Mismolt

[Connor]

I have a European mantis that just molted from subadult to adult. He had some leg problems but I thought he would molt fine. I looked this morning and he was on the ground with his old skin(antennae stuck) and his neck pretty bent. There seem to be tiny little wings that have definitely not grown out fully. He has a hard time walking around, he crawls. Is there anything I can do or is this a freezer situation? 

 

[cwebster]

Depends on how he does. I wet our mismolted tenodora sinensis mantises carefully and unstick their legs and keep them moist. Some are able to stand after mismolting and some cannot. I offer honey every few hours and hope for the best. I feel very sad every time one mismolts. 

 

[Connor]

Depends on how he does. I wet our mismolted tenodora sinensis mantises carefully and unstick their legs and keep them moist. Some are able to stand after mismolting and some cannot. I offer honey every few hours and hope for the best. I feel very sad every time one mismolts. 

Thank you so much for the feedback. I will see how he progresses these next few days. Any reason why the wings arent grown?

 

[hymenopus]

Do you have a picture?

 

[Connor]

Do you have a picture?

I tried to upload one but it didn't work...

 

[Ocelotbren]

The wings may not have been able to unfold and dry out if the mantis wasn't able to hang and let gravity help them.  I'm not sure how long they have before it becomes too late for the wings to unfurl.  Although, wings aren't a necessity for captive mantids so it wouldn't be a health concern, if the mantis survives the other issues.  Best of luck.

 

[Connor]

The wings may not have been able to unfold and dry out if the mantis wasn't able to hang and let gravity help them.  I'm not sure how long they have before it becomes too late for the wings to unfurl.  Although, wings aren't a necessity for captive mantids so it wouldn't be a health concern, if the mantis survives the other issues.  Best of luck.

That's what I was thinking. Thank you. Hopefully he will start walking around.

 

[cwebster]

We have one whose legs are bent wrong but he is active and I pick him up and feed him honey which he eats excitedly. Am going to set up a thumbtack feeder for him.  Have lost four though whose necks were really bent, sadly. Now I eyeball the mantises several times day and night to make sure nobody is mismolting and stuck. The sooner they are freed, the better they do despite the mismolt. 

 

[Connor]

We have one whose legs are bent wrong but he is active and I pick him up and feed him honey which he eats excitedly. Am going to set up a thumbtack feeder for him.  Have lost four though whose necks were really bent, sadly. Now I eyeball the mantises several times day and night to make sure nobody is mismolting and stuck. The sooner they are freed, the better they do despite the mismolt. 

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately I decided to let him go due to the fact that he coulded walk and his neck was extremely bent. Didn't seem like the work was worth it for such a poor quality of life...

 

[cwebster]

Sorry to hear it. We lost four recently. Molting is so hard on so many of the poor things. . Am sorry. 

 

[Serle]

hy Connor , I thought I was the king of mismoults . Those Tenoderas are a real heart breaker, more problems than all my others put together.  I have an adult that mismoulted and both rear legs are twisted and basically nonfunctional but he still hauls himself around and eats well .,  The bent neck syndrome is pretty well a freezer sentence ............. other wing and leg mismoults can be lived with ........... S

 

[Connor]

hy Connor , I thought I was the king of mismoults . Those Tenoderas are a real heart breaker, more problems than all my others put together.  I have an adult that mismoulted and both rear legs are twisted and basically nonfunctional but he still hauls himself around and eats well .,  The bent neck syndrome is pretty well a freezer sentence ............. other wing and leg mismoults can be lived with ........... S

Yeah, it was a real heartbreaker... especially because I felt guilty, I did capture him from the outside so I have no clue if I left him, maybe he would've survived.

 

[cwebster]

There are so many mismolts and it is so heartbreaking that I may not raise tenodora sinensis next year.