First molt in my care

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MirageTheShadow

MirageTheShadow

Member
Joined
May 20, 2023
Messages
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Location
Kentucky, USA
My first mantis Coffee (male budwing, probably around i4 but I'm not sure) is just about ready to molt. He's not accepting food, he's upside down, and he's got the lighter colors. I first noticed the signs about 24 hours ago. I bumped up the humidity and removed the one decorative piece that could have caused issues but I'm still nervous. This is the first time he's molted in my care.
About how long will it take? How long after should I feed him?
Unfortunatly he decided to hang on the lid instead of any of the nice spots I gave him so I can't really open the tank any more.
 
MirageTheShadow said:
My first mantis Coffee (male budwing, probably around i4 but I'm not sure) is just about ready to molt. He's not accepting food, he's upside down, and he's got the lighter colors. I first noticed the signs about 24 hours ago. I bumped up the humidity and removed the one decorative piece that could have caused issues but I'm still nervous. This is the first time he's molted in my care.
About how long will it take? How long after should I feed him?
Unfortunatly he decided to hang on the lid instead of any of the nice spots I gave him so I can't really open the tank any more.
Click to expand...
Relax mate. You're doing perfectly fine. Internal hydration is far more important than humidity for molting though. Mantises actually will use the water in their body to inflate themselves while their exoskeleton is soft to grow. So just give your little guy a good drink and leave him be.

It'll take between thirty minutes to an hour for him to molt. Then I recommend leaving him alone for 24-48 hours afterwards. As for when he'll eat, it just depend when he's ready. A few days after they molt, I just toss some food in to see their reactions. If they go after it or show interest, then I leave it. If they bat at it or run, I remove it.
 
I was worried for my first mantis to molt too. Don't worry too much about it, nature will do it's work. Maybe you can watch Coffee molting, but that is up to Coffee when he is ready.
 

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