I think my mantis is dying =/

[vafan13]

Well, I figured he'd be towards the older end of the spectrum having found him so late in the year. I'm not completely sure if he's dying or not but he is moving less and more slowly. He also seems quite weak. He falls down off of things he's trying to climb things he never fell from before and even when walking on level ground he is dragging his rear end. One thing was odd, however. I put some water on the table in front of him and he began drinking it, a lot of it. So much so that when he finally brought his head up he had to spit back up 2-3 good sized drops. Now, I know he's drank water pretty much every day prior to that (I spray a little bit of water just on the top of the container, which goes through the air slats and hangs as droplets), so I can't imagine he was that thirsty from simply not getting enough water.

Is he simply dying or is it something else?

UPDATE: He did the exact same thing with water today that he did yesterday. I swear he was drinking for 30 seconds from a little pool of water i made on the table in front of him. He can't possibly be that thirsty after last night...

 

[joossa]

I can tell you this: my old males drink A LOT towards the end of their lives. This may differ from species to species. If you see him slowing down, darkening eyes, and taking forever to eat a meal, then those are signs that the end is near. Again, though the signs differ from species to species.

 

[vafan13]

I can tell you this: my old males drink A LOT towards the end of their lives. This may differ from species to species. If you see him slowing down, darkening eyes, and taking forever to eat a meal, then those are signs that the end is near. Again, though the signs differ from species to species.

Yeah I would say that is about what is happening. Too bad, I had started to like the little bugger. =(

 

[Rick]

Probably old age. Get used to it. These are insects and don't live that long.

 

[vafan13]

Probably old age. Get used to it. These are insects and don't live that long.

Yeah, like I said, I figured that having found him in the fall he was close to the end of his life. Sad to see him go, but I'll get another and move on. =)