Lethargic behavior leads to death

[SunOfRa]

Well, hey everyone. I am new to the forum and unfortunately this is my first post. I had a carolina mantis and I live in NC. I raised him since he was a nymph and he was always in great health. Recently, he molted into an adult and finally got his wings! However, this is where the trouble began. A few days later, I saw him at the top of the cage and noticed he hadn't eaten anything. I took him out and he was very lethargic. He would not stand on his feet and was very "flimsy". This was a day or two ago. I hand fed him water and unfortunately he just layed on his side and expired this morning. Any idea what may have killed him? I kept him in a moistened atrium and fed him crickets bought at PetCo. I never had any trouble with him before this and I was pretty devastated to see his health decline so rapidly.

 

[Sticky]

I am sorry your little guy died. Crickets from petco are untrustworthy. Afew people here have reported dead mantids after feeding crics from there.

I hope you get another mantis. Check out the classifieds at the bottom of the forums lineup.

 

[SunOfRa]

Thanks for the condolences. I never thought I would get attached to a pet but I really loved this little guy. There's just something about the mantis and raising them from a nymph. I had no idea PetCo was bad--then again this is my first mantis. I examined his abdomen and it looked like it was torn or split on the back. I'm not sure if his final molt had troubles but once he had molted he seemed fine and his energy just went down and down to nothing.

 

[sally]

Awww sorry about your mantis. I always feel so bad every time I lose one

 

[thalassarche]

Yeah, there's some concern about feeding pet store crickets to mantises, not just because of mantises ending up dead, but also because crickets can injure a mantis if left in an enclosure with one--especially molting ones. Keep in mind also that many male adults won't be as interested in eating as they are in finding a mate and will probably only eat a couple times a week (depending on species, etc). It could have been any number of things that killed your mantis, from mismolt to injury to whatever it is crickets , and unfortunately it's hard to be certain. But you did successfully raise him to adult, so congratulations on that! If you want to have another mantis, I definitely recommend the classifieds here. It's hard to keep just one mantis!

(As an aside, I'm also in NC, so hello neighbor!)

 

[ScienceGirl]

Sorry about your mantis. Males don't typically live long lives.

Some mantis keepers love crickets - others swear against them. Crickets are cannibalistic if they do not have another source of protein available - they can pick up disease by eating a dead diseased cricket.

With most feeders, you'll want to "clean out" their systems before feeding to your mantis. Try a healthy diet of: vegetable scraps (though it has been said that carrots and potatoes are bad for crickets destined for mantis-mouths), like celery or lettuce; a slice of fruit, like an apple or a strawberry; and protein can be given to them from dog food. You could also try feeding them oats, but it seems to me that they'd be more nutrient rich by eating produce.

Make sure they have a water source - pet stores sell a cricket gel, or you can use an apple or a sponge.

 

[SunOfRa]

You are so right. I felt like such a jack- because I put him in a larger atrium and there was a cricket in there but I didn't see it I wonder if the cricket nibbled on his abdomen. I thought he needed a bigger setup to molt because he was so big. Then I go back and look and he molted from the lowest branch. I swear I felt completely awful all day yesterday but the molt also appeared to be messed up around the abdomen. I had been keeping him outside because it was so humid. I made it to adult but was so devastated when I saw that he hit adulthood and steady declined. Funny how little things can be so emotionally moving. He had black rings around his eyes and they are almost completely black now. I picked him up to bury him today since he hasn't moved in 24 hours and he moved a bit.

 

[Domanating]

A picture of the abdomen would have been great to see if it was the cricket doing the damage. If the cause of the messed up abdomen was the molt, then he probably died due to twisted/damaged organs.