ghost Mantis Lost a Leg

[vickyXD]

Hi guys,

I woke up this morning and checked on the mantids to discover that my female ghost has lost one of her back legs. I'm not sure how it happened - she hasn't shed and neither does she have any crickets in with her. Shes very wobbly now so I don't think she will be able to hunt properly on her own. Her terrarium is 30x20x20. I was thinking of moving her to a smaller house and hand feeding her. She hasn't had a shed since ive had her. I think she is nearly fully grown. Ive had her for about 4 - 5 weeks now.

Any advice is very welcome

TIA Vicky x

 

[Ghost_Keeper]

I'm fairly certain she will be okay. Just make sure she has a good spot to molt from. She can still hunt and live, just she might have a minor difficulty molting.

 

[vickyXD]

thanks for the reply. I've just had a look at her and she seems unable to hang upside down. I put her on the netting at the top and she fell off. She's currently sitting upright on a leaf. I've fed her some honey which she gladly took. Hoping for the best. She was my first mantis and I'm quite attached to her

 

[Ghost_Keeper]

If you can, post a picture, as currently I'm not quite understanding how losing one leg could affect a mantis, a ghost especially to that extent.

 

[vickyXD]

Will post a picture in a couple of hours 

 

[vickyXD]

Just a little update,

This morning I found her on the floor of her house. Looks like she tried to shed. Her abdomen was really puffy -ive never seen it that big before - She lost another leg and was just making minimal movement on the floor. There was also this cloudy liquid coming out of her. She then died a short time later. Any ideas what could have happened?

Vicky