I think my mantis is dying :'(

[beachmaster]

I have a s. Carolina stigmomantis (sp) and I believe she is dying. I clean her cage every day, spray it sometimes, and i clean and rewet her sponge. She typically gets food every day...

She has had three ootheca, and was bred maybe 3-6 days prior. Two are small, one large. The most recent one was laid about a week ago.

about 4 days ago she started falling off her ceiling often, and she had difficulty climbing her sticks. Now she seems to sit in unnatural ways...

To be honest, in the past three days, she has only had one crane fly... I love feeding her often, but in the cold bugs are becoming scarce. I might buy crickets at walmart today.

her belly is never this thin... well... should I be expecting her to die as it gets colder? She will be eating today, but she was still fat when she started acting weird.

I guess I have two questions.

1- should i expect her to die soon due to her age? (Idk her age)

2- could she be dying due to a deficiency in her cage?

Im New to this, but I appreciate your time.

 

[beachmaster]

Can a moderator move this to mantis health? Im sorry, my phones acting up.

 

[Extrememantid]

Put some paper towel as substrate, give her a cricket but make sure she eats it, don't just leave it in there. And mist her once a day.. That works for me.

 

[agent A]

she looks like she's just getting old

also, be careful with sponges because some contain cleaning chemicals that can poison a mantis

 

[beachmaster]

i never thought about that with the sponge. when her ooth hatch ill make sure to have new sponges with the babies. she has just always been so active, and had such an incredible appetite.

 

[agent A]

i never thought about that with the sponge. when her ooth hatch ill make sure to have new sponges with the babies. she has just always been so active, and had such an incredible appetite.

use regular moist paper towels

 

[Extrememantid]

Ya no sponges.

 

[Domanating]

It's old age alright. The best evidence are the extremities losing strength, they stiffen and then break apart, making your mantis fall off very easily. Water is very recommended. Old mantids drink quite a lot.

You can do 2 things:

- Force your mantis to the floor of the enclosure by removing all the climbable stuff and make a substrate of paper towels like it has been said. This will reduce the probability for injury every time she falls.

- Add some soft netting to the sides and roof of the enclosure (I use mosquito net). This will drastically reduce the possibility of falling. Put a sheet of cotton on the floor and then cover it with a layer of paper towels. This will cushion her fall, if she does.