Cool! One last question. One of my females has sores on the front of her eyes... I figured it was from rubbing against the side of her enclosure, so I got a bigger one, but they're still there. Will they ever heal, or will they stay because she can't shed anymore?
Well it was at my school... Yknow, now that I think about it, I'm sure the school probably used pesticides. They definitely have rodent exterminators on campus often enough too
. But .. quite a late reaction, really. You'd think poisoning would've happened quicker than 2 weeks later. I really just don't know. I'm going to assume it was spontaneous old age as all my others are fine. 
second time I've ever need and she's much more aggressive than Honey was. Hopefully Donny keeps his head lmao
I've never had to euthanize a mantis but I am an insect taxidermist.
Obviously this is a whole different ball game but my cat of 21 years had seizures in the weeks before he was euthanized. Obviously he was an old man. I'm not sure if that means anything in terms of mantids but maybe it's neurological deterioration? Otherwise I would say the pesticide hypothesis is a good guess. If it is a parasite I think your best next action is to clean obsessively. Wash your hands, the old enclosures, the decor, anything that touched them. Sterilize any tweezers (or other communal tools) you used with a Clorox wipes or alcohol then water, or something of that ilk. Better safe than sorry!
Hi there,
after reading most I took the advise putting her in freezer to “long sleep”
English isn't your first language, is it?Hi there,
Is that means just leave it out in an open air to dry after freezing?
I need advice if there is a nice way to preserve a mantis without any chemicals process to their body?
My dear mantis dying probably due to old age
She is a Hierodula venosa . About 9+ month old
I got her from a bouquet (if not wrong) on 6 Jan. started on 12 Oct (few days ago) she barely move, not eating and not drinking, then the following days she is like dying stage moving less but at some point can see she still try to move but no strength at all. Can see her abdomen have breathing movement, it slow down day by day. Last night 14 Oct, there is some brown liquid keep coming out from her mouth
Her current condition is the 2 little “tales” is moving a bit, and very weak breathing movement at the end of abdomen.
I got the advise nothing I can do and putting her in freezer to sleep is better let her be like that. Finally I Place her in freezer on yesterday 15 Oct 6pm after saying last good bye
Was she actually already “passed away” few days ago even she actually try to move her legs and hands?
At some points she even tried to grab me with her claws
Ya, pardon my broken English , I speak Cantonese.
I will try to figure out what you're trying to ask in your post and anwer the best I can in the morning, but for now I must sleep
I lyophilize the specimen. It's also possible to soak it in acetone for 24h before drying to try and preserve the color and reduce rot
yes, that is old! Especially if you got her as an adult!!My dear mantis dying probably due to old age
She is a Hierodula venosa . About 9+ month old
those "tails" are her cerci, sensory organsI got her from a bouquet (if not wrong) on 6 Jan. started on 12 Oct (few days ago) she barely move, not eating and not drinking, then the following days she is like dying stage moving less but at some point can see she still try to move but no strength at all. Can see her abdomen have breathing movement, it slow down day by day. Last night 14 Oct, there is some brown liquid keep coming out from her mouth
Her current condition is the 2 little “tales” is moving a bit, and very weak breathing movement at the end of abdomen.
I am not sure what you mean here. Did you see them moving on their own or only while handling her? it's possible the tarsi just hooked to things and got moved around?I got the advise nothing I can do and putting her in freezer to sleep is better let her be like that. Finally I Place her in freezer on yesterday 15 Oct 6pm after saying last good bye
Was she actually already “passed away” few days ago even she actually try to move her legs and hands?
then she probably was still alive
Thank you friend.
Hi Agent A
I found her on 6th Jan 2022, she was L2 if I’m not wrong.
Pardon me, I mean about 20hrs before I place her in freezer (since 14 Oct), she no longer moving , only stay still at a place but she did try to lift up her legs and hand at some point , can still see her abdomen have minor breathing sign. I wonder At this stage is she already passed away ?
yes on the acetone soak. I am not sure about cutting out the organs. I usually just lyophilize them. I wouldnt risk leaving organs in there though
ah ok. idk how quickly she reached adulthood but she was probably pretty old at death
I doubt it
I'd leave her in there for at least 48h. if you have her in an airtight container, she can keep for a few years
She turned adult (last molt) is on 25 Apr.
The full process to lyophilize them is:
lyophilizing is just a fancy way of saying freeze-drying. OK technically you can freeze-dry without a vacuum pressure so then it wouldn't be called lyophilization
I'd remove them. it's about how much volume the abdomen has. if the abdomen is very very rotund, it may not dry out in the middle before the organs begin to rot. with a lyophilizer or any low-tech freeze-drying methods, this isn't a concern because the specimen stays frozen during the process
I see, ya I’m just placing it in freezer to freeze drying.
understood, thats saying to remove the organ is a must process for me if I want to preserve it, correct?
