Hierodula Membranacea (Giant Asian Mantis) hasnt molted, wont eat. strange discharge from abdomen

[BigBadJohn]

Giant Asian Mantis sub adult has strange discharge and refuses crickets or food of any kind. today i set her free in the back yard. i hated to do this but she would not molt and i at this point my hands are tied. i was hoping someone could shed some light on what happened based on the pics. no injuries as far as i could tell. just hoping to learn



Thanks John

 

[MantisGirl13]

Looks like her abdomen had gotten squished, likely by handling or falling when she was readying to molt. She is/was more than ready for a molt, which was why she wasn't eating.

In the future, please don't put unnative mantids in the wild, even if you think they are dying. 

- MantisGirl13 

 

[BigBadJohn]

"In the future, please don't put unnative mantids in the wild, even if you think they are dying."

Thank you mantisGrl13. please explain, i just feel bad for her.

i got her back inside just now. should i euthanize her?

Thanks!

 

[hysteresis]

Thank you mantisGrl13. please explain, i just feel bad for her.

The premise is simple. Don't release restricted species into the wild. We're all over here promising we'd never let exotics get out. You're putting it outside. Don't do that.

While tropical species may do well in the TX summer (in some places) but die in the winter, our practice is to STILL not release these species. If for any reason, it's the principle.

If the mantis can't be rehabilitated (almost always the case), we euthanize the mantis. Most freeze, but some smash. I'd freeze.

The mantis will go dormant within a minute or two. It wont hurt, it'll just go dormant.The hard freezing will damage it so it wont come back, but that's well after the mantis is dormant.

Sorry for your loss. 

 

[BigBadJohn]

hysteresis thank you for the explanation. yes i brought her in and froze her. i assumed that was the reason but im glad someone confirmed it. so, thanks for that. yeah, i didnt think there was anything i could do to save her. i really dont know what happened to her. she was eating fine and was not mishandled or fell at any time.  peace

 

[hysteresis]

Again, sorry for your loss.

We put a lot of energy into raising them. So we feel a big loss when they pass.