Help

[MasterB758]

If my mantis were dying of old age, how would it be acting? 

It's almost the end of his life span and he's acting weak. ;-;

 

[Connor]

It will probably be acting sluggish, not being able to climb as well, not being able to hold on as well and just overall like it is lethargic. Male mantis only live a month to 3 months on average after their adult molt

 

[Serle]

One of my Tenodera males just expired at 4 1/2 months only one month of adulthood. Unsure if it was an injury or what but got very lethargic ,wouldn't eat , couldn't climb or hold on well ............ S

 

[GingerC]

I had a male H. membranacea last five months after the final molt. Around the four month mark he became generally unresponsive, didn't move that much, and wasn't quite as interested in food. He wasn't all that different from his usual self, just slower.

He went downhill pretty rapidly after that. After two weeks he was looking pretty decrepit; his feet and antennae were all withered and he seemed to slump. Three days before death, partial paralysis began to set in; he couldn't see (or at least didn't respond to visual stimuli) or hold himself up, and as the hours passed he lost movement starting from the head and eventually progressing downward to his whole body. The night before he died, all he could move were his hind legs and abdomen.

I recommend you take a few pictures and make plans for what to do with the body. I got really attached to my mantis, but the exciting project of casting the corpse in epoxy resin actually made me feel so much better about it.

 

[codex7]

I would agree with most everything that has been said so far. A few common things I've seen happen to mantids I have had would be little or no movement of the head, no appetite, and staying in one spot. If they're hanging, you might notice that their grip is a little loose (they may sway more than before instead of trying to stay rigid if you move their enclosure). Some may wind up falling onto the floor of the enclosure after hanging in the same position as well. In a few larger Asian species (T. sinensis, H. venosa, and others) I've seen the antennae look wavy as opposed to straight, as well as the loss of feet. A sad sight to see for sure,  but an early and unfortunate inevitability for these guys.

 

[Ocelotbren]

My male T. sinensis lasted 4.5 months as an adult, which it seems is quite long.  He lost one tarsus on a forearm two months in, and around 3-4 months that whole raptor started to turn black slowly.  In the last week or so, the raptor seemed to go rigid and he couldn't bend it anymore, although he could still bend the other joint.

Other than that, he did slow down and got clumsier, and spent his last day sitting on the bottom of the enclosure.  If he had sat down there more than a day, I may have put him down myself, but he passed by the end of the day, and I could most easily tell by the fact that his head was now drooping downwards instead of pointing forwards.

It can be a tough thing to handle, especially if you don't have many mantids.  But try to be positive about it and make a plan of what you will do with the body (pin, bury, etc.), and perhaps even start planning what type of mantis you would like to keep next.  I know getting myself excited about the next nymphs I wanted to get made me feel better.  New life!