# problems shedding



## woo boo hui wan (Jul 30, 2008)

well my mantis, one of them has just started molting and getting its wings! well it started yesterday morning. and then i noticed it got to a point ant stopped. so now its the next day and hes barely made it out a little further. does the last molt of the one where they get their wings take longer? is there something i can do to help or no? its like he got stuck half way out and sloooooowly getting out i mean real slow. hes still moving when i give a lil blow of air on him. but seems to be getting tired.

any advice is appreciated thanks


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## mrblue (Jul 30, 2008)

moults shouldnt take longer than about ten or fifteen minutes. much onger than this means the mantis is having difficulties and will probaby not make it out fine. there is nothing you can do to help it ,aside from euthanasia i guess, as the mantis will probably eventualy die in the position it is in.


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## woo boo hui wan (Jul 30, 2008)

yea i figures that, so i should try and help? its gotten a little further than before but still slow. the wings are now almost fully open but it seems his antennae are still connected and hes stuck. hopefully he dont die  i only got 4 left.


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## Cosmic (Jul 30, 2008)

Try spraying his container with warm water, this will increase the humidity and hopefully help the rest of the skin off.


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## woo boo hui wan (Jul 30, 2008)

thanks cosmic, i started spraying water in there yesterday and i noticed it helped. ive taken him out and helped with some very fine scissors, making sure to be VERY careful. ive helped him out A LOT and hes or even she, has the two bottom legs and the ###### end to go, which i figure he can do himself as it seems hes slowly wiggling out of it. the bottom wings have started to come out and they have an amazing pattern on them! hopefully the little one makes it!


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## Meiji (Jul 30, 2008)

Not that it matters much, but what species is he/she?


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## woo boo hui wan (Jul 30, 2008)

iris oratoria ^^

so far its gotten out even more, mainly its just got the old skin on the end of its ######, and also the end of the legs. which seems to be keeping it from bending its legs properly. poor little guy makes me sad


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## Rick (Jul 30, 2008)

If they get stuck they "dry" in that position very quickly. A stuck mantis almost always comes out deformed.


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## MantidLord (Jul 30, 2008)

Yeah, I watched my I. oratorias male and females molt within 15 minutes with no problems. Full set of wings. I couldn't imagine humidity as a problem, as this species needs almost none, and I didn't spray my subadults once. I also live in the very dry and hot Nevada, so I don't know what the problem really is. I hope he/she comes out okay. Wings don't matter, unless you plan on letting them go. As long as the reproductive parts and leg/arms are fine, the mantis is fine. Good luck, and please update us!


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## woo boo hui wan (Jul 30, 2008)

rick yea, i think that is what has happened. his head was pinned down like as if you put your chin you your chest. and after i made it so he can move his head is still kind of stuck there.

i dont think the little one will make it sadly. is there a quick way to kill him, i dont want to let it suffer  

i still have 3 more. hopefully theres a male and a female and they mate.

at least i gave 100 or so back to nature


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## Meiji (Jul 30, 2008)

woo boo hui wan said:


> ...his head was pinned down like as if you put your chin you your chest. and after i made it so he can move his head is still kind of stuck there.


I think the position you describe is bitterly familiar to most breeders. Only a few minutes ago, I fed a mantis stuck like that to another mantis


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## chrisboy101 (Jul 31, 2008)

woo boo hui wan said:


> rick yea, i think that is what has happened. his head was pinned down like as if you put your chin you your chest. and after i made it so he can move his head is still kind of stuck there. i dont think the little one will make it sadly. is there a quick way to kill him, i dont want to let it suffer
> 
> i still have 3 more. hopefully theres a male and a female and they mate.
> 
> at least i gave 100 or so back to nature


freezer?


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## MantidLord (Jul 31, 2008)

You should be able to sex your other three Iris oratorias at this point if they are sub-adults.


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## woo boo hui wan (Jul 31, 2008)

yea i know i should, i know how but forgot the details. i know u gotta count the segments on its back or something.

anyways i couldn't stand watching it suffer anymore not being able to move or anything, i put it in the freezer for 2 mins or so. makes me real sad and made today a real bummer. gave him a little burial outside r.i.p little guy.


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## MantidLord (Aug 1, 2008)

woo boo hui wan said:


> yea i know i should, i know how but forgot the details. i know u gotta count the segments on its back or something.anyways i couldn't stand watching it suffer anymore not being able to move or anything, i put it in the freezer for 2 mins or so. makes me real sad and made today a real bummer. gave him a little burial outside r.i.p little guy.


Yeah, I give my good ones a burial too. To sex them, 8 segments on its underside (abdomen) is a male. 6 is a female. Once they hit adult, the males have full wings, while the females don't. Please keep us posted on their progress.


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## woo boo hui wan (Aug 2, 2008)

ok when you say full wings? does that mean they go all the way down to the tip. one just shedded and it only took a few minutes so i know for sure the other had problems. man is it big!!! wow waht a jump in size from the last shed. well so back to the wings. ill look for segments but the wings on it dont go to the very tip they go until there is about a half inch gap between the edge and the wing tip. but anyways i tried to count the segments, im pretty sure one is female for sure and the other might be male hes in a pretty hidden spot i cant count it as good yet.

!!!! i went to look in the middle of this post and another is molting and gettin its wings! how long and what are the chances of them mating and giving me another ooth?


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## MantidLord (Aug 3, 2008)

The mantis you described is a female. Males have wings that go to the tip. Females don't. You can mate this species 2 days after a molt. Put the male in an enclosure with enough room. Then introduce the female. He'll look at her and eventually make his move. Give her some food as well. The males react faster when they see the female preoccupied with food. You should have an ooth in about two weeks if you stuff the female. Let me know how it goes.


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## The_Asa (Aug 3, 2008)

I'd wait a little more than 2 days to mate them. I like to feed both well before their...um...activities.


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## woo boo hui wan (Aug 4, 2008)

well i have two females and one left to molt and is smaller. im guessing is the male. hopefully he hurries up and molts because i want some more ooths for next year. oh and there all in the same cage already. and i feed them as much as possible. i will just let them do there natural thing.


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## MantidLord (Aug 4, 2008)

woo boo hui wan said:


> well i have two females and one left to molt and is smaller. im guessing is the male. hopefully he hurries up and molts because i want some more ooths for next year. oh and there all in the same cage already. and i feed them as much as possible. i will just let them do there natural thing.


I wouldn't worry, I've mated different mantids 10+ times, and no eaten males yet. Of course it wouldn't hurt to feed the females a little before. But just save room for giving her food once the male is ready to mate. I mated a male with thee different females, and he mated with two of them twice. I'm sure you have a shot. You don't need to wait a week to mate them though. This species can mate after a full 24 hours after molting. I would seperate the two females though. Once the females are pregnate, anything is food :blink: Keep the male with them, as he'll want to remate with the females as much as possible. Plus he'll only have a week or two to live afterword anyway. Good luck


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## woo boo hui wan (Aug 6, 2008)

thanks mantis lord. i will probly have to seperate the females. they seem to be giving each other the eye of hunger. are the the male one hasent even shed to adult yet so i dont think they can mate yet. he should pretty soon, hopefully.


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## Guest_kakistos_* (Aug 6, 2008)

If you put him in the freezer for 2 minutes, he did not die! You should've left him in there for hours. When I use the freezer to calm down crickets, after 10 minutes they come out unconcious but after a while they start to move again.


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## Rick (Aug 6, 2008)

For hours? Not hardly. A good ten of fifteen mins is more than enough. A mantis will not survive that. I generally feed them to another mantis or to one of my herps these days though.


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## MantidLord (Aug 6, 2008)

It's good to have the females mature before the males, woo boo, the females live two months longer than the males, so you'll be fine


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## woo boo hui wan (Aug 7, 2008)

> If you put him in the freezer for 2 minutes, he did not die!


well it was a bit more than 2 minutes, and im pretty sure he was dead. the dots in his eyes were gone. he just looked like he had no life in him. i didnt want to do it, but i also didnt want him to suffer in his stuck skin forever.

mantislord- cool good to know.


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