A little concerned

[MantidLord]

Okay, so my I. oratoria subadult female molted into a subadult in January. She's behaving pretty normal, living under normal conditions, and eating a ton of food. The only problem is, she hasn't molted since January! Now I realize that some species of mantids have a long molting lapse between molts, and that the final molt is the longest one. But this is ridiculous for this sp. Last generation, my subadults only needed two weeks for the final molt. This mantis is still eating. I fear she will die as a sub adult. Oh, and please don't ask me if I'm sure she's not an adult. It's painfully obvious. Thanks.

 

[hibiscusmile]

Maybe her name should be Peter Pan :lol: . Some of mine do that, I am not scientific minded enough to know why though. Sorry

 

[ismart]

How hot are you keeping her? I would think the temp would play a pretty important role in her growth rate. Try and raise the temp a bit. I once had a female sub-adult wide-arm with almost the same problem. she would only eat enough to keep her self alive. She survived as a sub-adult for 3 months before she finally died.

 

[kamakiri]

I've only just hatched my first ooth of oratoria, but I think Paul nailed it with the heat issue.

I'd get her under a heat lamp or somewhere not less than 80-85 degrees F.

Good luck to you both!

 

[MantidLord]

Thanks. She's outside where the temp is higher. I didn't think it was the temp, because the last generation was just fine at room temp. I'll give it a try though. Thanks.