# When Will Your Mantis Molt



## agent A (May 27, 2009)

Refusing food, slow movements, cloudy appearance, swollen abdomen, very alert, trying to find a molting perch. A well fed nymph molts every 10-25 days on average. If molting is disturbed, a mismolt could happen and the mantis could die. Mantids usually molt in the evening or early morning hours. That's all I got.


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## Rick (May 27, 2009)

Well thanks. Glad you cleared that one up for us. You forgot to mention mismolts can happen without the mantis being disturbed.

Here, make sure to check this forum out: http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showforum=15


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## hibiscusmile (May 27, 2009)

Hey Agent A, stricking at the food is a good sign too!


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## jameslongo (May 27, 2009)

Rick said:


> Well thanks. Glad you cleared that one up for us. You forgot to mention mismolts can happen without the mantis being disturbed.Here, make sure to check this forum out: http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showforum=15


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## agent A (May 28, 2009)

Mismolts can happen either way, but without disturbence and with good humidity, it's very rare. My sister's first pet mantis died of a mismolt. My L4 budwing won't eat, but is shooing away his food.


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## PhilinYuma (May 28, 2009)

agent A said:


> Mismolts can happen either way, but without disturbence and with good humidity, it's very rare.


Probably not very rare according to the reports of numerous experienced members of this forum. Yager, who raises thousand of mantids in his lab, cites it as the commonest cause of his specimens' mortality and suggests that "_anything_ that disrupts the normal hormonal patterns of nymphal development can also cause problems" (Prete p.315).*

Another cause of mismolts is using enclosures that are not tall enough,&gt;3X the length of the mantis.

* The reason that I'm citing Prete's book so much today is that it finally circulated around to the mess under my computer table. It will be gone in a day or two, and I probably won't see it again for weeks, so I'm enjoying it while I can.


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## matt020593 (May 29, 2009)

Rick said:


> Well thanks. Glad you cleared that one up for us.


 :lol:


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## agent A (May 29, 2009)

Well one of my creobroters molted last night. It is now L3, just like my other one.


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## jameslongo (May 29, 2009)

agent A said:


> Well one of my creobroters molted last night. It is now L3, just like my other one.


Congrats. Has it started changing colours yet, or still brown?


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## agent A (May 30, 2009)

Turns out the other is L5, but was L3 when I got it. It was yellow when it was L3. The other one is L3 now, but still brownish red. My budwing isn't eating. I hope it molts.


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## keithjmc (Jun 8, 2009)

agent A said:


> Mismolts can happen either way, but without disturbence and with good humidity


Wouldn't misting the cage disturb them? When I mist they start running around.

Also, when do you think the first molt would be for a Chinese Mantis? It's been about 6 days since they hatched and some are eating but others are turning away food.


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## agent A (Jun 8, 2009)

From my experience, your chinese mantis hatchlings have at least 6 more days before the first molt.


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## Rick (Jun 8, 2009)

Keith said:


> Wouldn't misting the cage disturb them? When I mist they start running around.Also, when do you think the first molt would be for a Chinese Mantis? It's been about 6 days since they hatched and some are eating but others are turning away food.


If the substrate is moist there is no need to mist daily. They can drown in large drops of water. They should be molting any day now. Some may have molted but you might not notice at first.


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## keithjmc (Jun 17, 2009)

agent A said:


> From my experience, your chinese mantis hatchlings have at least 6 more days before the first molt.





Rick said:


> If the substrate is moist there is no need to mist daily. They can drown in large drops of water. They should be molting any day now. Some may have molted but you might not notice at first.


OK so I had some of my first few molt! They look so much bigger by comparison.

My question now is, I have a little over 10 in the same enclosure and some still haven't molted. Should I be ok dropping a few flies in?


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## agent A (Jun 17, 2009)

I would separate L2 chinese nymphs from L1, they're cannabals, and don't disturb mantids at molting time.


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## Rick (Jun 17, 2009)

Keith said:


> OK so I had some of my first few molt! They look so much bigger by comparison.My question now is, I have a little over 10 in the same enclosure and some still haven't molted. Should I be ok dropping a few flies in?


Well you gotta feed em. When I have many nymphs living together I dump flies in every other day.


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