mantis ready to die?

[sevenoaks]

my mantis was hatched in march and she has since been doing well. her abdomon was always puffed up . she has been hanging out on the bottom of her cage lately (usually on top or upside down on roof) she hasnt eatten in many days. i noticed she layed a small ooth but it was only the size of a pea (not fertile as she is alone). i spray her daily. do you think this is the end of her life? what can i do to make her comfortable at this point. her belly is still puffed up

 

[Findarato]

would she eat if you feed her by hand? Mine wasn't eating for some days as well, and she seems quite lazy. sometimes I have to nudge her a bit, or feed her (using tongs to wave the food in from of her eyes)so she grabs it. Mine hatched in February, and is a Hierodula, what species is yours?

It might not be a good sign if your mantis sits around on the bottom. But as my mantis is the first I ever had, I really have too little experience to give you more advice. I'm sure someone here has a better idea.

 

[LauraMG]

If she is really large and puffy she may be getting ready to lay the rest of an ootheca. She probably still has some time left, so I would just keep doing what you're doing because it sounds like you're doing great!

 

[sevenoaks]

If she is really large and puffy she may be getting ready to lay the rest of an ootheca. She probably still has some time left, so I would just keep doing what you're doing because it sounds like you're doing great!

thanks, she is a Chinese species, and her belly has been puffy for a very long time. i did feed her alot during the first couple of months, but then i laid back a bit because she looked super fat and she never laid an ooth until a couple of days ago and it was only small one. i waved the cricket in front of her with tongs and she didnt take it, she used to.

 

[LauraMG]

thanks, she is a Chinese species, and her belly has been puffy for a very long time. i did feed her alot during the first couple of months, but then i laid back a bit because she looked super fat and she never laid an ooth until a couple of days ago and it was only small one. i waved the cricket in front of her with tongs and she didnt take it, she used to.

Yea, maybe ready to lay more, maybe just not hungry! :lol:

 

[sevenoaks]

she has died. i hope it wasnt because i left her out on a cool night (60's)or that i didnt feed her enough( a cricket or bug every couple of days0 i buried her next to her mom. and that ends the story of my mantis keeping my friends. thanks for all you patience with me.

 

[Rick]

Like I told you over on the other board her time was simply up. Six months is a respectable life span for that species.

 

[sevenoaks]

thanks Rick...

 

[Rick]

thanks Rick...

What better way to move on but to get another one!

 

[LauraMG]

What better way to move on but to get another one!

Spoken like a true mantid fanatic! I AGREE! :lol:

 

[Mars1962]

I looked at this thread because Rock died, and i wonder if she was just old. May 10 - Sept 18 is only 4 months though.

She just laid that crazy ooth, but acted like she needed to lay more. She was still "pumping" up and down last night. Last meal was Tuesday, a decent sized grasshopper. I gave her 2 flies on Thursday but they died before she got to them. Friday my last cricket was dead in ITS cage so I had nothing to give her till today. I was cleaning her cage and putting a couple just-bought crickets in there when i realized she was only hanging on by one leg : (.

God I feel awful if she literally just couldn't go one more day without food... First it sounded like i was feeding her too much. But it's hard to imagine it was old age for a Chinese female to die at 4 months and one week.

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