Hierodula not in good shape

Mantidforum

Help Support Mantidforum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JoeWilliamson

Active member
Joined
May 30, 2016
Messages
33
Reaction score
7
My hierodula majuscula is not in good shape at all. I left him with A friend for a week while on holiday and during that time he molted to subadult I think as wings have appeared, he seems to be refusing to eat his crickets and has lost a significant amount of grip and seems to be very fragile. All I've managed to feed him was some honey. Attached is a link to the google drive file in which are some videos of him currently in the folder 'help' and before he molted outside https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2iSTAy9UOj2QVpoQlMyM2NGMVU

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thankfully he hasn't grown his wings (as wings only form on adult mantids), those are just wing buds, and he is sub-adult. As such he has a chance to fix any issues he developed recently in his final molt (as long as it isn't missing legs as that takes a minimum of two molts).

How long ago did he molt? Mantids usually refuse food for 24-48 hours after molting to finish drying/hardening their exoskeleton. Also some mantids seem to require some time to learn to walk again due to the large growth spurt (anywhere from 2-7 days on average). Males also eat less as they age in my experience, and especially as adults - where they can go for weeks only eating one small amount of food.

The videos are too short and move around too much to get any idea of it's current condition. If I had to take a guess from them, it seems he did not dry fully before detaching from the old exuviae (skin) - and his legs did not harden properly leading to wobble/bent issues. If he is unable to use his front raptorial forearms/legs you will have to nurse him through this instar and he should be fine after his next/final molt. If it is just his walking legs he should learn to use them well enough by himself in about a one week time-frame to return to some form of normal use before molting.

To nurse him if it is needed, the easiest method is to spear living prey on a thumbtack and place it near his mouth. Anchor the thumbtack (spiked end upwards with prey) with a piece of clay/sticky tack/etc on the other end to the container. The mantid still should be able to eat the prey using only his mouth and maxillary/labial palps. Read more here, also has photos of it in use.

If that doesn't work or he needs further help, you can use a milk diet long enough to get the mantid to molt - where it can repair itself. I only recommend that as a last resort, but if you read the comments in that post it has worked in dire conditions.

 
Thank you so much, he's started eating again now and your advice really helped. I have high hopes for his survival now :)

 
Very nice to hear he is eating again.
clap.gif
He should start building up some strength and with his next/final molt, with some luck, return to 100% normal. Keep us updated, and if anything develops before then just post.

 

Latest posts

Top