# HELP! Sick mantids!



## MantisGirl13 (May 26, 2018)

So I have been waiting for my female subadult B. mendica to molt for a while. She finally molted, but fell halfway through. I carefully picked her up by the feet, in the same position she was hanging in to molt, and I held her like this for an hour or so, but she stopped making progress molting. I rigged her up with some tape and clothespins, and left her for a while. Eventually, she really wasn't doing well, and I realized it was because her old exoskeleton was covering her breathing pores. I was able to successfully remove the molt from her abdomen, and then Let her hang for a while. she was weak this morning, and I realized that she had a pocket of blood in her wing. I removed the exoskeleton from her mouth, and helped her drink a lot of distilled water from a bottlecap. She is doing ok, and I will give her some honey soon. Is there anything else I can do?

Also, yesterday after we got to Maryland where we are camping for the weekend, I left the mantids in the sun for a while while I set up the mantis tent for them. I picked up one of my ghost females, and she was hardly moving. I gave her water, and the drank a lot, and can move her abdomen, head, antennae, and raptor arms, but not her back legs. She is perfectly healthy, except for the fact that she cannot move her four back legs. i have her in a cage where she is hanging onto the netting, with a net of fabric beneath her to catch her if she falls, and to help her get back up. She is eating and drinking, but still can't move. Help? I think it was the heat, but I don't know.

- MantisGirl13


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## River Dane (May 26, 2018)

For your B. mendica, it sounds like she’ll be fine. Keep giving her water and honey.

I don’t know what could’ve caused your ghost mantis to lose use of her legs, but my main concern would be eating and molting. If she’s relying on her raptorials for walking, you’re going to have to hand-feed her while she’s on the ground. You could feed her with tongs, and she’s have to be fed this way until she regains use of her legs. 

I would suggest keeping her in a cooler (not cold) room for a while, and see if that helps at all.

My other concern is if she can molt. Is she a nymph?


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## MantisGirl13 (May 26, 2018)

She is subadult. I will do as you said, and keep her cooler, and hand feed. That should be pretty easy. She was one of the last to molt to subadult, so when the others start molting, I will position her legs for her. Thanks for your help!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (May 26, 2018)

I think you did all you could for the female subadult B. mendica to help with her molt. Hope she will be alright soon.

Poor ghost mantis, I hope she gets control over her legs again. All you can do is what Dan said. I hope she keeps eating.


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## MantisGirl13 (May 27, 2018)

They are both doing pretty well, though the B.mendica is still not doing great. They both had some honey, and the female ghost is moving around her cage with her raptor arms just fine. One of my two little Brunner's died last night.   She was only L2! Thanks for your help!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (May 27, 2018)

Sad to hear your lost your L2. I hope the other 2 will get better soon.


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## River Dane (May 27, 2018)

Sorry for your loss @MantisGirl13.

I also lost my Spiny Flower mantis this morning. It’s hard to tell what went wrong when they’re still so small. Hope your other two do alright, good luck with them!


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## Mantis Lady (May 27, 2018)

I lost little Hunter.... it sucks?


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## MantisGirl13 (May 28, 2018)

Poor little Hunter! I am so sorry, for your losses, River Dane and Little Mantis! I woke up this morning to find the abdomen of my pre-sub ghost mantis sticking out of my subadult's mouth.   My mantids are a mess! 

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (May 28, 2018)

A ww, that is terrible to see te when just out of bed  I thought ghosts mantids could be in the same place  sorry for your loss too.


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## River Dane (May 28, 2018)

Yes, that is a terrible to thing straight out of bed, I’m so sorry. Hopefully the pendulum starts swinging the other way, soon!


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## Mantis Lady (May 28, 2018)

No more mantis deads i hope...


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## MantisGirl13 (May 28, 2018)

Nope! All are doing quite well. Thanks! The ghost female that had lost control of her back legs can move her middle set of legs a bit now.

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (May 29, 2018)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Nope! All are doing quite well. Thanks! The ghost female that had lost control of her back legs can move her middle set of legs a bit now.
> 
> - MantisGirl13


Oh, that is good, maybe she get control back over all her legs.


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## MantisGirl13 (May 29, 2018)

I hope so! Now I am sick! (cough, cough)?


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## Mantis Lady (May 29, 2018)

Get well soon. You have your mantids to keep you company.


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## MantisGirl13 (May 29, 2018)

Thx. I am so tired! My mantids are all doing very well and are keeping me reasonably distracted and cheerful. I caught three green bottle flies and a house fly on the windows of my house today! 

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (May 29, 2018)

I think you have a few hungry mantids who like to help you to get rid of the flies  I  haven't seen flies in my living room yet and gladly NO mosquitos.


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## MantisGirl13 (May 30, 2018)

Yes. My ghosts were very happy and fat yesterday! We don't get many mosquitos in our house, but we get them in our camper when we go camping all summer!

- MantisGirl13


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## MantisGirl13 (May 30, 2018)

The female thistle passed this morning. I am really sad. i will miss her.'

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (May 30, 2018)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Yes. My ghosts were very happy and fat yesterday! We don't get many mosquitos in our house, but we get them in our camper when we go camping all summer!
> 
> - MantisGirl13


Camping horror: caravan/camper/tent full with mosquitos and hunting them all night. few years ago we were on a camping in Hungary. We didn't sleep at all. It was crazy so many mosquitos came inside that night. The next day we moved to another camping.



MantisGirl13 said:


> The female thistle passed this morning. I am really sad. i will miss her.'
> 
> - MantisGirl13


This is sad, sorry for your loss.


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## Synapze (May 30, 2018)

@MantisGirl13 So sorry. She was beautiful.


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## MantisGirl13 (May 31, 2018)

@Synapze She was a beauty. 

@Little Mantis Wow! I HATE mosquitoes when they bite me! I don't often come home from camping without at least a dozen bites. 

- MantisGirl13


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## cwebster (Jun 2, 2018)

Am very sorry for all the recent losses by everyone here.  I lost a small ghost after a molt last week. They are so fragile and so lovely. Wish mantises all made it to adulthood and lived for years instead of months.


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 3, 2018)

A lot of mantis deads lately..

@cwebstermismolts: it is not fun to loose a mantis that way. sorry for your loss.



cwebster said:


> . They are so fragile and so lovely. Wish mantises all made it to adulthood and lived for years﻿ instead of months.


Yeah, I wish it was years too....instead of months.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 3, 2018)

Little Mantis said:


> A lot of mantis deads lately..
> 
> @cwebstermismolts: it is not fun to loose a mantis that way. sorry for your loss.
> 
> Yeah, I wish it was years too....instead of months.


I wish that too!

- MantisGirl13


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 2, 2018)

Hi, all! I have another sick mantis, so I thought I'd bring this thread back up. This time it is one of the newest members of my mantis family, an eremiaphila L2. I just got four of this species from Yen Saw a few days ago. Last night, one died, and I woke up this morning to find that one had molted to L3 and another had lost use of its back legs. The poor, tiny, pitiful mantis cannot zoom around her cage anymore, and she is quickly getting weak. I don't know what to do!

Also, I just got some Spiny Flower mantids from Yen Saw a week or so ago, and I have lost two of the five I received for no seeable reason. Anyone have any ideas?

- MantisGirl13


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 2, 2018)

The little eremiaphila didn't make it   

- MantisGirl13


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## Jaywo (Oct 2, 2018)

SO sorry for your loss. For the Desert runners... Did you put sand (sterilized) on the bottom and keep the environment very hot (95-100F) with zero moisture? If not, try that. 

It may help to give them a quiet space away from other mantids. They tend to freak out and then run around and bump into things. You probably have a big cage for them to run.

For the spiny mantis, they may have been really stressed during transport. I have 6 from Deshawn and they are in L3-L4 and I just keep them out of direct sun (they tend to over heat) but have the temp around 70F-75F during the day. Temp drop at night. Spray every other day and feed at the same time. 

Please give us an update on your mantids. I have had mantids die for no reason at all myself and it is frustrating and sad.


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## Mantis Lady (Oct 2, 2018)

Sorry for your loses. I don't know why they died.? Keep us updated on your mantids. I hope no more mantis deads.


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## Prayingmantisqueen (Oct 2, 2018)

Thats sad Mantisgirl13!!

I hope no more eremiaphilia die because they are cute and its plain sad.


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 3, 2018)

I have sand in the enclosures and I am not sure how hot it is, but it is directly under the heat lamp, so it is pretty hot. It shouldn't have any moisture. For the spinys, they are doing well now. They have eaten some small moths and fruit flies, and their colors are starting to show! No more mantids are dead this morning. I will try increasing the heat in the eremiaphila enclosures.

Thanks for your hep, @Jaywo!

- MantisGirl13


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## Jaywo (Oct 3, 2018)

I think my eremaiphila enclosure was 100-102F. I think you are doing everything they need. Hoping there is no more losses.


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 4, 2018)

Well, on the bright side, I had 32 new Phyllocrania paradoxa nymphs hatch this morning! 

- MantisGirl13


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## Graceface (Oct 4, 2018)

@MantisGirl13 Congrats on the hatch! Glad you have some good news to share


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## Mantis Lady (Oct 4, 2018)

gratz on the hatch


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 4, 2018)

Thanks!

- MantisGirl13


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