Bad molt, should I intervene?

[sterlingspider]

One of my nymphs (I think it's a Chinese) is in the middle of a molt and it's looking pretty bad. I think this is either L1 to L2 or L2 to L3.

I found it on the floor of its enclosure but I'm not sure if it started there or fell. It seemed to be having trouble getting anything free so I decided to hang it up. I managed to get it hooked up to hang in its enclosure and have misted the heck out of things.

Its entire body is free but all of its legs and its antennae are still stuck in the old skin. It's been twitching its abdomen regularly and occasionally gives a really big struggle but doesn't seem to be getting anywhere. It's been like this for a couple of hours now.

It's so tiny I'm not even sure where I would start in freeing it manually, but I'd really hate to see it get stuck like this without doing anything.

This is as good an image as I could get with my digital camera, but it does give you an idea what I am talking about. For a bit of scale: the white stuff it's hanging off of is craft mesh.

 

[Rob Byatt]

I'm afraid that it is too late to do anything now; the exoskeleton has already begun to harden and the shape it has formed will stay as it is.

The best thing to do now is put it in the freezer, sorry.

Rob.

 

[sterlingspider]

I'm afraid that it is too late to do anything now; the exoskeleton has already begun to harden and the shape it has formed will stay as it is.The best thing to do now is put it in the freezer, sorry.

Rob.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I expected.

I made some attempts at getting it free but I can tell it's pretty much a lost cause. Its body seems to have hardened into a C shape and there's no way it'll survive like that.

I have another nymph from the same ooth, I was going to feed them today but have been kind of wrapped up in this molt, should I even bother since the other one is pretty likely to molt too?

 

[Rob Byatt]

If it is fat then I would leave it be. Just give it a light spray and take a look in the morning.

 

[Rick]

No saving that one. It happens.

 

[OGIGA]

I would have tried wetting it, but it's way too late now. If it's still around, I would feed it to another mantis.

 

[robo mantis]

It happens sorry man

 

[sterlingspider]

I would have tried wetting it, but it's way too late now. If it's still around, I would feed it to another mantis.

I did but to no avail. And the only other mantis I have was from the same ooth so it was a pretty good bet that it would shed today or tomorrow too (and it did, it's hanging and presumably hardening now). It was so small I dont think my tarantulas would have even noticed it, and I'm not sure I could do that anyway.

The crappiest part of the whole thing is that I think it hadn't hardened yet when I first found it. I left it alone figuring I should let it do its own thing, but now I wonder if I had tried getting it out of the skin then if it could have been saved.

 

[Insect Guy]

Well, look at it this way, at least you learned something out of it. Next time you will be better prepared.

 

[sterlingspider]

Well three days later and not only has the living one come through molting with flying colors (grew back part of a missing leg at that) but I just got another of it's siblings to care for.

It looks like that one is about ready to go through the same molt, but this time I'm misting the living heck out of it so hopefully no mismolt repeats. *crosses fingers*

 

[OGIGA]

Careful not to have any puddles in there. Some of my mantises have fallen into small puddles of water (like a drop of water) while I was gone and they're crippled. One molt later and they're fine. They just require a lot more attention when they're cripple because they can't catch food on their own.

 

[sterlingspider]

Careful not to have any puddles in there. Some of my mantises have fallen into small puddles of water (like a drop of water) while I was gone and they're crippled. One molt later and they're fine. They just require a lot more attention when they're cripple because they can't catch food on their own.

The new mantid molted just fine (it did so that very evening in fact). I have them in small plastic condiment shakers (like the kind they put cheese in in pizza places) with coffee filter set in the lids to keep in the fruit flies, "twigs" of craft mesh, and coconut husk substrate (the Eco Earth type stuff, I use it for my tarantulas). The coconut husk seems to make a pretty absorbant and cushy bottom surface and I'm hoping that'll also help with humidity, as even with a humidifier running in the room it's incredibly dry.

I have to fight to keep the new one in its enclosure. While the first one is pretty content to sit and chill out hanging from the lid while I feed and do maintenance the new one is ALL over the place the minute I move it.