Is my mantid dying? Vomit and not moving

[CurrentKaleidoscope]

My ghost mantis, Cassie, is acting really sick. She had a fly last night, but didn't eat all of it, seemed normal and moving. This morning, she looked dead in her enclosure...not moving, letting her feeders (blue bottle flies) crawl all over her, her face pressed to the ground. There were reddish brown spots all over the paper towels. I got the flies out and her into a new container with some soaked paper towels. She pressed her face into the ground again. 

She can only move her front legs a little, can't seem to move her back legs. She accepted some honey and looks perkier, trying to move, but not much. When I try to move her, she flops onto her back and doesn't try to get up. Her little hooks stick onto things, like my skin or a container. 

I'm thinking of giving her the night to get better...Is she dying? When I saw her there looking so sick I actually cried. I've only had her for three months, she's so little. 

 

[Predatorhousepet]

I am sorry to hear your ghost is not doing well. What kind of set up do you have her in and what humidity and temperature are you keeping her at? Also, when you described the bluebottle flies crawling on her...how many were in the enclosure with her? Since you said she ate part of a fly the night before and was throwing up the next day this may be a food related issue. How are you keeping the flies before giving them to her?

 

[CurrentKaleidoscope]

I am sorry to hear your ghost is not doing well. What kind of set up do you have her in and what humidity and temperature are you keeping her at? Also, when you described the bluebottle flies crawling on her...how many were in the enclosure with her? Since you said she ate part of a fly the night before and was throwing up the next day this may be a food related issue. How are you keeping the flies before giving them to her?

Thanks so much for your reply.

I don't know exactly what instar she is, but I think she is either L5 or L6, since she has her wings. She is still extremely small, about an inch and a half. I have been keeping her in a 32oz deli cup since her last molt, I've been working on setting up a bigger enclosure. My house is approximately 75-80 degrees. I spray down her enclosure with distilled water every two days. I put her in a clean deli cup with clean paper towels that I dampened, as well as a clean stick to climb. I have been spraying down her "ICU" every so often. Temperature is the same, but I could use a heating mat if necessary.

I put three blue bottle flies in the enclosure since I knew she hadn't eaten in a couple of days. I have the pupae in my fridge, they are about 3 weeks old now. I put a bunch of them in a cup two days ago and hatched them in the furnace room. They hatched and probably weren't in the cup for more than 5-8 hours. I did not feed them or water them in that time. I put three in her cup and fed the rest to my Giant Asian Mantis, who ate all of them...he seems fine and hasn't expressed any symptoms or vomiting. 

She still seems in pretty rough shape unfortunately.

 

[Predatorhousepet]

First, if your ghost has wings she is an adult and won't get any bigger. An inch and a half is typical size for an adult female ghost. How long has she had her wings? Has she laid an ooth yet?

There is really nothing in your description that sticks out to me as a huge problem. The temperature is fine but she may need more ventilation or possibly it is too humid in there for her and that was stressing her out which led to her getting sick. Ghosts don't really need that high of humidity, only 50 to 70% and they get the majority of their water from prey. Her enclosure really only needs a light misting every other day if she's in a deli cup. She does need a bigger enclosure with more ventilation but she should have been ok in the deli cup temporarily, as in a week or two.

All you can really do is keep her comfortable and offer some honey mixed with a little water and maybe some bug guts to keep her energy up. Make sure she gets plenty of ventilation and don't mist more often than every other day. Good luck.

 

[MantisGirl13]

I hope that you can help her but it sounds like she is too far gone. Give her lots of honey water and try to get her to stand up. Do you have any other ghosts in or near her cage? If so, separate them so the disease is not transmitted. It sounds like a bad feeder insect, so I would get new stock.

- MantisGirl13