Female sub adult chinese mantis not eating

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Aquaticcreature

Aquaticcreature

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My female mantis has stopped eating and I assume it is because of a upcoming molt. The only problem is it has been more than a week. Has anyone else had a mantis go off food for this long?

 
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They most likely died from high humidity. I I only mist mine when they are about to molt.

 
Oh lol I was confused why the post suddenly changed... if it's her final she might just try to get as skinny as possible but I've never had a mantis go without food for that long because of a molt. As she been puking at all? If she hasn't been vomiting and is staying relatively plump then I wouldn't worry. Hopefully you have an adult soon!

 
Connor said:
Oh lol I was confused why the post suddenly changed... if it's her final she might just try to get as skinny as possible but I've never had a mantis go without food for that long because of a molt. As she been puking at all? If she hasn't been vomiting and is staying relatively plump then I wouldn't worry. Hopefully you have an adult soon!
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No vomit. That was the first thing I checked. She isn't overly skinny and she had a bigger meal than usual the last time she ate. I ran out of bb flies so I had to give her bubias. She ate the dubias last time I fed her, but I think she really prefers flies. I think I will have to put in another order for them today.

 
Yeah I would get some flies in. But other than that I think you're good. One of my spiny nymphs started vomiting 2 and a half weeks ago and stopped like 2 days after but he hasn't molted in like 3 weeks. My other spiny has molted twice now while the other hasn't.... crazy how a simple bacterial infection stops them from growing so badly.

 
Oh man, that sucks. I hope everything gets better for them.

I think it's been almost two months since she has molted. Her wing buds are huge. So I think she is due to molt any time now.

 

Heres a pic of the healhy one. I love the coloration rn. My one that got sick is still like a L2/3 ant looking mantis

 
Good luck to your mantis in its final molt!  I don't believe my Chinese mantids went that long without food either, and they also went from sub-adult to adult in about a month.  But if yours isn't looking particularly skinny, I would say it's just a matter of waiting for the molt.  It does seem to me like even though they stop eating before a molt, they don't get that skinny looking.

The wait seems to drag on forever!

 
No, it is not normal for this species to go off food that long prior to a molt. If you aren't dealing with a blockage, which doesn't sound to be the case since there has been no vomiting, I would be concerned she doesn't feel comfortable shedding in your current setup. Chinese mantises are a large species and they need to have access to easy to cling to surfaces. In my experience these species is not fond of shedding off a perfectly horizontal plane like a lid when they reach the later instars. Does she have access to an angled shedding surface?

 
She molted! I think she was just really full from her last feeding and was trying to get deflated enough to have a good shed. It was a perfect molt. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

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