# Dessicata is anorexic



## glock34girl (Mar 25, 2013)

She doesn't eat! I have had her for about 15 days and she just came through a molt (she fell but is moving along fine) she only ate one HF since arriving!

I offer her food daily and she refuses it, bats at it, tries to hide from it, freaks out and does everything BUT eat it!

I have offered BB, HF, (she is pre sub or sub) and even melano and hydei and mealies. I even put an L1 T. Sinensis in there and she doesn't go for anything! Today she climbed up on the honey bottle and attacked the droplets on the top so I know she is hungry but why in the world is she not eating? I have tried to hand feed ect. Anyone that has reared this species or anyone that has knowledge... Is this normal? I figured it was normal for her to not want food as she prepared to molt but 72 hours after molt and she thinks she's a supermodel not allowed to eat.


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## hierodula (Mar 25, 2013)

it would be better to leave the food in the enclosure at this point, since the mantis may feel threatened by the tongs. She will eat when she wants.


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## aNisip (Mar 25, 2013)

Yeah leave a bb in her enclosure and shell snap it up...  leave the t sinensis and their overnight and it'll be gone by mornin...lol t sinensis sinensis are always appetizing! ^-^ (jk!, mebbe)


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## Digger (Mar 25, 2013)

GG,

I have an anorexic H. membranacea.

He has taken zero food (nor honey) for about 13 days straight. Otherwise he looks healthy. This behavior can't last too long or he'll starve to death. Like you, I've left perfectly sized crix, BBs or HFs in his cage, but the feeders roam uneaten. He sees them and may occasionally snap his raptors at them, but never for a catch. He's rejected all hand feeding (including oozing yummy goo from cut darkling beetle pupae). I will continue to try, but have pretty much given up hope. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to this starvation behavior (perfect humidity, perfect temperature and daily exercise out of his cage). So I'm assuming he's possessed with some demon, as perhaps your Dessicata is. I've tried calling several priests asking for exorcism prices, but they all just hang up.


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## glock34girl (Mar 25, 2013)

Perhaps they are both named Emily Rose lol I have left the feeders in the enclosure and she just watches them and hides from them and seems startled. I've free ranged her and she gets out a lot. Maybe she's a Kardashian and only eats salad or something. I don't know. My orchid eats EVERYTHING! Lol


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## glock34girl (Mar 26, 2013)

Well, apparently she really likes Chinese food if you catch my drift.


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## hierodula (Mar 26, 2013)

welll, chinese food has been popularized lately......


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## Sticky (Mar 26, 2013)

Digger said:


> GG,
> 
> I have an anorexic H. membranacea.
> 
> He has taken zero food (nor honey) for about 13 days straight. Otherwise he looks heathy. This behavior can't last too long or he'll starve to death. Like you, I've left perfectly sized crix, BBs or HFs in his cage, but the feeders roam uneaten. He sees them and may occasionally snap his raptors at them, but never for a catch. He's rejected all hand feeding (including oozing yummy goo from cut darkling beetle pupae). I will continue to try, but have pretty much given up hope. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to this starvation behavior (perfect humidity, perfect temperature and daily exercise out of his cage). So I'm assuming he's possessed with some demon, as perhaps your Dessicata is. I've tried calling several priests asking for exorcism prices, but they all just hang up.


Dont leave crix! They will hurt your mantis!


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## Tony C (Mar 26, 2013)

glock34girl said:


> Well, apparently she really likes Chinese food if you catch my drift.


Be sure to feed her some more, she'll be hungry again in an hour...


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## aNisip (Mar 26, 2013)

Yeah you recently got a bunch of chinese take out, right? You should be set...for awhile


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## glock34girl (Mar 26, 2013)

Lol I half expected a backlash about feeding a mantis to a mantis. I am worried I won't have a choice but to feed her Kung pao mantis since she refuses everything else.


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## glock34girl (Mar 26, 2013)

She is still hanging out this morning.


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## aNisip (Mar 26, 2013)

If you have too many t sinensis then they will cannibalize each other so your just allowing her to do it rather than sibling murder....


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## robo mantis (Mar 26, 2013)

I have a ghost mantis who rarely eats too and its abdomen was paper thin. I got really nervous and even tried feeding it honey, but it rejected honey also. What i did was i gave it a lot of water and it drank til its abdomen was half full like it just ate a fly. I have a theory that the ones who dont eat are actually dehydrated. Think about it, if you were dehydrated and your mouth was dry, would you be wanting to eat some sort of meat? It seems after they get a huge drink they seem to get back on track in a few days.


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## Digger (Mar 26, 2013)

robo mantis said:


> I have a ghost mantis who rarely eats too and its abdomen was paper thin. I got really nervous and even tried feeding it honey, but it rejected honey also. What i did was i gave it a lot of water and it drank til its abdomen was half full like it just ate a fly. I have a theory that the ones who dont eat are actually dehydrated. Think about it, if you were dehydrated and your mouth was dry, would you be wanting to eat some sort of meat? It seems after they get a huge drink they seem to get back on track in a few days.


Your point is well taken, Robo. Perseus (see above) was very dehydrated this morning. Even though he's properly misted twice daily, he's not getting enough H2O. I put some puddles in front of him this morning and he drank it all. Part of this, of course, is the lack of moisture he'd otherwise absorb from his food. But he's drunk like this before, yet will not eat afterwards.

GG -- cold blooded murder is out of the question. I have two L4 T. sinensis (Orion and Twitch) romping happily in cages next to starving Perseus. Is he waiting for one of them, like a street bum might wait for a filet Mignon with Bearnaise, rather than accepting handouts of turkey sandwiches??


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## sally (Mar 26, 2013)

I give my crew drinks by hand every day. I can cause I only have 11 mantids. They all drink from a dropper quite a lot I might add.


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## gripen (Mar 26, 2013)

Digger said:


> Your point is well taken, Robo. Perseus (see above) was very dehydrated this morning. Even though he's properly misted twice daily, he's not getting enough H2O. I put some puddles in front of him this morning and he drank it all. Part of this, of course, is the lack of moisture he'd otherwise absorb from his food. But he's drunk like this before, yet will not eat afterwards.
> 
> GG -- cold blooded murder is out of the question. I have two L4 T. sinensis (Orion and Twitch) romping happily in cages next to starving Perseus. Is he waiting for one of them, like a street bum might wait for a filet Mignon with Bearnaise, rather than accepting handouts of turkey sandwiches??


How do you know Perseus is dehydrated? What are the symptoms of being dehydrated? Maybe he is just not thirsty.


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## agent A (Mar 26, 2013)

you might wanna have a mod change the title of this topic so it doesnt offend some members


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## Digger (Mar 26, 2013)

gripen said:


> How do you know Perseus is dehydrated? What are the symptoms of being dehydrated? Maybe he is just not thirsty.


grip - I have no clinical evidence of dehydration. However, the dorsal section of his ab was concavely puckered. And, he drank an inordinate amount of H2O. Minutes after taking the water, the puckering filled back out. That's enough for me to conclude dehydration of some degree. Additionally, as aforementioned, he has not eaten any bugs or honey for nearly two weeks. Since mantids get much of their needed H2O from feeders, it's another point of concern for severe lack of normal hydration.


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## Digger (Mar 26, 2013)

agent A said:


> you might wanna have a mod change the title of this topic so it doesnt offend some members


If someone's offended by this title, please give 'em a piece of pie. With ice cream.


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## gripen (Mar 26, 2013)

Digger said:


> grip - I have no clinical evidence of dehydration. However, the dorsal section of his ab was concavely puckered. And, he drank an inordinate amount of H2O. Minutes after taking the water, the puckering filled back out. That's enough for me to conclude dehydration of some degree. Additionally, as aforementioned, he has not eaten any bugs or honey for nearly two weeks. Since mantids get much of their needed H2O from feeders, it's another point of concern for severe lack of normal hydration.


OK thanks. Maybe you should mist him outside the cage. This is just speculation but he may need more water without extra humidity. I say this because infections like humid wet conditions, but he also needs water to flush the infection out.

Just on the off chance that this is the cause, do any of these two mantids have brown or black near their mouths?


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## glock34girl (Mar 26, 2013)

Digger said:


> If someone's offended by this title, please give 'em a piece of pie. With ice cream.


Haha! If anyone is offended then by all means mods please edit the title. I have too many mantids to offer water by hand but I do spray them every day and am very careful to make sure to leave droplets in the enclosure and spray the mantids as well. I think dessicatas a problem was size of prey? It has just gobbled up the Chinese food. Which is good because I have had two other deliveries of Chinese food in the last 24 hours!!!!


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