understood why the gongs did this. i thought it might be because the flies buzzing about were stressing them out a bit, and so did this to... 2silence" them, if you will. this probably isnt the reason though. ive always wondered why this was, it sounds like a similar problem.


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## Yosei

I had a ghost (L3) that would do the same thing, I dropped a couple flies in there and he would kill them all, then just drop them. So I just misted his container and he drank water and his appetite returned. This has only happened once, all the other time it was the about to molt times.


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## wuwu

it looks like i'm right. i took a closer look at his mouth today and noticed some black stuff on it's mouth. i guess his mandibles were messed up during his molt? or maybe some type of disease or fungus? poor thing. it can drink water though because when it drinks, it's stomach gets big. i suppose the only humane thing to do now is to put it down. such a shame that i have to put down a beautiful creature like this.


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## bruty2fruity

> it looks like i'm right. i took a closer look at his mouth today and noticed some black stuff on it's mouth. i guess his mandibles were messed up during his molt? or maybe some type of disease or fungus? poor thing. it can drink water though because when it drinks, it's stomach gets big. i suppose the only humane thing to do now is to put it down. such a shame that i have to put down a beautiful creature like this.


or you could try squeezing the juices of food into its mouth. itwill techinically give it the nutrition it needs


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## wuwu

he died today. i guess that saves me from having to put him down. may he R.I.P.


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## 13ollox

sorry to hear that  

Neil


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