Droopy butt, snubbing juicy silkworms

[Ozz619]

Hi all,

I'm having the droopy butt issue with Manny and can't entice her to eat.

Here is how everything developed:

FF is what I have been feeding her since she was L1 but they are too small and get out from the mesh top of her new enclosure. So I got some silkworms for her because at L5, she became formiddable in size compared to what she used to be at L1.

I let a silkworm in there and within minutes it was grotesquely devoured. Two days later I found an injured house fly and let it in there. That was eaten too (there was still another silkworm untouched  - she chose the fly over the silkworm). 

Next day after she ate the fly (yesterday) morning while I was leaving for work, I noticed that she was hanging upside down from mesh top of her enclosure (exact spotwhere she molted last time) and molting. I believe she was because I saw her exoskeleton at least part of hanging next to her. I was in a hurry to get to work so I said good luck and  left. When I came back she was hanging upside down with the droopy butt and the exoskeleton was nowhere to be found. I decided to not bother her too much but I'm still curious to what happened to the molt.

I'd think she'd be hungry and take the silkworm but she's not bothering at all. She is quite alert. I took her out and she can jump from one hand to another if the distance is not crazy. 

I can't get her to not hang upside down really... She'll walk on the twigs a litte bit but then end up on the mesh or the glass hanging upside down.

1) What can I do to entice her to eat? More lively feeders like small crickets to get her predatory instinct to kick in? Or put her in her original enclosure (it is in the photo for size comparizon) where FF can't hide or escape. 

2) I added the paper towel in there to retain a bit more moisture during this weird time. Would it help with anything at this point? 

3) Do mantids eat their exoskeletons after molting? 

I like this mantis. She's my first ever and she was litterally born into my hands. So, I'd like to keep her healthy as long as I can.

Thanks!

 

[MantisGirl13]

She didn't molt, she ate too much and then went upside down, causing the abdomen to fold. This injury is common in Chinese and incurable,  and usually fatal.

- MantisGirl13

 

[hibiscusmile]

I wouldnt say to much food causes it, I have seen it often, but dont think I ever over feed when it happens,

but who know, could be the cause

 

[Ozz619]

She didn't molt, she ate too much and then went upside down, causing the abdomen to fold. This injury is common in Chinese and incurable,  and usually fatal.

- MantisGirl13

Bummer. Thanks. 

 

[MantisGirl13]

Sorry I had to deliver the bad news, but I've never heard of a survivor of droop butt.

- Mantisgirl13 

 

[hysteresis]

Yeh bummer. Sorry.

 

[Budwing]

Iv had this happen twice now. Once with a sphrodomantis lineoa which stopped eating and died. The second time it happened to one of my chinese mantis, exact same condition as yours, it could still eat small roaches. the chinese mantis molted and was fine once it molted. 

 

[Ozz619]

I put her in the smaller enclosure for now. She ate a mealworm and pooped a bunch.

Trying to get her to molt in there then if things go ok, she goes back to the larger enclosure.

Fingers crossed.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Never seen this happen from overeating. Usually this occurs when the mantis sheds from a horizontal surface and then moves to quickly to cling to the lid. In my opinion, it is best to avoiding letting this species shed from a flat lid when they get to the later instars. I would suggest getting a net enclosure then resting it at an angle so instead of a flat top you end up with two sides coming up in a peak.

 

[The Mantis Menagerie]

Sorry I had to deliver the bad news, but I've never heard of a survivor of droop butt.

- Mantisgirl13 

If this male survives his final molt, then here is one survivor of floppy butt syndrome (my name for it). 



He developed FBS as a subadult, and reading this thread, I was worried he would not make it. (I have had other cases in the past but couldn’t remember the outcome.) Nevertheless, his wing bugs started to swell, so I got a little hopeful. It looks like he will be fine though. 

 

[hysteresis]

I would suggest getting a net enclosure then resting it at an angle so instead of a flat top you end up with two sides coming up in a peak.

  This suggestion is excellent.

 

[Ozz619]

Well, guess what?! She molted and is looking way better.

I moved her back into her  baby crib with very little space to hang. Just a small twig so that her butt would stay straight. I fed her there and dramatically increased the mositure until I saw signs of pre-molt (she slowed down and started snubbing food). 

Then I moved her back into the bigger enclosure with more branches. In a few days she molted.

I'm not sure if it's a perfect molt because the butt part was missing on the leftover exoskeleton. I'm hoping that next molt, she'll get over it. She's very active and a lot more aware of her surroundings. She always looks hungry and today she got her first taste of honey - she went bonkers on it. She'll down two small/medium crickets a day (I mover her up to crickets because mealworms quickly hide under the substrate and all day she waits for them to resurface).

It's been two weeks now. Hoping for the best for next molt. She doesn't look perfect but way better than what she was (usually not so crooked, she was moving a lot as I was trying to get a picture).

 

[MantisGirl13]

Awesome! One time I'm glad that I was wrong! Lol

- MantisGirl13

 

[Mystymantis]

Glad your mantis molted and is better. Droopy abdomen seems to be a problem in Chinese mantises. Over the years I have had a few with this problem. Many times they don't make it. But sometimes they do!

I had a Chinese this year who had the same problem at a younger molt just like yours, and then it molted and the droopy abdomen was mostly gone! So it is possible that the kink will fix when she molts again and she will be fine. Or that at least she will hopefully be healthier when she molts.

Hope you have success with your mantis!