False start molting

[Jay]

Hey there Everyone,

Quick question: I have a subadult female spiny flower that has had her exoskeleton get cloudy and been in position (with the related bottom movements) to molt several times in the last couple days but nothing yet. Humidity is good so I am not sure what may be holding her back.

Is this common? Should I be concerned in any way?

 

[Ranitomeya]

I've never seen a mantis' exoskeleton get cloudy prior to molting.

The only time I'd say it would appear cloudy is when the old exoskeleton is already separating and there is air between the old and new exoskeleton as the mantis slips out.

 

[Jay]

I've never seen a mantis' exoskeleton get cloudy prior to molting.

The only time I'd say it would appear cloudy is when the old exoskeleton is already separating and there is air between the old and new exoskeleton as the mantis slips out.

Yeah - the color has dulled quite a bit and even her eyes even look a little cloudy.

 

[Tenodera]

Never seen or heard of a clouded exoskeleton either. I recently got my first P. wahlbergii, and so this is a personally interesting case too...

Do you have the equipment for good pictures? A photo of her before would be extra helpful. Also, as is the protocol for health questions, has anything else in her environment changed? Temperature, lighting, any of that?

I've had Tenodera subadults spend a day or two in premolt pose and then fail to molt successfully; I do hope that that isn't what's going on with your girl.

 

[Jay]

I'll see if I can take a pic. She can still look around but she is mostly ignoring food now. A few days ago she even made her legs limp (straight) while in the classic molting position and I was almost sure she would molt. Her wingbuds look swollen. Her color has dulled dramatically compared to her counterparts. Temperature has been kept constant. I'll double check to make sure the humidity is at the right level.

 

[PrayingMantisPets]

can you post a pic?

 

[Jay]

Although I took pictures beforehand, she finally did molt. It took 4-5 days altogether and another girl ended up molting before her.

By the last day I decided to run warm water over her. I am not sure if this helped, but it might have - as she did molt that night. I'll see if I have some time in the next couple of days to post the pics. How do you transfer pics from the forum's album to a discussion topic?

 

[Jay]

This was how she looked by the fourth day of trying to molt. I couldn't get a picture of her trying because the camera bothered her too much.

Her room-mates. If mantids are jealous, I can only imagine she was jealous that another girl molted before her - and on the first try too! (=

Outside in the sunlight she looked okay - but still incredibly dull compared to her sisters.

I wonder if it was the act of keeping her mostly under warm running water for a few minutes that helped her to complete her final molt?

 

[Tenodera]

Interesting, about the warm water. I'm happy that this part of her life ended well!

And my goodness, those wing-buds were swollen...

 

[Krissim Klaw]

I would not suggest dousing your mantis in the future. That sounds rather risky to the mantis and very stressful. On the rare occasion that I've had a mantis that seems to be having serious troubles and the typical upping the humidity/adding additional shedding areas doesn't work, I've found taking them in a net cage and setting them in the shower after I've had a nice hot shower tends to jump start the process. It's basically upping the temp and humidity levels by a nice little jump.