Chinese mantis - Not interested in food since molt from L5 to L6

[TrenMT]

Hi there,
The title kind of says it all really,
I have a chinese mantis who's freshly molted to L6 (The size difference is amazing) and since then she's completely off food. She (Was sexed female when I bought her but I have my doubts) is my first mantis so perhaps I worry over nothing but I feel like I need some reassurance. I read the forum a bit before posting and many have suggested that one should wait a few days and someone else suggested smushing prey items and then get a small bit of fluid on her mouth to make her taste it, however that didn't work.

She's 36h into her new skin so I'm not too worried yet but since I will have posted this I can update whenever new developments happen.

Edit: I forgot to mention that after her molt she had her exuvia attatched to the very very very end of her abdomen however she seemed comfortable and while she was perched it was in midair so I didn't think she could get it off alone so I slowly helped her out of it gently with a dab of water. I can't see any damage and she's been very active so I'm not worried that I've caused any damage however I'll be devistated if I have.

 

[Mantis House]

I had the same thing happen, the lack of interest in food, in my favorite mantis. I have handed her prey to her since she was a L3, and she’s very calm. When she molted to L6, she stopped taking the food, and it was six days before she did. I was really worried, but I think she was just getting used to her new body. 

There isn’t really anything to worry about until after day 3. Usually, it takes a few days for them to eat any food. Being a Chinese, she will eat just about anything, but whenever its their first time eating after a molt, something softer is nice. If you can find a juvenile katydid, they are nice and soft. I would try to give it to her and, if she’s tame enough, she might take it right from your hand. If she isn’t very tame, just place it slowly in front of her. When she’s ready to eat it, she will. 

 

[TrenMT]

Thanks I hope I'm just over worrying.

A good few hours after her molt I gave her some water and honey on a spoon and it looked as if she took some so I'm hoping its just a case of "When I'm ready"

Her last molt I gave her a large caterpillar that was growing on my mint plant - unfortunately they're all gone.
I think they were brilliant for her as they were almost glowing green but she's on a diet of locusts at the moment. I might pick up some mealworms or wax worms at some point to vary her diet a bit more.

 

[ausar318]

Those are pretty good for them. Recently, I’ve been giving mine Dubia roaches, and they love them. They key is handing them to the mantis upside down, exposing the softer part of the roach. Basically the same as wax worms and mealworms, as far as I can tell, just much bigger

 

[TrenMT]

Panic over

Let a hopper roam for an hour with a little bit of interest so I picked it up and waved it infront her before putting it on her perch and after a few minutes she nabbed it.

Off to the shop to pick up some wax/meal/super worms now.

 

[MantisGirl13]

I am glad you figured it out! Mantids don't usually eat for a day or two after a molt.

- MantisGirl13

 

[mantidmomma]

I am glad all is well with her!   

 

[minomantis]

I'm glad everything worked out! 

Just for future reference, it's not uncommon for a mantis especially going on into the later stages to stop eating 4-6 days before a molt.  I always wait a solid 2 days before introducing food.  I know it's hard because of the size difference and you just want to feed them everything, but a big phrase in the mantis community is "You must have patience".  I'm glad she started eating.