Mediocre_Rebel
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- Jul 12, 2015
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A few days ago I found a praying mantis sitting in my backyard. I noticed it didnt move and assumed it was dead.. until I picked it up. It stood unsteadily on my hand, with one of its legs sticking out in the air. Upon closer inspection I discoverd both of its eyes are badly damaged. The left is completely shrivled, and the right its 90% shrivled. I tried putting small insects like crickets and grasshoppers in front of her mouthparts to see if it would stimulate her to grab them and eat, even tried tearing one in half so she could taste the insides. She didnt eat them. I decided she would never survive and hunt outside and took her inside to put her in the freezer. Then, I spotted some cooked rabbit on the microwave that I had pulled out of my soup earlier, and thought it was worth a try. I placed it to her mouthparts and she chewed off some tiny little peices. I couldnt just send her to an early death if she was still eating. She also bit off and ate a peice of soft green pepper I had in the soup.
I brought her inside for the night and thought should would be dead in the morning, she didnt move an inch all night into the morning. Knowing I couldnt keep her inside, I wanted to build an outdoor enclosure, I put her back outside in a container, and went to the store for supplies. When i returned she seemed to be a little more lively than the previous day. In an attempt to feed her again, I rehydrated some bloodworms and tried to feed them to her, I put 1 tiny worm at a time to her mouthparts and she would nibble and drop them, and she tried to hold them down onto the leaf she was sitting on. When that failed, I tried a grasshopper again. I ripped off the legs so it would be easier to feed her, and after some patience, I finally got her to grab it with her claw. I was so happy when she began to eat!!!!
I then built her enclosure under the tree, using an old curtain and some bamboo stakes. I placed two potted plants inside with some sticks. after I put her inside and let her settle, I wanted to try feeding her again, this time, a whole grasshopper that was alive and kicking. It was a success! The very next day she was much, much, more feisty and lively than when I first found her. She even tried to bite my hand! I fed her one more small grasshopper yesterday. I have done some reading about praying mantises and over feeding, so today she did not get any meal, and is looking a little fat.
She still lacks the vision capabilities of a healthy praying mantis. I noticed she can still see light and the shadow of objects if theyre very close, but not movements around her. It almost appears that she uses her arms like a blind pedestrian would use a walking stick. I'm going to take care of her until first frost, and try to breed her with a male.
Any thoughts here?
I brought her inside for the night and thought should would be dead in the morning, she didnt move an inch all night into the morning. Knowing I couldnt keep her inside, I wanted to build an outdoor enclosure, I put her back outside in a container, and went to the store for supplies. When i returned she seemed to be a little more lively than the previous day. In an attempt to feed her again, I rehydrated some bloodworms and tried to feed them to her, I put 1 tiny worm at a time to her mouthparts and she would nibble and drop them, and she tried to hold them down onto the leaf she was sitting on. When that failed, I tried a grasshopper again. I ripped off the legs so it would be easier to feed her, and after some patience, I finally got her to grab it with her claw. I was so happy when she began to eat!!!!
I then built her enclosure under the tree, using an old curtain and some bamboo stakes. I placed two potted plants inside with some sticks. after I put her inside and let her settle, I wanted to try feeding her again, this time, a whole grasshopper that was alive and kicking. It was a success! The very next day she was much, much, more feisty and lively than when I first found her. She even tried to bite my hand! I fed her one more small grasshopper yesterday. I have done some reading about praying mantises and over feeding, so today she did not get any meal, and is looking a little fat.
She still lacks the vision capabilities of a healthy praying mantis. I noticed she can still see light and the shadow of objects if theyre very close, but not movements around her. It almost appears that she uses her arms like a blind pedestrian would use a walking stick. I'm going to take care of her until first frost, and try to breed her with a male.
Any thoughts here?
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