Adult Mantis: Damaged Eyes, No Longer Hunting

[Coneja]

My adult male H. patellifera has stopped hunting for himself for a couple of weeks or so now... I've taken to hand feeding him decapitated mealworms (which he'll only eat one of in a sitting). I've thrown several flies and moths into his enclosure, but he either just looks at them or strikes at them: can't tell if he's missing them when he strikes or if he's just trying to get them away from him. Yet, he eagerly will eat a single mealworm if I touch the guts to his mouth.

This decreased interest in food seemed like it happened after he started constantly roaming his cage in search of females. (He's calmed down a bit now but still can be pretty active.) He had a wonderful piece of driftwood in his container but kept getting himself into tight positions around it so I took it out. I think he damaged his eyes one of the times he wedged himself between the wood and the terrarium: what was first slightly darker green spots on his eyes have turned noticeably darker. From Orin's book, this sounds like it was caused by physical damage. I thought this wouldn't affect his hunting ability, but maybe it has and that's why he's missing his food? He seems to not even try striking at prey items anymore, though...

Other than those two things, the only other possible sign of aging I've seen is that he's having a little more trouble gripping things. Still has all of his tarsi but just isn't as "sure-footed" as he used to be. He's been an adult for almost two months now, which seems like a short amount of time for him to be declining in health this fast... any thoughts?

 

[ScienceGirl]

This is really sad... Will you continue to hand feed him and care for him, or is he destined for the freezer?

You should take and post some pictures and videos, so we can see what you are talking about.

Also, ask Orin once you post the pictures to look at them.

 

[Coneja]

I will keep hand feeding him. He's my bud. I will try and get some pics later today of his eyes...

 

[Coneja]

It might be a little hard to see his eyes, and they may look just like night eyes but they've been like that for a bit now, even in regular/bright light.

​

I may have to figure out how to resize these, because they're big on my computer but not here... The rest of him looks normal.

 

[Coneja]

Here are some better pictures. Does anyone think his lack of hunting is due to damaged eyesight, or just old age?

​

http://s686.photobucket.com/user/Coneja_roano/media/DSCN0512_zps38b9d0e1.jpg.html'>

​

 

[ScienceGirl]

About how old is he?

My last old girl mantis slowed down when she got older. She couldn't cling to things upside down or she would fall. She couldn't grasp thing very well and had a bit of a hard time just holding herself up.

Try chilling the prey in the fridge or freezer for a little bit. Insects are cold-blooded, so they don't feel cold or shiver - their systems just slow down. Maybe he'll be able to catch them better. Also, a smaller cage might be a better option, so he has less distance to cover in tracking prey.

 

[Paradoxica]

It sounds like a combination of two things to me. He's more concerned about mating than he is about eating (which is actually pretty common for adult males). And he's definitely showing damage from eye rubbing, Ive had a few with very similar damage, and it seemed to create a blind spot but not total blindness.

 

[Coneja]

I got him as an L2 at the start of January, so he's over six months which doesn't seem like that old to me, considering they often live to a year.

I'll start chilling his prey items again... but really they go right by him a lot and he just watches them. I also don't want to move him back to his smaller cage yet, either; with all his roaming around, I wouldn't want to do that. You're suggestion makes me think maybe I will simplify his cage, though... Remove the plants and decorations and replace with a paper towel for easier prey visibility...

Thanks for the replies, guys.

 

[lancaster1313]

How long has he been adult? He is probably being a normal old male mantis. They sometimes will only eat 1 or 2 times a week.

His eyes don't look that bad. I will bet he can see enough to catch prey if he wants to eat.

 

[ScienceGirl]

Can you document when he eats and what prey he ate for us?

 

[Coneja]

He's been an adult for about 2 months, which doesn't seem that long to me but I get the impression males don't tend to live as long as females?

I've been feeding him about one mealworm (he usually tosses the tip away, so I know he's full) per night... sometimes every other night when things get busy. Before, I was throwing in flies and moths; he'd eat the heads off the flies (his favorite part) and chuck the rest away so I thought he was plenty full. But then he stopped eating them completely: he'd kind of strike at them but I couldn't tell if it was to get them away from him or if he was trying to catch them. At this point, his eyes weren't damaged, I don't think, or at least it hadn't manifested itself yet. But he continued to eat sparingly/not at all: I was feeding him flies mostly that I'd caught outside but he wasn't eating them. I started hand feeding him mealworms because it looked like his abdomen was getting skinny: sort of "tucked in" just behind his lower legs. So I started doing the mealworms (which I know aren't ideal in nutrition because of the chitin) which he would eagerly eat and grasp. The other night I tried feeding him a massive crane fly but he was less than interested in that, even after I offered him the guts (he only took a little). So, it's back to mealworms (of which he won't eat the single brown string of guts). He's fairly particular about his food, so he may just be a picky aging mantis who's more interested in the ladies than eating...

 

[lancaster1313]

You don't need to feed him every day. You can try every couple days and it would be fine for him.

 

[Mantiskid]

It sounds to me like he's just old...but it does seem strange since he's only been an adult for two months (?). I have had several of my Mantids begin acting very weak and disoriented in the past; sometimes they even act as though they are dying. Most of the time, it was caused by too much humidity and not enough ventilation or temperatures too high for them to handle. But sometimes, I don't know what causes it. I once had an L6 Creo that began acting similar to what you've described and never went back to normal. Maybe just try hand feeding him and see if he gets better??

 

[Krissim Klaw]

No wonder he isn't striking at food! One meal worm hand delivered daily, why would he hunt? :tt2:

Boys don't eat near as much as the girls. It isn't unusual for them to go a couple days without eating before they will feel hungry enough to hunt something down.

 

[Coneja]

No wonder he isn't striking at food! One meal worm hand delivered daily, why would he hunt? :tt2:

Yeah, I know... My sister says I am spoiling him, and I guess I am. He just wasn't eating well prior to that point and because he looked kind of skinny, I started hand feeding. Maybe I will back off and see if he hunts on his own... How long can they go without food, typically? His abdomen is what I would call a nice medium size right now (not plump).

 

[sally]

Yeah, I know... My sister says I am spoiling him, and I guess I am. He just wasn't eating well prior to that point and because he looked kind of skinny, I started hand feeding. Maybe I will back off and see if he hunts on his own... How long can they go without food, typically? His abdomen is what I would call a nice medium size right now (not plump).

I did the same with my Sweeny, Rhombodera stalli. He waits for his butter worms and honey. I even had to hand him a fly today... I totally spoiled him.

 

[dgerndt]

Males don't eat very much as adult. You only need to feed him a few times a week; every other day or so. Also, they don't live nearly as long as females. He might be getting old and tired. It's not that unusual for a male to only live a few months as an adult.

 

[Coneja]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone: I appreciate the input and it's reassuring to hear that he's not starving when I can't get to him some nights. (I was pretty sure it was fine but didn't like skipping a day or two.)

He is hunting a little, because a week back I found a headless fly and some torn-up moth wings. So I will continue to let him catch his own food, but "supplement" him occasionally with mealworms if I feel he needs it.