# Do we put mantis to "sleep"?



## Dartania (May 14, 2006)

Hey everyone. We have an H. grandis female, about 2 molts away from her final molt. About 2 weeks ago, her front claw forcep experienced a hard impact in a feeding accident. Part of the forcep turned dark green, and she walked with a slight limp. We noticed she could no longer open it. She now cannot grab onto food. She repeatedly attacks, but cannot secure a grip with only one claw. We have gotten her to eat by hand-feeding her, and thought that we could continue on this way. However to our horror, she has started eating the dead forcep. She has eaten almost half. Besides this being extremly gross, we don't want her to live on if she is in pain. Does anyone know why she is eating her own leg, and if she will continue. Should we end her misery? I don't want that to be the way to go, but I also don't want her to suffer.

Thanks


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## Lukony (May 14, 2006)

Don't kill her off. I have a spiny flower mantis that I had accidentally closed the top on its claw and pretty much maimed it. He went on for a while just like yours and then all of a sudden he started eating his claw. Just look at it this way, if you had an arm that had been crusehd and was slowly dieing, wouldn't you cut it off? Hopefully in a molt of so it will gain back some of the claw. I am not saying that I know what is right, but this is my own experience. You might have to keep hand feeding it but, there is no reason that I can see for it to be killed. It is just doing what is natural.


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## infinity (May 14, 2006)

Kinda on that topic... one of mine lost the tips of its back legs... I TRIED very finely securing them with strang to the cage roof (so that it could moult as normal next time) but it didn't work... (broke free)

but i know that occasionally mantids can moult standing up... what are my chances?


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## Lukony (May 14, 2006)

If your mantid does fall while molting. Try and get it misted and then if you that desperate, take the part of the molted skin and start to pull and help it molt. I have down it once before. it is a bit risky, but when a mantid falls I guess you do what you can. That is just my opinion though. I wouldn't worry too much about it being able to hang. I have had mantids like tri pod that only had 3 legs at it molted just fine.


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## Rick (May 14, 2006)

Having one front leg incapacitated should not prevent the mantis from catching food. They can catch food with just one.


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## ellroy (May 14, 2006)

I have no moral objections to putting a sick mantis out of its misery but it sounds like yours will be ok after a moult. If it really can't catch food for itself I would hand feed it til the next moult then hopefully it will be able to fend for itself.

Alan


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## Dartania (May 14, 2006)

weird. She just couldn't seem to catch food when we hand fed with tweezers. She'd keep striking and missing. However, tying a string around a cricket and dangling it infront of her worked. She ate two crickets, so it looks like she's gonna be fine. Thanks everyone who answered.


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## danswan (Aug 22, 2006)

I had a Wahlberghi that was losing a foreleg to rot, and also wondered about euthenasia.

I did some reasearch into bugs and pain, and found that the nervous system of insects is too primitive too allow them to feel pain the way we do. For the most part, they don't feel pain, only vague sensations.

Let you critter live... Until it's obviously beyond recovery.


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## jellyflakes (Sep 23, 2006)

funny this happend with a locust 4 me


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