How do I hand feed Scizor? (His claw is stuck shut!)

[Meadow98684]

It seems as though his latest molt took a toll on Scizor, my Chinese. (please refer to my previous topic, "Post-Mantis Molt" for more background). One of his claws will not open unlike the other one. So if it is stuck, how will he catch food? Will I have to hand feed him now? And if so, do I just hold the fly in front of him and wait for him to start eating it? Please help me out here! I don't wanna give up on my little pal.

 

[ShieldMantid1997]

I put the fly/cricket on a tooth pick in front of them, then if they don't take it, cu the head off and put the juicy part to his mandibles. He should then start munching away

 

[mutrok4040]

None of my mantids will take to hand feeding, if yours won't, maybe u could put a fly on a toothpick and hold it in front of him?

 

[mutrok4040]

I put the fly/cricket on a tooth pick in front of them, then if they don't take it, cu the head off and put the juicy part to his mandibles. He should then start munching away

Sorry, we posted same idea at same time

 

[Mvalenz]

I put the fly/cricket on a tooth pick in front of them, then if they don't take it, cu the head off and put the juicy part to his mandibles. He should then start munching away

I have done this as well. What also worked well for me when they don't take to the prey is put a little honey on it to jump start the eating. Mantids go bonkers for honey.

 

[Meadow98684]

Aw. I feel better now. I just put a fly on a toothpick and it worked. After a while he even managed to be able to grip the fly with one claw without my assistance. Thanks for the help!!

However....theres still the issue as to why this happened. Why can't he use his other claw?? Will it repair itself next molt?? Are Chinese Mantids notorious for bad molts?

 

[mutrok4040]

I think they have mismolts more than other species, but not nearly as much as Idolos or Violins.

 

[Domanating]

5 days ago one of my Mantis Religiosa had it's first molt. The day after i went to check on him and gave him a fruit fly. He caught the fly with only one arm. The other claw refused to open. i thought that was weird, he molted perfectly fine.

The next day i went to check him and his claw was functional again! I have no idea why that happened but it did. He decided to keep one claw shut for an entire day for no apparent reason. maybe you get lucky and your mantis will do the same.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

There is a good chance the claw will heal itself in the next shedding. Not knowing what sort of conditions you keep, my first thought is the shedding problem might have been the result of too little humidity. Hand feeding is always an option but one working claw should be more than enough to catch prey so I would probably try feeding normally before resorting to hand feeding.

 

[Meadow98684]

Meaning I should mist the enclosure more often? Because I remember doing it like everyday all over the cage.

 

[Sneaky123]

I had some mismolts with California mantids, and it seems (although I don't want to test this) that too much direct sunlight can lead to mismolts. Don't over mist either. I've seen mantids in the wild and in captivity that live with only one claw, so try to re-train your mantis to catch by giving it easy catch, such as medium crickets. Only put in crickets if you know the mantis can defend itself, because crickets will attack weak mantids.