Depressed Mantis?

[izbiggs]

My R. Basilis male recently molted to adult, and he's eating and passing frass just fine, he has all of his legs, his wings are slightly messed up but not badly. He has no visible wounds or infections. He's just been lethargic and... depressed, I suppose. I try to take him out every day, he usually perks up by the end of the holding session, but then the next time I pick him up he's always walking slowly and reluctantly. Are mantises able to get depressed?

I feed him wax worms, BB flies, mealworms, and the occasional moth. 

 

[KevinsWither]

Well personally there pretty smart for an insect so I'd say they kind of get a bit down at times. Typically from what I observed large cages and many decor can stimulate a mantis very well. 

 

[Zeppy44]

I have notice with each molt, the mantis seemed to take a bit longer to complete the whole process. Shedding the exoskeleton is just the part of the changes we can readily see. Think about all that is going on inside with all this new space to fill. Adult males take a while before they are able to fertilize the female.

Which led me to second thought. What is the role of the somewhat short lived adult male mantis? Every thing else is secondary and only to help achieve the goal of mating.  Could he be sitting, not wasting energy, waiting for the pheromones to lead him to female?

 

[Jessie]

@Zeppy44 Other people I heard say that, that's why I am happy Bugsey is my companion. I think a male even a short lived one like the Chinese one. There should be more to a mantis life then having babies where the female could take its head off. I debated if Bugsey would be better off in the wild. That was before its wings were messed up. Made me think it was meant to be my companion. I say it that way as I don't look at it as a pet, but my friend. Mine sits around some but gets very excited when i near the cage, and i sing to it and it sways back and forth. Hasen't tried using its wings yet, so I think he may know he's different. But hes my special Bugsey either way wings good or bad.

 

[Jessie]

@KevinsWither Bugsey my mantis only has one stick and is very energetic.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Your mantis isn't depressed. If he is truly acting lethargic likely there is something health wise wrong with him or something wrong with his environment. Since he sounds like he is eating and passing waste properly however and I am guessing you are keeping him in the same conditions as before, I would wager you are just reading his natural movements as being dour. Often adult males can have a shift in temperament and be reserved and skittish. They can fly to escape threats and don't need the kind of gumption females have to go after larger prey. Slow walking might not look that exciting, but it is a great way to blend in while moving. If you want to try and handle him when he is more active I suggest waiting until after dark as that is when most males tend to roam in search of females. Just be careful to keep an eye on him if his wings are still good enough to fly as they can get very flighty at night.

 

[Jessie]

@Krissim Klaw

That's odd mines an adult, he's moving around alot during the day and the night. He's never been moody with me. Well once last night when he didn't like I was paying attention to my cat and not him. He flicked his tail at me, which he never does XD.