Is my Mantis ready to moult?

[Gwan-Thwei]

So, the last time my mantis moulted he lost nearly all of his legs. Today i took him out of his cage to sun himself and hunt, and he tried hanging upside down. Of course, because he lost most of his back legs, he fell off.

I tried taping him up in a large, flat enclosure stood on its side. I've got my jacket underneath so if he falls he won't hurt himself, and I've misted him a bit for moisture.

I've got a close up of the tape below. As you can see, he doesn't have a lot of leg to work with, and he can't grasp on anything because he has no feet.



But i'm not entirely sure if he's moulting. I went out to check him and he was cleaning himself and twisting to see the phone. I've got my jacket below him so he won't get hurt if he chews his way out, but i don't want to hang him upside down if he's not ready.

EDIT: He chewed himself out of the tape, false alarm

 

[JP77]

If he's subadult, his wing buds will swell when he's nearing a molt and he'll refuse food. When that happens, they'll molt usually within a day. That would be when to tape him up.

 

[rickyveloz33]

Your doing a good job trying to save this mantis and like he said his wing will look thicker and I honestly think you will save him.