Mantis mismolt

[KevinsWither]

My female mantis mismolted. She can't hunt. But her mouth and abdomen are fine. Could she still eat? Mate? Lay ooths? 

 

[MantisGalore]

Can she walk?

 

[KevinsWither]

Barely. She was molting from a large height and she basically dropped on the cage floor. I found her alive and I tried to hold her while she molted. How would I hand feed her? Can someone respond? 

 

[Ghost_Keeper]

Well You'd need to post pictures obviously. And if her mouth is fine she can eat, just cut open a feeder, spear it on a cricket and put it near her face. I do this for all injured mantids. 

 

[CosbyArt]

Really hard to give any guidance on this without seeing what her condition is. As your worried about breeding/laying ooths I assume she molted to an adult? What are her options of things to climb and hang from in her habitat? A few photos would clarify everything (of her and/in her habitat). Can she use her raptor forearms? Can she climb? You said can't really walk, which walking leg(s) are affected?

Depending on her condition if she can use her raptorial forearms to hold prey, you can offer her the usual feeders from tongs/tweezers.

If her forearms do not work, you can feed her prey that is pinned onto a thumbtack (stab the prey onto the thumbtack and with a piece of clay/sticky tack/etc, put that on the top of the thumbtack, and place the thumbtack near her mouth - your get better results if the prey is still alive and moving trapped on the thumbtack) -- see the link for a photo.

Or you can use whole milk from a eyedropper. Or smash up an cricket or cockroach and offer it to her from tongs/tweezers or using the thumbtack method - you will have to put her mouth on it first so she can taste it and become interested.

There are other options too depending on everything such as her condition and your feeder options.

 

[KevinsWither]

She hung from the enclosure top. Before she molted, I managed to take the cage top off and let her molt in a 5 gallon bucket (it was not used for anything). 

 

[MuscleMantis]

you can still feed her if you take an insect and use a pin or needle and stick it on the end and hold it up to her mouth. once she tast it and she is hungry she will eat it. what i do for mine is cut it into small pieces and put a piece on a needle and let them grab it with there mouth so i dont have to sit there and hold it.

 

[Ghost_Keeper]

Since all limbs, even the raptors seem pretty messed up, I doubt she could mate, or even really function as a mantis again. I'd just try to give her a happy life from now on.

 

[MuscleMantis]

she might be able to mate and lay ooth. up side if she does mate there is little chance of the male getting cannibalized.

 

[CosbyArt]

It appears that three of her walking legs are unusable, and her tarsi on her front forearms are missing too (likely broken off in the exoskeleton when she fell). Her wings are of no concern and will not affect her. It also seems both her antennas have been broken short as well (affecting balance and any sensory they use them for). Any other conditions I am unable to tell from a single top down photo. Sadly in that condition she will not be able to walk/move/climb in any suitable form - and breeding/ooth laying will likely only lead to further discomfort (I would recommend not breeding her as it would only injure her more). She will of course lay ootheca breed or not, and if she is laying flat they will be only a infertile mess.

If you plan on trying to help her.. For her comfort she should be placed in a empty habitat, with perhaps only paper towel on the bottom. If any substrate is used, and she only lays on it continuously, that will lead to bacterial/fungus growth on her and the substrate, leading to further fatal problems. Any sticks placed in there will only cause her to try climbing and falling off, further injuring her legs or causing a abdomen rupture.

You can try giving her a feeder in tweezers/tongs and she if she can hold it to eat herself. If she can not, you can try the other things I mentioned above.