# STRINGED UP POOP???



## asdsdf (Nov 2, 2007)

Oh, no, one of my boxers has poop stuck to the mantis still, and seems to be connected by a clear string. :blink: I tried removing it, but it seems pretty stuck inside there. Has anyone had this before? I hope it's not constipated or something... :blink: Pretty serious though, so please help me! (Yes, I tried searching.)


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## robo mantis (Nov 3, 2007)

So it was captive bred? It might be a parasite that went down through the generations. Or it might be sick try giving it honey, water, and some good food. The mantis should poop the rest out.


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## hibiscusmile (Nov 3, 2007)

Don't say that, it could not have a worm, I won't have it :blink: . Them was my babies, give it some smashed banana, that'll make it poop.


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## asdsdf (Nov 3, 2007)

Thanks for a reply. Hmmmm.....what's good food? Currently, practically the only thing it can eat is d.melanogaster. All of the other ones are perfectly fine and healthy. I hope it's not a parasite, and don't think it is, because it looks like, hmmm....have you ever noticed a long piece of dust visible because the light is shining on it? It looks like that. with brown spots atttached. Also, thingie out of the butt doesn't move. If it's a worm, however, I heard that a worm came out of mantises abdomen when they put the tip in the water.... Hmmm...  

Edit: Bannana, hmmm....my Nigerians downright refused banana and once they tasted it, just jumped off and started running. I'll try to give it a try though. Seems like a lot of banana will go to the little guy...


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## Rick (Nov 3, 2007)

robo mantis said:


> So it was captive bred? It might be a parasite that went down through the generations. Or it might be sick try giving it honey, water, and some good food. The mantis should poop the rest out.


Not hardly. Just leave it alone and it will likely go away. If it bothers you snip it off close to where it is attached if you can't pull it off.


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## Kruszakus (Nov 3, 2007)

I have that all the time - strangely, it happens usually before moulting.


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## asdsdf (Nov 3, 2007)

Is it exaclty the same? Also, i just noticed, the stingy thing from yesterday is gone, and a new one is there.... :blink:


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## robo mantis (Nov 3, 2007)

Interesting...


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## asdsdf (Nov 3, 2007)

Yes, it is. I guess it's not constipated, but instead, has digestive problems or something? Hope it's not serious....Maybe next molt it'll fix itself? I don't know, but I guess I can wait for a little while, since it's around time for him to molt.


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## asdsdf (Nov 16, 2007)

It died.


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## Mantida (Nov 16, 2007)

Aw, I'm sorry.  

Maybe it was part of its intestine that came out and the poop was passing through the intestine at the end?


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## yen_saw (Nov 18, 2007)

Hmmm are you sure the death is because of the string up poop? I have an adult orchid female that did that to me a while ago. Not sure why was it but she lives on for a long while before dying. She was underfed for a while and that's when i noticed it, it only happened once.


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## Lessian (Dec 31, 2007)

Does anyone have a microscope?

Since a few people have experienced it with varying factors involved, perhaps it would be a good idea to closely examine the stringy thing to try and figure out just what it is? Also to try and figure out if it is related to the mantids deaths.


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## Birdfly (Jan 8, 2008)

The problem could be dietry or perhaps a humidity issue i am unsure but i have had the odd mantis suffer this, best thing you can do is to manualy remove what you can with out pulling at it then use a bit of spittle to soften the hardened feaces and remove gently with a small paint brush/cotton bud. If left alone, untreated the mantis can suffer a fatal back up if you know what i mean. I've had a very high success using this method. They usually die if not treated


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## kamakiri (Oct 16, 2008)

Okay, in the interest of not starting a new thread....

I've got a male Chinese sub-adult that has some solid excrement that was built up and stuck at the tip of the abdomen. Not held by string like the originator of this thread, but what looks like two or three poo pellets packed into the end. found that when I got home yesterday and put wome water on it to soften it and maybe 1/2 to 2/3rds fell off wet. There was still some left this morning so I sprayed a little more water on it and left for work.

Based on some of the searching I did, it probably doesn't look good for this guy...

To make matters worse, ambient humidity in the last couple of days was around 10%  

And on top of that the wing buds look full so this may have already interfered with his molt to adulthood.

Any other suggestions besides water spray if this is not clear when I get home?


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## mrblue (Oct 16, 2008)

i cannot give any suggestions however i had pretty much the same thing that you described happen to one of my mantids. it started when i fed one of my g.gongylodes a butterfly i caught outside one day. it snapped it up and ate it no problem. however for about a week after it would hang very low and loose, as if almost about to drop from the branches. it looked very weak and would not catch/eat as much as before. also there were multiple lumps of faces building up around the tip of the abdomen. i did not interfere with it, simply kept it as normal. eventually after about a week or two of hanging low and seeming weak, it perked up a little and began to eat agan. the faeces was still a problem though. after a good long while (alot longer than her siblings) she moulted and has been fine since. i have no idea if it was the butterfly or not, only that the weakness and backup began the day after eating this one butterfly. anyway, good luck with your mantis. i would say spraying a little more than usual, not offering some food for a little while and maybe even trying to gently wipe off the backup might help, but thats just off the top of my head. goodluck!


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## kamakiri (Oct 17, 2008)

Thanks mrblue...well he's still alive and it did look better after water spraying again tonight. Most of what was left this morning is now gone. It just looks like the various parts at the tip aren't as closed-up as normal just yet. I'm hoping it molts overnight or tomorrow and that the molt would clear up the rest of any constipation.


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## kamakiri (Oct 17, 2008)

Just an update...

Before I went to bed, he looked like he was finally settling in to molt. First thing this morning he was half way through the final molt. Decided to watch closely since it looked like the abdomen hadn't fully released near the rear end. He was still attached that way when the wings started pumping up so I knew he was stuck, but I decided to wait a bit longer to intervene. After the wings were pumped up about a centimeter and he started using his hind legs to push the cast skin, I figured he needed a bit of help as he looked like he was pulling with the front legs and pushing with the hind legs with a fair amount of effort and I haven't seen that before. Normally they just pop out once they start to use all 6 legs to turn around and face up or hang to pump the wings. And the skin was only attached to the housing by one foot at this point.

So I helped pull at the skin by grabbing at the base of the hind legs. Most of the abdomen came out, but it looked like the cerci were stuck...and bad as the end of the skin went inside out at the tip. I kept gentle pulling pressure on and gave a few small twists and wiggles and the cerci finally came free after a couple of minutes. They were still intact but pointing 'up' almost 90 degrees. The whole rear of the abdomen still didn't quite look normal, and the wings were about 90% pumped up before I left for work...so I guess he'll live if the constipation doesn't persist.

I'm not sure he'll be able to mate though...the cerci were still bent when I left.  

Not sure if I'll disect the cast skin, but I suspect the stuck poo bound/pinched/pinned the cerci during the molt.


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## kamakiri (Oct 21, 2008)

Well, just for the record he didn't make it. Developed some of the same constipation problem since and died sometime yesterday.


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