# Spaghettilegs?



## Zapins (Jan 17, 2013)

My Chinese mantises are mostly L5 or L6. I noticed that 2 of my 9 mantises have legs that bend backwards at the joint or are curved like spaghetti, they don't really use them. What causes this? I want to be sure they don't have this issue in their final molt.


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## Montana (Jan 17, 2013)

Sounds like you've had some mismolts where the legs got stuck and dried bent because they were stuck in the old cuticle... Humidity too low?


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## aNisip (Jan 17, 2013)

yup like Montana said, mismolts. When a mantis molts, its new exoskeleton is very soft and fragile, and thus has to dry and harden before any major movements can take place (like hunting). Most likely, the two bent legged mantises either fell, while molting and pulled themselves up with their front legs, and the rear ones got bent, or the container was too short and the hind legs came in contact with the bottom and dried in that curved shape. they can reposition their legs' shape with the following molt, keep an eye out though, the next molt will be tough without those hind legs.

All the best,

Andrew


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## angelofdeathzz (Jan 17, 2013)

Or these mantis were in very close proximately with a meatball...? But I'll just go with they were still soft as Andrew stated.


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## aychen222 (Jan 26, 2013)

I just had something similar happen to my L2 turning into L3 parasphendale affinis. How likely is it that it will be ok by the next molt?


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## Mantiskid (Jan 29, 2013)

I have had this problem many times before with chinese mantids...most often it is their rear legs that get all bent because they are the last to be extracted from the shed skin. Humidity helps, as does an almost completely vertical, textured surface for the mantis to hang from while molting in one part of the cage. Fiberglass window screen is good for that, as are twigs or popsicle sticks glued to the lid (The best way to glue them without getting stuck is to poke holes in the lid where the sticks will be, poke the sticks through and then put a big glob of hot glue on the end of the twig poking through the top of the lid. That way the glue is on the outside of the enclosure and the mantis can't get stuck.) Hope this is helpful.


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## Zapins (Feb 3, 2013)

Hmm ok I'll make sure to adjust my cage. Will the mantises with bent legs recover on their next molt? I think they have 2 molts left before they are adults.

Also, if both hind legs are bent how will they be able to shed? I'm not sure the can secure their hind feed properly anywhere since they are angled backwards and don't work properly.


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