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I've had a mantis that lost a back leg, and he was walking fine. Are you sure there aren't any other problems? If she can't walk at all, that's pretty bad... how long ago was the molt? You can try feeding her by impaling crickets on a tack, if you need to.

Well, to be fair, aren't all of our actions just reactions to external stimuli? :D It's a pretty vague way of describing things. Anyway, just because an organisms' nervous system is structured differently from a human's does not exclude the possibility of having similar functions. An octopus...

I've always wondered about the cognitive abilities of most animals, from dogs to chickens to earthworms, and especially mantids and other insects. In terms of their ability to learn and solve problems, animals such as fish and invertebrates are often either not taken seriously or simply ignored...

@Jessie It's okay, from what I've seen around here, this is a pretty laid back community. ^-^ Anyway, I wish you the best of luck with Bugsey- he's absolutely adorable, you must be so pleased! On a side note, that's why I never handle George for more than a few minutes at a time; she jumped on...

@Jessie My package came more than five hours ago and the spiders have settled into their new homes! Hopefully your mantis does the same! :D

Congratulations! When my first two nymphs were coming in the mail, I was so anxious I couldn't stop pacing around the house, especially because they were late from Christmas rush. Both of them came safe and sound, though! I'm also doing that today, I've got two jumping spiders coming in the...

That's the first time I've seen a ghost mantis in action, and I must say, that little crest is adorable!

@Chalc The crickets have just been eating green gut loading blocks (intended for reptiles, though), and other crickets, of course. My mantis isn't showing anything else yet, but she's only been pink for a few hours.

My giant Asian mantis molted a few days ago. I actually caught her in the act and watched it happen, which was neat, and she came out a lovely greenish tan with brown legs. I've heard this species can change color between molts, so this didn't worry me one bit... ...except that was several days...

Crickets have a way of somehow managing to move even when they're partially flattened, dripping with blood, and have a giant thumbtack through the middle. The thing was definitely moving, the nymph just wasn't interested. I'll try honey later today, but the nymph has not moved at all in over 24...

I spent about an hour trying to coax the nymph to eat; I squashed a cricket, impaled it on a tack, and rubbed it on his face repeatedly. I'd usually get it to nibble for a second and then quit, so I'm pretty sure it's a lost cause by now. I left the cricket in the cage just in case the mantis...

@CosbyArt He managed to catch some fruit flies a few days ago, but seems to have broken both raptorial arms in the process. One of them is missing a foot, the other can't hold anything, but it might just be because the legs are bent and the nymph can't sit up properly. He's definitely hungry...

I never thought I'd get attached to my own mantis, let alone my little brother's, but a recent disaster with his pet has me holding back tears whenever I think about it. So I guess I'm pretty attached. :')

Like the title says, I just want to know whether or not people get attached to their mantids. I know a lot of people just think of them as decorations, a way to spend their time, or even the way they would think of a really neat toy- all of which are perfectly understandable- but I've also heard...

The nymph has since eaten (fruit flies were there originally) and reverted to its original behavior of getting stuck in corners and faceplanting when attempting to walk. The abdomen looks shrunken and disfigured.

Surprisingly, the nymph is suddenly doing a lot better a few hours after the molt. He's been climbing again, but shakily. Still not entirely sure he'll be okay, but at least I know not to use paper towels anymore.

The nymph  molted today (barely an hour ago, actually) and the leg has regrown completely, although it's shorter and paler than the others. Unfortunately, due to a recent accident, I think I'll have to stick him in the freezer. Somehow, he got trapped under the paper towel I use in the...

Hah, that's adorable! My H. membranacea nymph hates being on my hand, but my brother's nymph is content anywhere you put him. A lot of people would say that they're just a bug, and they only have instincts- and this is at the very least true of our current understanding of mantids- but bees...

@Lalaland Yeah, it's honestly kind of a big pet peeve of mine when people who call themselves "animal lovers" also say that "the only good spider is a dead spider". I just cannot relate to people with such an arrow viewpoint, at all.   My brother is mostly interested in astronomy and...

  My little brother decided he wanted a pet praying mantis, so we researched together for about two months, until my dad and I decided to surprise him for Christmas. We got a pair of L3ish giant Asian nymphs from bugsincyberspace.com, and we're really enjoying them. He decided that one would be...