# About to molt or stressed? Pulsing abdomen



## Mantidaddicted (Jun 7, 2016)

Hi guys, I just got my little L1 Orchid Mantis in the mail today from Precarious! He is an active little fellow. When he arrived he was hanging very still at the top of the paper towel. I took him out offered some water, which he drank, and then tried offering some fruit flies, he had no interest in them. Now he has been climbing around in his enclosure upside down with his abdomen pulsing pretty hard? He will hang his raptors for a little then re-position himself somewhere else? I've misted and humidity is at 60% , anyone know if he is about to molt or super stressed and dying?!


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 8, 2016)

I would guess going into molt, leave it be and do not offer food till next day and take away in a few min if u see it sees it but has no interest.


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 8, 2016)

hibiscusmile said:


> I would guess going into molt, leave it be and do not offer food till next day and take away in a few min if u see it sees it but has no interest.


Yeah, I hope he is molting, he hasn't moved from his hanging spot all morning and he has his little arms hanging like he wants too, I thought he died, but I saw his little head turn and his little antennae move around. 

I tried offering a fly to him last night before I went to bed since I noticed him walking around a little, he saw the fly, turned to him, and then just went on his way.

Fingers crossed for a successful molt! I'll have pictures soon, just a little hard since I'm using an iPhone and it's hard to get a clear picture of him in his enclosure!

Thanks for the reply


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## Krissim Klaw (Jun 8, 2016)

Sounds like it is going to molt so if you want any photos of it in that pretty first instar you better snap them now.


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 8, 2016)

Krissim Klaw said:


> Sounds like it is going to molt so if you want any photos of it in that pretty first instar you better snap them now.


Lol, I hope he/she does okay with the molt, I misted today and humidity is at 60%-65%.  Also do you know if they poop more before they molt? I noticed he pooped three times today! and he hasn't eaten anything yet?! ( use a paper towel so I can spot them out pretty easily, looks like a speckle of dirt.)

Thankfully I snapped TWO pictures before I put him in his enclosure.

I started a thread lol.


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 8, 2016)

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?/topic/37603-adventures-of-sweet-pea-the-orchid-mantis/#comment-294153


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## CosbyArt (Jun 8, 2016)

Mantidaddicted said:


> Yeah, I hope he is molting, he hasn't moved from his hanging spot all morning and he has his little arms hanging like he wants too, I thought he died, but I saw his little head turn and his little antennae move around.
> 
> ...


Sounds like everything else was already covered, but I thought I'd pass this along.

When a mantid dies it will fall and be on the bottom of the container, or in some cases wedged between a stick and the wall. I have yet however to see a dead mantid hanging other than a few obviously dead L1 nymphs that got a leg wrapped in the mesh. So if it is hanging you are fine.  

Best of luck with Sweet Pea.


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 8, 2016)

CosbyArt said:


> Sounds like everything else was already covered, but I thought I'd pass this along.
> 
> When a mantid dies it will fall and be on the bottom of the container, or in some cases wedged between a stick and the wall. I have yet however to see a dead mantid hanging other than a few obviously dead L1 nymphs that got a leg wrapped in the mesh. So if it is hanging you are fine.
> 
> Best of luck with Sweet Pea.


Well, that's good to know, she's been really active this afternoon.. not hanging around as much- more walking around , and testing her legs seeing how far she can reach lol, I'm guessing maybe because it's not night time yet? ( I've been told they molt during mornings and nights when humidity is higher.)  I maybe thought she wasn't going to molt so I tried feeding her again and nothing, so I'm going to leave her alone for the next couple of days and just mist. Thanks Thomas!


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## CosbyArt (Jun 8, 2016)

Mantidaddicted said:


> Well, that's good to know, she's been really active this afternoon.. not hanging around as much- more walking around , and testing her legs seeing how far she can reach lol, I'm guessing maybe because it's not night time yet? ( I've been told they molt during mornings and nights when humidity is higher.)  I maybe thought she wasn't going to molt so I tried feeding her again and nothing, so I'm going to leave her alone for the next couple of days and just mist. Thanks Thomas!


If she is active it sounds like she should be fine, and didn't suffer any ill-effects from shipping. Likely she just needs some time to relax and explore her surroundings a bit. Offer her food again tomorrow and she should be ready then. I wouldn't worry if she's active, as any mantids I've had delivered that had problems from rough shipping tend to arrive already dead or very inactive (lethargic).

My mantids tend to molt about in the mornings (5-8 AM) or later in the day at 4-6 PM typically for me. Of course some will molt whenever they are ready.


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 8, 2016)

CosbyArt said:


> If she is active it sounds like she should be fine, and didn't suffer any ill-effects from shipping. Likely she just needs some time to relax and explore her surroundings a bit. Offer her food again tomorrow and she should be ready then. I wouldn't worry if she's active, as any mantids I've had delivered that had problems from rough shipping tend to arrive already dead or very inactive (lethargic).
> 
> My mantids tend to molt about in the mornings (5-8 AM) or later in the day at 4-6 PM typically for me. Of course some will molt whenever they are ready.


I'm glad everything seems to be normal! I;m just a very concerned parent, lol. I can't wait until she gets bigger!


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## CosbyArt (Jun 8, 2016)

Mantidaddicted said:


> I'm glad everything seems to be normal! I;m just a very concerned parent, lol. I can't wait until she gets bigger!


No worries, everyone is especially when starting out or have a problem.  She will be adult soon enough, but the time spent as nymphs can be some of the most interesting (although worrisome too with molting). I think of the nymph stage as the puppy stage, it only occurs once.


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 9, 2016)

So she still has no interest in food, but she did eat honey. She was running around again this afternoon so I took her out, gave her honey, which she went in head first, then I tried a fruit fly, and I think it startled her because she flattened her little butt right afterwards. Mind you the fly is as big as her head. I was going to leave her alone but since she was running around I took her out and let her run around my Orchid flower for a little, it's funny because I have the flower trailed to her enclosure, and she actually walked up the vine back into her enclosure once she was done exploring..I'll have to take a video! I wish I could read her mind!!


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## CosbyArt (Jun 9, 2016)

Are you using Melanogaster or Hydei FF with her? I ask as there are two distinct sizes and the Hydei is likely too large for her at the moment.

Sounds cute. Indeed there are many moments I wish I had photos or video of, I guess a body camera would come in handy for some things. If nothing else though setup your camera or phone in a tripod or simply position it on some furniture. Then before you get Sweet Pea out hit record and let it run until you put her back. You can then simply edit the video later.


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 9, 2016)

CosbyArt said:


> Are you using Melanogaster or Hydei FF with her? I ask as there are two distinct sizes and the Hydei is likely too large for her at the moment.
> 
> Sounds cute. Indeed there are many moments I wish I had photos or video of, I guess a body camera would come in handy for some things. If nothing else though setup your camera or phone in a tripod or simply position it on some furniture. Then before you get Sweet Pea out hit record and let it run until you put her back. You can then simply edit the video later.


Using melanogaster. She's pooped like 10 times already since I've had her and she hasn't eaten anything?! 

Yes, I'm counting, LOL.


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## CosbyArt (Jun 10, 2016)

Mantidaddicted said:


> Using melanogaster. She's pooped like 10 times already since I've had her and she hasn't eaten anything?!
> 
> Yes, I'm counting, LOL.


You must be really watching your little one, to be able to keep count like that.  It's now the third day, so she should be hungry. Mantids can however go much longer without food, if they were well-fed before hand. So it seems she is just being stubborn at this point.


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 10, 2016)

CosbyArt said:


> "You must be really watching your little one, to be able to keep count like that.   "


Haha, you don't even know... I've had a lot of free time this week, so I just lay around and watch her.. She's been hanging all day so I'm hoping today might be the day. She is 11 days old today!


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 12, 2016)

I woke up today and noticed one of her antennae is shorter than the other.... what is happening to her? she still won't eat. but is active..... UGH!!!

NVM!

Dumped three fruit flies in her enclosure today and she ate one!! PHEW!!!!!!!!!! now waiting game for molting time....


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## ashleenicole (Jun 12, 2016)

Glad she is taking food now. I wouldn't worry about the antenna, I've had mantids who had one antenna that was slightly shorter than the other. You sound like you're doing a great job with her!


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 12, 2016)

ashleenicole said:


> Glad she is taking food now. I wouldn't worry about the antenna, I've had mantids who had one antenna that was slightly shorter than the other. You sound like you're doing a great job with her!


Yeah she ate two! I left for a little while and cant find the third one, so that would be pretty impressive if she actually ate all three. She is so plump right now LOL. next time i feed her I'll stick with two... three might of been overload, but since she hadnt eaten in a while that was probably a good meal before a molt. She'll be turning two weeks tomorrow so.., I hope she molts okay!


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 13, 2016)

Curious....

what is the typical orchid mantis threat pose?

Do they put their bodies low to the ground?


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## Sarah K (Jun 13, 2016)

Mantidaddicted said:


> Curious....
> 
> what is the typical orchid mantis threat pose?
> 
> Do they put their bodies low to the ground?


Here is a picture of an L1 orchid mantis with threat pose I found. The open arms is the key. I've seen several different types of mantis nymphs stand up tall like this and open thier arms out wide. Usually when confronted by another mantis nymph in a group enclosure. Pretty cool!


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## Mantidaddicted (Jun 15, 2016)

Sarah K said:


> Here is a picture of an L1 orchid mantis with threat pose I found. The open arms is the key. I've seen several different types of mantis nymphs stand up tall like this and open thier arms out wide. Usually when confronted by another mantis nymph in a group enclosure. Pretty cool!
> 
> View attachment 7687


hahah, I love this picture so much. I have yet to see Sweet Pea do this, but I guess she hasn't felt threatened by anything yet lol.


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