Hi mantis people,
My brother, who lives on the other side of America, found a mantis yesterday that was heavily injured. He took it in and has been trying to care for it. I told him it is not going to live and he should just mercy kill it, but he refuses to do so. He thinks it can still see because he says it responded to the light he shone on it, but look at the photo and you'll see its compound eyes have been utterly destroyed. Maybe it still has its photosensitive simple eyes, but those are not good enough.
His girlfriend sent me this photo of the unfortunate mantis. She said its jaw is dislocated, both eyes are ripped off, and its back is leaking. My brother has put the mantis on its back in a jar and tried to give it water using a Q-tip. It actually angers me that he is trying to keep it alive rather than just letting it die, because this thing is so far beyond rescue. But you tell me. If it were not already an adult, I would say mmmmaaaayyyyyyyybeeeee there's a chance it could regrow those parts from a molt, but I think it's too weak to even get up, let alone hang from a ceiling. It will probably be dead soon IMO. Although he would like to save it, I suspect he is keeping it at least as much out of morbid curiosity. I know if this happened to one of my Carolinas, I would with a heavy heart just let them die rather than try to prolong it.
The mantis is fully grown and my brother thinks it was stepped on. I think he is deadset on watching this mantis die slowly.
What is the best thing he could do for this blinded and paralyzed mantis?
My brother, who lives on the other side of America, found a mantis yesterday that was heavily injured. He took it in and has been trying to care for it. I told him it is not going to live and he should just mercy kill it, but he refuses to do so. He thinks it can still see because he says it responded to the light he shone on it, but look at the photo and you'll see its compound eyes have been utterly destroyed. Maybe it still has its photosensitive simple eyes, but those are not good enough.
His girlfriend sent me this photo of the unfortunate mantis. She said its jaw is dislocated, both eyes are ripped off, and its back is leaking. My brother has put the mantis on its back in a jar and tried to give it water using a Q-tip. It actually angers me that he is trying to keep it alive rather than just letting it die, because this thing is so far beyond rescue. But you tell me. If it were not already an adult, I would say mmmmaaaayyyyyyyybeeeee there's a chance it could regrow those parts from a molt, but I think it's too weak to even get up, let alone hang from a ceiling. It will probably be dead soon IMO. Although he would like to save it, I suspect he is keeping it at least as much out of morbid curiosity. I know if this happened to one of my Carolinas, I would with a heavy heart just let them die rather than try to prolong it.
The mantis is fully grown and my brother thinks it was stepped on. I think he is deadset on watching this mantis die slowly.
What is the best thing he could do for this blinded and paralyzed mantis?
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