Leg 'trapped' in skin

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Ninja_The_Mantis

Ninja_The_Mantis

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Hey everyone :) Its me again XD

I have got a mio mantis that moulted yesterday, and she seemed fine. But when I checked on her this morning to mist, and remove the skin, I saw she wasn't acting very well. She wasn't walking properly, and the skin was getting dragged along behind her. On closer expection, I saw her back right leg still inside the skin,about halfway down the joint. What should I do? I tried gently tugging the skin, but it looks like her leg is stuck in it. Its her first moult since I brought her, and I had only had her for a few weeks.

Right now, she is trying to walk up a stick, but to no avail. Please Help!

 
Mist her container, and gently mist the area where its stuck to soften the molt. Give it some time to soften and see if it comes off on its own. If not then pull it off. First try gently without holding the leg, but don't tug on it too hard. I find that mantises will just "let go" of their leg when they feel trapped by it. If the molt doesn't come off that way, gently hold part of the healthy leg and peel off the molt. Doing it the latter way has a chance to deform the back leg, though chances are the leg is already deformed from being in the molt anyway.

Your mantis will be fine either way. One back leg doesn't matter too much, and if she's still a nymph she will regrow the back leg eventually. I gently hold my mantises by their thorax if they need anything like this done to them. Some of them absolutely hate it but it's to ensure I don't accidentally hurt them considering its a rather delicate procedure.

 
Thanks!

I have misted the molt, and peeled the skin back to reveal more of the leg. I cant get anymore peeled off because the leg is still in the leg of the molt. I have cut all of the excess skin off the molt, leaving a little bit of it still attached to the leg. Is this okay to leave a bit on, or does it all have to come off? She is now walking okay, but the leg is still being dragged behind. Is there any more i can do to help her?

 
Now she isn't even letting her leg touch the ground... I am getting very worried. She has chewed the excess skin off the leg, leaving the molt leg still attached. I tried putting her back on a stick, but now she is refusing to walk on her back legs. Help? I don't think the molt will come off, because it seems stuck tight.

 
Even if she lost her leg, she would be fine. If she is not putting it on the ground, it is probably just because she can feel that something is wrong. Hopefully it will come off next molt.

How far down her leg is it stuck? If it continues being a problem, you could always try amputating it.

 
I would just leave it alone, she will handle it or not, she will regrow it in next molt.

ps... the only one really bothered by this is you.

 
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^^ disagree with this comment. a mantis can actually be quite impaired by a leg like this being a stealth hunter. sometimes its whole balance can be disrupted. try the remove whatever there is of the molt. if you cant just leave here a few days. sometimes they will bite off their own leg. if it doesn't, and is actually impaired and quality of life is affected, amputate the leg leaving as much of the leg is still ok. this is a last resort though.

 
You should try gently tugging on the molt. You should be able to see what part is her leg and what part is molt. Most of the time it "feels" stuck but it actually comes off if you tug at the right angle. And honestly, as long as a mantis can hang upside down on its own, there's no problem with it molting again. I've had a mantis loose both back legs due to a bad molt. I handfed him for 1-2 weeks, and he molted successfully regaining both of his back legs. Didn't see him do it, no idea how he did it, but point is he did it. The most fatal mismolts in my opinion are the ones where the body/legs are bent in such a way where they cannot hang upside down anymore.

With one impaired back leg, all you'd have to do is keep her in a smaller enclosure so she can reach the top more easily if she does fall. A smaller enclosure also gives her more chance to catch her prey. I never bother resorting to handfeeding unless I notice malfunctioning raptorials or a serious impairment (such as two legs missing). One of my guys was actually still able to catch and eat food even with two legs on the same side missing, he has no balance whatsoever.

Oh, and mantises will avoid using one leg for a little while after some pressure is applied to it. I think it might be because pressure messes with their open circulatory system for a while until they fix it themselves. Sometimes I accidentally clamp a nymph's leg and they will refuse to walk on it for an hour or so, but when I check on them the next day they are completely fine. Little guys keep running everywhere. Don't worry about it too much, the concept of missing a limb is a lot less detrimental to a mantis than to a person.

 
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I have been advised against amputating. I had a shield that had both its back legs twisted due to a mismolt. His legs were trapped in his old skin, and I used some water to gently remove the skin, but it was too late - the legs were twisted with the tarsi pointing straight up into the air. He had a little trouble walking but he was able to hunt fine, and by the next molt, he was perfectly fine.

I also had a budwing that had a little accident with his back leg and the lid of a container (I know, my fault!). Another budwing had his back leg stuck in his skin, and he either broke it off or chewed it off. Both mantids acted fine and after one molt, they regenerated new legs, and after another molt, the regenerated legs reached their normal size.

 
One of my lobatas, at L3 had a bad molt and I tried to pull the molt off the 2 back legs. Ugh the legs both came off. He was fine and had new legs after the next molt. I hand fed him but it probably wasn't even necessary. I didn't mean to amputate :S but he turned out to be ok.I was the one freaking out not the mantis whew.

 
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