adult Alalomantis sick?

[Findarato]

My Alalomantis female has been doing well for 3 months since molting to adult, and she has laid 5 oothecae. A few days ago I noticed she is hanging upside down ad supporting herself with the claws. Her abdomen hangs downwards (as if it were too heavy for her, but she has been fatter before layng her ooths). and in this position she does not move around like she has before, only hangs and supports herself with all 6 feet. She is not interested in eating, unless I feed her by hand, offering the locust or cricket at the right angle.

I had that before in an adult Hierodula female and she died a few weeks later, after stopping eating (because she could not catch food when using her claws for hanging, and she would not let me feed her).

I hope this one does not end the same. What can cause this? has anyone seen such before? 3 months adult is not so much she could be old yet. Her last ooth was 10 days ago. She reacts normally when I touch her (not liking being touched).

I am just asking this quite early after noticing change in posture, so maybe I can still do something for her. She has been eating crickets, flies and locusts through her life, and the occasional moth from outside. I mist her enclosure once daily. And I seldom took her out of her cage to handle her, since she hates being touched.

 

[Findarato]

Update: she laid an ooth last night, but she did not attach it anywhere but dropped it. I have had mantids for some time now, but I never saw this before. Has such happened to anyone, and is anything wrong with this mantis?

She acts normal but has still difficulties hanging with her 4 legs and sometimes uses the claws for support. But she greedily ate the cricket I offered her this afternoon.

I don't want to bother you, but I would appreciate an answer to my maybe stupid question. She has been laying her 5 ooths every fortnight, and was mated before the first. This ooth was the sixth, so could it be she has exhausted herself with laying so frequently?

 

[massaman]

they could be the same ooth being laid if she was interrupted somehow and kept laying the rest of the ooth that she prob would of laid in its entirity!

 

[Findarato]

That she had with her last ooth, it was laid in 2 portions (but they looked like ooths)

Ok update again:

She laid 2 times more, without attaching the foam to anything. actually she pressed ooth foam into a thin, stringy mass which fell to the bottom of her enclosure. I took it out, and it looked like chewing gum one pulls into a string with one's teeth and lets dry. I did not see any eggs, just foam.

She liked the honey I offered afterwards, but she has difficulties moving around. She nearly fell from her net ceiling and now she tries to get up again.

I suspect she has problems with her eggs or something else in her belly (although nothing shows from outside), and guess she will not make it for much longer. She seems hungry, but would not catch anything when her claws are occupied in supporting her. I will offer her a cricket once she settles down.

If you have any ideas what I could do for her, please tell me.

 

[ismart]

Sounds like her life is coming to an end. 3 months may not seem to long to us, but for some mantids it's already a life time. She is becoming old, and weak. 5 ooths is quite a bit! All you could do for her is make her comfortable and hand feed her till the end. Look on the bright side, you will have plenty of hatchlings soon!

 

[Findarato]

thanks for your replies, massaman and ismart.

I fed her a cricket today which she ate greedily. so as long as she eats and lets me handfeed her, I leave her alone. And I have her babies, they are L3 now. funnily the male I mated her with is still healthy and eating, I expected her to live longer than him.

But it maybe that she exhausted herself with oothlaying, I never had a mantis before that laid ooths every 14 days.