# Lacking pigment in one eye after molt?



## Sauromayne (Jul 26, 2018)

My Golden Hierodula molted last night (I can see the old exoskeleton in the enclosure) and now his right eye has less pigment in it than his left eye. Could something have gone wrong with the molt to have caused this or is it nothing to worry about?

He also isn't eating like he normally would? I'm trying to feed him red runners which he has eaten in the past but now he is just looking at them and I tried to give it to him with tweezers and he just batted at it. Would it be normal for him to not want to eat after just molting? His abdomen is quite skinny.


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 26, 2018)

My male had that too after his molt, but not a big spot like on yours, a small one.  With his his next molt it is was gone. Hopefully your mantis eye will be healed after his next molt too.

After molting it is best to wait 1 day before offering him food. if he doesn't want it, try again the next day.


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## Darth Mantis (Jul 26, 2018)

By pigment do u mean a "pupil". someone correct if im wrong because im not sure but im pretty sure that mantis have no pupils since they have compound eyes what you see is basically just an optical illusion but i wouldn't think it would mater as long as he can still see to hunt. and another molt might fix it. Also it os normal for him not to eat right away but if he continues to not eat after a while maybe then something could be wrong. I would look closely at his eye and see if any unmolted exoskeleton is stuck to it or if it may be misshapened or anything like that. really though I wouldn't worry about it  unless he starts acting weird.


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## Chemz (Jul 27, 2018)

Darth Mantis said:


> im pretty sure that mantis have no pupils since they have compound eyes what you see is basically just an optical illusion


It is an illusion I believe it's called the pseudopupil effect.


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## River Dane (Jul 27, 2018)

You are right in that Mantids don’t have pupils. Some old posts suggest that it could be from your mantis rubbing its eyes on the plastic of the enclosure, but no one can agree on the cause. I know the post I linked ended in the mantis’ death, but I doubt this is the case with your mantis. 

As @Little Mantis said, it will probably go away with the next molt. If the blackness starts to spread, though, it could be an infection.


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## Sauromayne (Jul 27, 2018)

I figured they didn't have pupils like humans but it just threw me off because in the past I could see black pigment in both of his eyes. 

This pic is kinda blurry but you can see that both his eyes have pigment in them.

He seems to still be able to see though because I watched him tracking the roach when I had them both in the feeding cup.

I just wanted to make sure that he was okay since this is my first time ever keeping a mantis I just worry a lot lol.


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## River Dane (Jul 27, 2018)

The second pic looks fine. Mantids eyes darken to a brownish-black color when in dim lighting, especially at night.


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 27, 2018)

Sauromayne said:


> I just wanted to make sure that he was okay since this is my first time ever keeping a mantis I just worry a lot lol.


it is new, and it is normal to worry a lot When you are learning how to care for mantids. On your second pic your mantis looks alert, that is good


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## Predatorhousepet (Jul 27, 2018)

Chemz said:


> It is an illusion I believe it's called the pseudopupil effect.


While they may not have actual pupils, the pseudopupil can change size making it _look like_ they have pupils that contract and dialate. My Rhombodera basalis female's pseudopupils went from pinpoint to huge after being introduced to her mate. They've been a large size since but they do change in size slightly from day to day.

*Before*





*After*


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## Sauromayne (Jul 27, 2018)

I am getting a bit more worried. Today that eye is reddish in color.

He did eat today though.


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## Predatorhousepet (Jul 28, 2018)

Red isn't outside one of the colors a mantis's eye can turn. At night several of my mantis species eyes will turn dark red or purple and become green again during the day. Yours has one eye that is a different color and the pseudopupil appears to be a different size too, it could appear that way because it was shaped slightly differently than the other eye during molting. It's kinda a mystery why its like that but I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as the mantis behaves normally, has a good appetite and the eye doesn't noticeably change size, turn black or ooze anything. Even if there is some vision loss in that eye mantises have compund eyes, the other eye can pick up the slack. Hopefully, if there is anything wrong it will fix itself with the next molt.


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## Chemz (Jul 28, 2018)

Predatorhousepet said:


> While they may not have actual pupils, the pseudopupil can change size making it _look like_ they have pupils that contract and dialate. My Rhombodera basalis female's pseudopupils went from pinpoint to huge after being introduced to her mate. They've been a large size since but they do change in size slightly from day to day.
> 
> *Before*
> 
> ...


That's crazy!


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## Sauromayne (Jul 28, 2018)

Predatorhousepet said:


> Red isn't outside one of the colors a mantis's eye can turn. At night several of my mantis species eyes will turn dark red or purple and become green again during the day. Yours has one eye that is a different color and the pseudopupil appears to be a different size too, it could appear that way because it was shaped slightly differently than the other eye during molting. It's kinda a mystery why its like that but I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as the mantis behaves normally, has a good appetite and the eye doesn't noticeably change size, turn black or ooze anything. Even if there is some vision loss in that eye mantises have compund eyes, the other eye can pick up the slack. Hopefully, if there is anything wrong it will fix itself with the next molt.


Well that makes me feel better knowing that the red color isn't completely unusual.


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