H. Venosa bent leg (mismolt?)

HunniBunnixo · May 7, 2016

Hi all, i have H. Venosa that molted to an L4/L5 this morning. I went to give her a daily mist and noticed she has a leg that is bent backwards and up. She is able to still crawl around a bit, but will this be permanent til she molts again or will it be like this forever? And as far as feeding, she won't be able to chase prey like she had been; so i assume hand feeding will be the norm from now on, correct? She enjoys BB flies the most.

I looked at her molt and noticed that the way her leg was on the lid of the container, is probably why her leg is bent. It was sorta wedged in the bend of the lid where it snaps on the deli cup (if that makes sense? :huh: ) Not sure why she chose that spot! Lol.

Any advice and help is appreciated! Thank you!

CosbyArt · May 7, 2016

It doesn't look too bad and she should have it healed up in 1 to 2 molts from now, plenty of time left to fix it.

In the meantime she should be fine, as I've had many mantids that were missing a leg entirely or messed up (they can literately fall apart as they get old before dying) and they ate on their own, and young nymphs fixed the issue in molts.

HunniBunnixo · May 8, 2016

CosbyArt said:
It doesn't look too bad and she should have it healed up in 1 to 2 molts from now, plenty of time left to fix it. In the meantime she should be fine, as I've had many mantids that were missing a leg entirely or messed up (they can literately fall apart as they get old before dying) and they ate on their own, and young nymphs fixed the issue in molts.

Thank you Cosby for your reply! That is very reassuring that she will be alright within the next few molts.

I gave her a bit of honey earlier (for a treat and a mood lifter lol) and she let me hold her as well. She gets around unbelievably better than what i imagined she might with her peg leg

I will continue to check on her often and make sure she isn't stumbling around or falling off leaves- but i think she will be alright like you stated.

Thanks again for your help and advice! I appreciate it.

CosbyArt · May 8, 2016

HunniBunnixo said:
Thank you Cosby for your reply! That is very reassuring that she will be alright within the next few molts. I gave her a bit of honey earlier (for a treat and a mood lifter lol) and she let me hold her as well. She gets around unbelievably better than what i imagined she might with her peg leg I will continue to check on her often and make sure she isn't stumbling around or falling off leaves- but i think she will be alright like you stated.

Thanks again for your help and advice! I appreciate it.

Sure, your welcome, glad to help. Nice to see you offered her honey, a favorite treat for sure.

Good, it is amazing how well they can adapt, and regrow missing pieces too.

I once had a Ghost mantid (Phyllocrania paradoxa) that only had one raptorial forearm his entire life, he never did regrow one. I got him at L2 and he lived a long life and was one of my favorites. The only thing I had to do for him was give him smaller prey so he could hold it easier with the one arm. He even walked and climbed fine, albeit a bit slower and with a wobble. I named him Bandit, and there are plenty of pictures of him in my threads, with his later photos here.

ashleenicole · May 10, 2016

He/she should be just fine! I've had two come to me completely missing a leg. The first mantis matured recently, and other than the leg being a slight bit shorter that the others, you can't even really tell she was missing one at all. The other little one I have is missing one of the back legs, and he is able to hunt and get around fine.