Dead Mantis Missing Leg

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mossymantis

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Feb 4, 2017
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Location
Vermont, USA
I came home today to see my L5 Giant Rainforest Mantis laying on her side on the ground of the container. This was quite heartbreaking, as I wasn't expecting it at all. She had been acting normal, eating properly, and I was taking good care of her. I have two other mantises, and they both seem fine. I'm also surprised to see that one of her legs is missing, and where her leg used to be there is now a black nub. I attatched a picture.

I feed my mantises small crickets - she'd just eaten yesterday, and she had molted the day before. I didn't notice any missing limbs when she molted... Does anyone know what could have happened?

20180613_184027.jpg

20180613_184056.jpg

Edit: I actually ended up finding her leg, which I find even more bizarre. What could have happened?

 
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@Synapze @Little Mantis I apologize for the confusing wording - by "missing", I meant that it is both missing from the mantis, and missing in the enclosure. This would suggest that it happened during molting, but I checked on her after her molt two days ago and didn't see anything wrong. The black part is also odd, it almost looks as if it was burned off, but I don't see how that's possible

 
@mossymantis I am sorry for your loss :(  Were there any crickets still in the cage with her? If so they could be your missing leg culprit. The black is just a scab or something. I hope we can get to the bottom of this!

- MantisGirl13

 
@MantisGirl13 Thank you for your considerate words. I had thought of that possibility... yesterday I fed her one cricket, and I watched her eat it. However, I'm wondering now if a second cricket could have potentially fallen in there too, and hid somehow. I definitely didn't see a second one in the container, but it could have happened

 
mossymantis said:
@MantisGirl13 Thank you for your considerate words. I had thought of that possibility... yesterday I fed her one cricket, and I watched her eat it. However, I'm wondering now if a second cricket could have potentially fallen in there too, and hid somehow. I definitely didn't see a second one in the container, but it could have happened
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Yeah, that's what I am thinking. Either that, or her leg got caught and she chewed it off herself. I have heard of that happening too. 

- MantisGirl13

 
I’m sorry for your loss, she looked quite beautiful.

I agree, it could be an old cricket, or she could’ve chewed it off herself. I don’t know much about cricket behavior, but have you checked under the substrate for burrowers? 

Although, if it were crickets, I don’t see why it would’ve left the rest of her body uneaten? And a leg bite doesn’t seem like it would be enough to kill her, unless it got infected, somehow.

 
Update: I searched around and ended up finding her leg, which is almost more bizarre. What could have happened? If it wasn't due to her molt, and it wasn't a cricket, how could she have lost her leg? @River Dane @MantisGirl13 What would cause a mantis to chew its own leg off? ? And then die?

 
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Hmm, I don't know. Maybe she didn't chew it off; maybe it got stuck while she was in a weird position and it just broke? I don't know what would have caused her to die, but maybe it was just some unknown natural cause. I would think that the leg broke though, because if she had chewed it off she would have eaten it. 

- MantisGirl13

 
I have a nymph that chewed off it's own leg because of a mismolt in order to free itself, it has been extremely sick since and has almost died several times because of it. I am trying to nurse him back to health but I don't know if he will make it or not. So yes a mantis can die from only a missing leg, especially a young nymph. Mine lost his leg because of a mismolt  but a mantis will also chew a leg off if it gets caught on something and can't get loose.

On the other hand I had an adult male ghost get mauled by his mate and he lost a leg and part of his arm in the tussle but still lived out his expected lifespan.

Why one mantis can lose a leg and be fine while another dies from it can have any number of factors affecting the outcome such as infection, shock, dehydration, etc.

I'm sorry you lost your mantis.

 

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