For the last two days my Chinese mantis hasn't been able to walk/climb

[raincatchfire]

Two mornings ago she seemed fine, and then all of a sudden she can't walk/climb. If I put her on her back, she can't really flip over by herself. I think she has molted four times already and it will be about 2 weeks until her next molt (if she survives that long.) To get around she crawls on her elbows and she can't climb up surfaces that she normally can. I am still misting her, cutting up bugs, and playing soft music for her.

Any idea what is going on? Is she going to die? How can I make her more comfortable? Thanks.

 

[PlayingMantis]

Hmm....I'm sorry to say but it doesn't sound too good. Is she still eating? Is she passing waste normally? What has she been eating? In what enclosure are you keeping her? Bad food, lack of proper ventilation, etc, could cause such issues.

Also, could she have been in contact with pesticides? Pesticides like imidacloprid can cause sudden paralysis.

 

[raincatchfire]

I notice her right claw has been retracted. Maybe she isn't walking upright because it is hurt and she can't balance? We keep her in a plastic salad container with holes poked in the top and paper towels on the sides so she can climb onto the ceiling if she wants. It has leaves on the bottom that I change out frequently. We mist it a couple times a day. We only keep her there at night and recently since she can't walk too well. (Normally I let her chill on my desk or on my window screen, or in a protected area of my yard.) I get her whatever bugs I can find as she can eat just about anything. She ate yesterday and has been passing waste normally as far as I can tell. She is having problems eating though because she uses her front claws to grab the bugs, but she cant really stand up. She is drinking water off my fingers and she does eat when i cut up bugs and put them in her face.

If it is pesticide will she get better? She doesn't seem to be doing worse? She stretched her claw out more today than yesterday and was hanging on the wall of her container

 

[Ralphys_Mantids]

mine molted and has the same issdue i think shes gonna die

 

[PlayingMantis]

I can't say for sure, it could be due to many different reasons.

But I had a close call with pesticides that I would like to share. A long time ago, my T. sinensis climbed on a plant that had apparently been treated with Imidacloprid, a pesticide that is a neurotoxin. (I didn't know that at the moment, I had to ask my folks, apparently they had sprayed the plant around 10 days earlier, and according to the pesticide label, the active ingredient is good for up to 30 days.) Within a few hours, the mantis was only hanging by 2 legs, then 1. I realized something was wrong so I placed her on a paper towel. Then her legs seemed to be non-functional. Her raptorials were tucked in close to her body, but sometimes they would slightly stretch out, and back in, out and in. She couldn't move. It was so sudden. For the next 2, I could tell she was gradually improving, though she was still having those strange slow spasms. I fed her water and honey, and she drank. On the 3rd day, she recovered fully.

I began reading up about the pesticide, and apparently contact exposure is less fatal than ingestion (i.e., stepping on contaminated surface vs eating a contaminated bug). Also, the number of days elapsed since the pesticide application has an effect. Even though the label claims effectiveness of up to 30 days, I would assume the effectiveness dwindles as time passes on (not 100% sure on this).

I wonder if the leaves at the bottom of her container could've been contaminated. Or something she ate, especially if the food is wild-caught.

Or it could be something else entirely. Maybe some sort of infection? I really can't say for sure.

Good luck, I hope she pulls through.