Bud wing mis-molt

[HungryGhost]

One of my bud wings (L2-L3?) mis-molted today. It was crawling around on the screen top dragging its shed skin by its two hind legs. I wet the shed down and helped it out but the hind legs are deformed. They curl up at the and and are not functional for gripping. Could this correct itself in future molts? Thanks.

 

[AxolotlsAreCoolToo]

Depends if it falls next molts, i have seen them do it with 2 legs but its tricky

 

[OctoberRainne]

If both legs are messed up,its not very good,thats why I try to send extras as one slip on temp or humidity can really mess molts up,make sure to spray the other L2s well and shake the excess out,to help with them molting,sometimes you still get mismolts though

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Yes in the next molt your mantis has the potential to correct this. You might also be surprised with how much improvements it can make up to that shedding. Your mantis may very well be able to stretch out and improve its leg quality over the next few days. In my opinion exo skeletons are not as set in place as most people seem to consider them.

 

[HungryGhost]

If both legs are messed up,its not very good,thats why I try to send extras as one slip on temp or humidity can really mess molts up,make sure to spray the other L2s well and shake the excess out,to help with them molting,sometimes you still get mismolts though

Thanks for the extras they're doing great. I'm going to try to nurse this one back to health.

 

[HungryGhost]

Yes in the next molt your mantis has the potential to correct this. You might also be surprised with how much improvements it can make up to that shedding. Your mantis may very well be able to stretch out and improve its leg quality over the next few days. In my opinion exo skeletons are not as set in place as most people seem to consider them.

I can see some improvement in one of the legs already.

 

[Adrenna]

My carolina mantis had the same thing happen over the weekend. One of the legs got stuck in the shed skin and is not functioning. I haven't seen any repair but it did catch and eat a cricket successfully tonight so no adverse impact on survivability so far.

Update: I put it in a higher humidity cage and the leg is starting to straighten out. Excellent advice.