Just a molting question (P. paradoxa)

[femmephyllocrania]

My ghost nymphs have molted once since I got them and nothing went wrong, but they didn't stop eating like I keep hearing they would. From what I've read and what others have told me they should stop eating prior to a molt, but that didn't happen. The only reason I didn't replace the food was because one of them looked significantly bigger than the others and they were all hanging and shaking (which I know is a sign of molting). There's nothing wrong with this of course, except I'm afraid if they don't refuse food before they molt I might make a mistake and put some flies in there when they're in a vulnerable state. Any advice? Should I just look for other signs and hope for the best or what?

 

[MantidLord]

Look for the signs. My I. oratorias do that all the time. I just check on them periodically, and if they're in a specific stance (molting stance for this particular species), I know they are ready to molt. The stance for mine, are back legs stretched all the way back, with front legs in between the mouth of the mantis and the surface that it is on. I also watch for antennae activity. I'm sure ofcourse, that ghosts have distinct "signs", so just look out for them.

 

[mrblue]

how often do you feed them? you may not have noticed them stop eating before the moult, it is usually only for a couple of days. however, some people have also noticed mantids eating right up until mere hours before moulting. so sometimes there are exceptions. the hanging and shaking are not signs of moulting, mantids spend close to 100% of their lives hanging upside down, and p.paradoxa do that shaking thing really often, i don't know why. but it is not a sign of moulting. as mantidlord mentioned, after a while you will become familiar with the stance that suggests an imminent moult. there was a thread talking about signs of moulting recently, you can search it out if you are interested in reading about some other signs people have noticed.