Mismolt! Is he damaged beyond repair?

[Nicolas]

Kind of unfortunate how one of their first molts was a mismolt!

However, as you can see in the photos, it's just his two back legs. The container was misted - the shed skin somehow got stuck to his back legs.

He's still able to hang upside down on the sticks:

In other more lighthearted news, the chinese female seems to be very robust with personality. She always wanders around, even if she is holding prey.

 

[Predatorhousepet]

If he is able to hang upsidedown with no problem he can probably still pull off his next molt. You'll have to keep a close eye when the time comes so you can help him just in case he falls. Also, make sure there is moss or something soft underneath him just in case.

 

[Mantis Lady]

Can he use those legs?

 

[Synapze]

The same thing happened to my Chinese. Her legs were pretty badly mangled and both tarsi were missing, so she couldn't hang... all she could do was drag her legs. I thought she was a goner. She kept showing interest in prey, so i took a piece of tulle and hung it from the top of enclosure to to bottom. She immediately began using it to climb using her raptor arms. She healed completely on her next molt, but her tarsi were still a little underdeveloped... now they have regenerated and mobility is back to normal. I left the tulle hanging (it's practically invisible) in the enclosure just in case she ever needs it again. If your mantis is still able to hang, he'll probably be ok.

 

[Nicolas]

Can he use those legs?

Not really, no. But he can still hang upside down.

The same thing happened to my Chinese. Her legs were pretty badly mangled and both tarsi were missing, so she couldn't hang... all she could do was drag her legs. I thought she was a goner. She kept showing interest in prey, so i took a piece of tulle and hung it from the top of enclosure to to bottom. She immediately began using it to climb using her raptor arms. She healed completely on her next molt, but her tarsi were still a little underdeveloped... now they have regenerated and mobility is back to normal. I left the tulle hanging (it's practically invisible) in the enclosure just in case she ever needs it again. If your mantis is still able to hang, he'll probably be ok.

What types if food should I offer him? Normal flies and such? 

 

[Synapze]

I'd stick to flies or small prey for a while and wait to see how his condition improves. 

The fact that he's still able to hang is good news.

 

[Mantis Lady]

If he is able to hang and eat you could help him through his next molt. Do what Synapse  did and he makes a chance. if he can't hunt his own food try handfeeding: with tweezers putting abdomen of prey under his mouth and let him see it is eatable. Good Luck

 

[Nicolas]

Update:

I don't think he's going to make it. He absolutely refuses food and barely moves around... quite sad honestly, I don't know what else to do. 

 

[River Dane]

Sometimes it takes a while for them to eat again after a molt, especially when it was a mismolt. How long ago was it? I wouldn’t worry until it’s been nearly a week, maybe five or six days.

Also, if you haven’t tried it yet, you could cut the prey in half and hold the gooey end to his face, enticing him to take some nibbles. Someone else also had success spreading some of that goo on the arms of their mantis. Since they naturally clean themselves, this is a reliable way to help feed disabled mantids.

 

[Nicolas]

Sometimes it takes a while for them to eat again after a molt, especially when it was a mismolt. How long ago was it? I wouldn’t worry until it’s been nearly a week, maybe five or six days.

Also, if you haven’t tried it yet, you could cut the prey in half and hold the gooey end to his face, enticing him to take some nibbles. Someone else also had success spreading some of that goo on the arms of their mantis. Since they naturally clean themselves, this is a reliable way to help feed disabled mantids.

He molted about ~27 hours ago as of this message. Also, he's still a teeny boy, so what type of prey would you recommend me catching and doing this to?

Maybe I could catch a small fly outside but cutting them in half would be difficult. However, I guess I could just shake the bottle I catch them in until the fly is just frozen or something.

And my tweezers are a bit large... But yeah, what would you recommend for a prey item? 

 

[Mantis Lady]

You can use cricket goo or of a dubia goo. Use tootpicks put some goo on it, that is what I did to keep a sick mantis eating. That is easy to nibble from.

 

[MantisGirl13]

Dubia goo works really well!

- MantisGirl13

 

[Mantis Lady]

My mantids love that yes, the biggest roach is for Cochise next week: a nice fat female adult.

@Nicolasdid you mantis eat the goo? or eat at all?

 

[Nicolas]

@Little Mantis Nope, he refused every single bit of food (even the goo method) - he'd just limp away or ignore it. 

Today when I woke up I found him lying lifeless in his enclosure, so, yeah.... that's really unfortunate  He molted about a day and a half ago too, no idea what was wrong with him, as the enclosure was well misted and he had enough places to hang around... but then again, he didn't seem as lively as the other female when I first had them delivered. 

 

[Synapze]

So sorry @Nicolas... sounds like you did everything right. ?

 

[Mantis Lady]

Sorry for your loss you did what you could..

 

[MantisGirl13]

I am so sorry that he died. Mismolts are horrible things. At least you tried to save him, so you know that his death was not your fault.

- MantisGirl13

 

[River Dane]

Sorry about your loss, it really seemed like he would survive. Sounds like you did all you could to help him.

 

[Predatorhousepet]

I am sorry you lost your mantis to a mismolt. It's really unfortunate when that happens, especially when you are just starting out but even the most seasoned experienced keepers have to deal with mismolts from time to time. I hope you will not be discouraged by this and continue with the hobby.

You said you still have a Chinese nymph that is doing well? The best you can do to prevent mismolts in the future is to increase humidity and provide a good surface to molt from. Start by misting once a day then increase to twice a day when she is getting close to her molt. Also using some sort of substrate that absorbs & holds water such as sphagnum moss or coconut husk will help retain humidity after the water droplets evaporate. Paper towels also work but they dry out faster than moss or coconut. (Tap water isn't good for misting, it has chlorine and chloramine that can prematurely dry out or irritate a newly molted mantis and also causes water spots & mineral buildup. Distilled water is ideal, it solves all of those issues but any filtered bottled water will work in a pinch..or if all you have is tap water chlorine/chloramime can be removed by letting the water sit out in an open container for 24 hours or by boiling for 20 minutes then cooling to room temp before using.) 

The other thing to help prevent mismolts is to provide a good surface to molt from. While your mantis can climb on glass or plastic it doesn't give good grip, covering slippery surfaces with fiberglass window screen or some type of mesh such as tulle can help prevent falls. Also setting.the entire enclosure at a slight angle sometimes helps.