# Eating hot glue strands



## Digger (Jun 15, 2017)

While feeding Photon, a newly-molted L5 Tenodera sinensis, a housefly this morning, she got some dried hot glue strands wrapped up in the fly while grabbing the food.  To my shock and awe, she ate part of the hot glue strand left on her raptors.  I was able to tweezer most of the remaining off her.  Anybody have any experience with ingested (cooled) hot glue?  Gonna find out the consequences one way or another.  I usually try to remove all HG strings, but sometimes you miss some - they're so transparent.

Poor Photon !


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## CosbyArt (Jun 16, 2017)

Sorry to hear that @Digger, I try to avoid it too.

Although even with my best efforts it has happened to some mantids I've had before, as it's nearly impossible to get 100% of them removed as some strings eventually appear even if it is current free of them. The mantids that I seen eat hot glue strings, suffered no ill-effects and lived normal lives. Nearly all hot glue sticks are inert and non-toxic, that is once it has cooled and dried in string or glob form (melted hot glue and the fumes is another matter).

Surely your mantid will be fine as well, and will either regurgitate it later on, or pass it in frass.


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## Digger (Jun 16, 2017)

CA:

Photon seems just fine today.  Thanks for the words of experience. I may have to give him a little Milk of Magnesia, though   :blink:


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## CosbyArt (Jun 17, 2017)

Digger said:


> CA:
> 
> Photon seems just fine today.  Thanks for the words of experience. I may have to give him a little Milk of Magnesia, though   :blink:


Glad to hear Photon is doing fine.  Your welcome, and if you do give him something avoid the mint flavored milk of magnesia - that stuff is horrible.


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## StormyMyth729 (Jul 18, 2017)

I'm a new mantis keeper..but I did use hot glue to modify an enclosure and there's a trick to avoiding hot glue strings if you haven't tried yet....when hot gluing keep a little container of cold water close by. Right after applying the glue stick your finger in the cold water and run it along the glue..seems to really get rid of those strings fast!


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