Mantid moulting... is she ok?

[cat_h]

One of my female D.dessicata is moulting this morning. She's the first one to do it since I got them a few weeks ago and I am slightly freaking out lol.

I tried to upload pics to Flickr but for whatever reason its not playing this morning so I'll just describe whats happening..

Shes hanging from a perch across the top of her enclosure. Nothing underneath, plenty of room to hang. She has worked herself almost completely out of the old skin and then took a while to chill out and stopped moving. she looks good, all her limbs seem fine etc. All ok thus far.

Now I am concerned though, as shes reached out to grab onto some decor and is trying to pull the last segment of her abdomen out of the old skin. It doesn't seem to be working. Is this a problem or will she get it out eventually? Do they get stuck? and if so at what point do you try to help? Looking at her it looks like shes struggling, but I could totally be anthropomorphizing the normal process lol. I'm worried she will fall if the old skin gives way while shes pulling against it. Should I try to give her something better to anchor herself to for leverage? or would interference freak her out and make things worse?

I feel super lucky that I got to see her moult, but until I've had a few do it successfully I'm not sure what to expect.

Thanks for any advice!!

Cat

 

[cat_h]

Ok trying a pic... so this is while she was hanging out taking a breather as it were. You can see the leaves there that shes using to pull on for leverage, but that last little bit of her abdomen wont come free. I can't see whether its just wedged in, or if its still attached somehow. Will she take care of this herself?



PS apologies for the photo quality

 

[cat_h]

Hahaha panic over she's free of the old skin. Guess I learned something today.... don't jump in, they'll manage on their own.

Also... she's huge!! Think this must have been the pre-adult moult, defo glad I gave her a bunch of height to hang as she's a beast.

Relatedly... how long do y'all normally wait to feed after a moult? She ate 3 days ago.

 

[CosbyArt]

@cat_h Yes, as you found out it is completely normal. I'm glad to hear she molted just fine.

Mantids will leave a small portion of their abdomen (and sometimes walking legs) in the exuviae (shed exoskeleton "skin"). They do that to ensure their grip as they sit around and begin to air dry and harden the new soft and wet exoskeleton - typically 15 minutes to an hour or more in that position. Once they have harden a bit they finish the molt by pulling themselves free, and often rest on the lid/perch beside the old exuviae.

Feeding is not recommended for 24 hours after molting as they are still soft, can be deformed/injured by a feeder or the act of feeding, and most mantids do not accept prey anyway until a day has passed.

 

[cat_h]

@cat_h Yes, as you found out it is completely normal. I'm glad to hear she molted just fine.

Mantids will leave a small portion of their abdomen (and sometimes walking legs) in the exuviae (shed exoskeleton "skin"). They do that to ensure their grip as they sit around and begin to air dry and harden the new soft and wet exoskeleton - typically 15 minutes to an hour or more in that position. Once they have harden a bit they finish the molt by pulling themselves free, and often rest on the lid/perch beside the old exuviae.

Feeding is not recommended for 24 hours after molting as they are still soft, can be deformed/injured by a feeder or the act of feeding, and most mantids do not accept prey anyway until a day has passed.

Awesome thanks!!  I'll offer her some food tomorrow

 

[CosbyArt]

Awesome thanks!!  I'll offer her some food tomorrow

Your welcome, and she'll be hungry tomorrow.

I just read you said she has been without food a few days before the molt, and that is normal too. Most mantids refuse food a few days before a molt to flush out their digestive system, shrink their abdomen, and prepare for the molt itself.

 

[cat_h]

She didn't take the food offered today, seemed more set on running away which is the total opposite of her character before the moult.

Will try again tomorrow :/

 

[Ocelotbren]

How has feeding gone since your last post?  I know some mantids will take longer than a day to be ready to eat after a molt.

 

[cat_h]

She's taken 3 crickets since the moult, its been rocky lol...

She was defensive rather than predatory the second time I tried to feed her, but grabbed it eventually.

The next time she showed interest but wouldn't grab so I brought her out and made the cricket move around in front of her but no predatory response either. I put her back in and left the cricket with her, 5 mins later I peeked in and she was munching it.

And today she swiped the cricket straight off the tongs first time, so I'm happier

Her abdomen has filled out nicely, it was super flat the day after she moulted.

I think maybe for this species and at this size (almost adult? Not sure if she just has one more to go or two) it might just be worth waiting 48hrs. She was definitely still clumsy moving around 24hrs after the moult

 

[Ocelotbren]

@cat_h Yeah that is possible.  I don't have any experience with that species, but I did notice my Chinese had no interest in food for an additional day after his molt to adult (2 days instead of 1).  I have also heard that the bigger they get, the more time they need to settle in and be ready to eat again.

 

[hymenopus]

@cat_h Is she adult? I would like to see her!

 

[cat_h]

@hymenopus she's not adult quite yet. I think perhaps the next moult will be to adult, but I'm not sure as this is her first moult with me.

I'll take her out tomorrow and try to get some pics, maybe someone will be able to point out if there's a way to tell what moult she's at

 

[cat_h]

@Ocelotbren it's good to hear that about the larger size mantids, will hopefully chill me out a bit more and not worry as much when my other two dessicata moult. 

 

[hymenopus]

You can also take pics through the cage, do you know how big she is?

 

[Ocelotbren]

@cat_h Yes, the wait for your mantis to start eating again can be a bit stressful!

Also, if you're unsure of instar, the wing buds are often used as an indicator.  They usually become visible in the last few pre-adult instars but their size might help pinpoint the exact instar.  Other than that, overall size of the mantid could help too.  If you take its picture next to a common object for size reference, or a tape measure, that could help the more experienced members as well, I think.  I'm still learning though.

 

[cat_h]

Made a new post with pics so we can play "Guess the Instar"

 

[Ocelotbren]

Sounds like fun!