# orchid had a slight mismolt



## mister B (Mar 29, 2012)

and I feel awful.

she molted out of the blue, in a container just a bit too small for her and ended up kind of lying at the bottom of the cup. as soon as I noticed this I flipped her into a better position so she could grab on and dry out easier. she looks almost as if nothing happened, aside from the fact that her front left forearm is a little odd; she's been keeping it at about a 45 degree angle (maybe a little less at rest) away from her body. she's still using it, although this just happened this morning so I'm not sure if she'll be able to eat; I'll have to try tomorrow or the next day. I feel terrible about this; I was prepping a bigger enclosure for her and she was doing SO WELL for my first try. I wish I could figure out how to get a pic up on here so you all could see for yourselves. does anyone have any input? will she eat? will she be able to molt properly next time? if someone could explain posting a pic, that would be appreciated as well. I really don't want to lose her, she's my only female and has been growing perfectly up until now, so any and all comments are welcome and appreciated.

thanks

Brian


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## CoolMantid (Mar 29, 2012)

Orchids are VERY aggressive so she will probally be able to eat with one hand like a pro until it is healed in a molt or 2.

Btw you need to make an introducing yourself post


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## hibiscusmile (Mar 30, 2012)

She will be fine, another molt and she will look good as new, take care that she eats, sometimes u may have to feed her by hand.


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## agent A (Mar 30, 2012)

had a hierodula do this once

she was fine


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## Psychobunny (Mar 30, 2012)

I have 4 L4 nymphs and I am a bundle of nerves when I know they are about to molt.

I have them in seperate, deli cups and mist them twice a day with about 90F heating pad

under them.

So far, no mismolt issues, but as they reach adult, I will need to transfer them into something larger

and nicer. That when I will really be bitting my nails, that final molt!!

I have heard of so many people loosing them at final molt that it has me a bit worried!!

P.S. ever notice how all the coolest mantis species are the hardest to care for!!??


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## rs4guy (Mar 30, 2012)

She will be fine, just keep an eye on her, make sure shes eating, and in a moult or two she will fully correct herself.


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## mister B (Mar 30, 2012)

Hertarem45 said:


> Orchids are VERY aggressive so she will probally be able to eat with one hand like a pro until it is healed in a molt or 2.
> 
> Btw you need to make an introducing yourself post


thanks for the info. as far as an introduction, well, is this not enough?? I'll make one eventually haha :lol: , when I have some free time.



hibiscusmile said:


> She will be fine, another molt and she will look good as new, take care that she eats, sometimes u may have to feed her by hand.


thanks for your input. I actually just bought fly pupae and supplies from you. I'm the one who forgot to pay the full shipping amount haha.



agent A said:


> had a hierodula do this once
> 
> she was fine


glad to hear she was ok. from what everyone is telling me mine should be too. thanks again.



Psychobunny said:


> I have 4 L4 nymphs and I am a bundle of nerves when I know they are about to molt.
> 
> I have them in seperate, deli cups and mist them twice a day with about 90F heating pad
> 
> ...


thats about my setup as well, however I have them all at room temp which is about 73 degrees at this moment. I bought them all at about L2-L3 and they've been exploding with growth (aside from the males, I slowed them down a bit to allow the female to catch up). now you've got me worried with her final moult haha, I guess we'll just see how it goes. oh and as far as the difficulty behind them, I don't find this species to be too hard to take care of: it's the freakin' stress they put me through making sure they stay that way! :lol: 



rs4guy said:


> She will be fine, just keep an eye on her, make sure shes eating, and in a moult or two she will fully correct herself.


thank you for chiming in. I'm very happy she'll be ok.

you guys are awesome, thanks a lot for the help. I'll try to update her status as she begins to eat and come around. she seems ok today, so we'll see what happens.


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## Precarious (Mar 30, 2012)

It's very difficult and dangerous for a freshly molted mantis to climb. They can easily break limbs. Next time you see a mantis freshly molted too close to the bottom pick them up by the old skin and either hold them while they hang to dry or secure the skin with a clip or pin at a better location. They get crooked raptors from laying them to one side as they dry. Right now I have an L5 Idolo that did the same thing. He is eating normally.


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## mister B (Mar 31, 2012)

Precarious said:


> It's very difficult and dangerous for a freshly molted mantis to climb. They can easily break limbs. Next time you see a mantis freshly molted too close to the bottom pick them up by the old skin and either hold them while they hang to dry or secure the skin with a clip or pin at a better location. They get crooked raptors from laying them to one side as they dry. Right now I have an L5 Idolo that did the same thing. He is eating normally.


that's actually what happened/what I did. she was lying on her side, so I picked her up gently by the tip of the old skin, which fell off. I freaked out a little, but she was holding on to the paper towel in the cup, so I gently turned the cup over to a position she could dry out a little better in. thanks for the tip.

bit of an update: she is eating. a little off, but she's able to grab and hold on to her bugs, so I'm pretty happy about that.


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## nantid (Apr 12, 2012)

I have an idlomantis that mismolted about 2 weeks ago. 1 arm is useless. I have been feeding him by hand and he readily eats about 6 or 7 flies at a feeding. I kill the fly and hand it to him with tweezers, sometimes he holds it with his good arm,other times I have to hold it for him until he gets a firm bite. He seems to be doing fine and I think it'd worth the effort.


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## Mvalenz (Apr 12, 2012)

I had a H. Majuscula that mismolted bad. The severeness of the mismolt may have been due to me cutting it out of its exoskeleton too soon before completely drying. Lesson learned the hard way. Had to hand feed him everyday. He was eating fine then not so much. Didn't eat for about three days. Thought it was going to molt, but then three turned to four and then five. Decided to put it out of its misery. When I got home he beat me to it.

R.I.P RADIO.


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## maybon (Apr 12, 2012)

Mvalenz said:


> I had a H. Majuscula that mismolted bad. The severeness of the mismolt may have beem due to me cutting it out of its exoskeleton too soon before completely drying. Lesson learned the hard way. Had to hand feed him everyday. He was eating fine then not so much. Didn't eat for about three days. Thought it was going to molt, but then three turned to four and then five. Decided to put it out of its misery. When I got home he beat me too it.
> 
> R.I.P RADIO.


Sorry to hear that, cool name though


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## Mvalenz (Apr 12, 2012)

Thanks. I'm sure he would of thought your name was cool too.


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## Joe2137 (May 6, 2012)

sad to hear that.


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## Joe2137 (May 6, 2012)

hi

hi


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## Joe2137 (May 6, 2012)

hi


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## Joe2137 (May 6, 2012)

hi


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## Joe2137 (May 6, 2012)

After twenty posts, I molt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Joe2137 (May 6, 2012)

hi


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## gripen (May 6, 2012)

Joe2137 said:


> hi


Really people. Please don't do this to threads.


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## angelofdeathzz (May 6, 2012)

Joe2137 said:


> After twenty posts, I molt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Really?!? com'on man that's not what it's about, don't do that... And why did you ask how to get a hold of me in my feedback, and not just PM me? Don't do that either!


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