Molt is Taking a While

[tikki]

My little Murdoc/Minerva began molting just as I sat the jar on the kitchen table for feeding. It's been at it for about 25 minutes or a little more, and it's mostly free, just that the last bit of the abdomen isn't free yet. I've been misting much more lately because I knew they'd all be molting soon, and I've misted the corner of the jar, away from the mantis, twice since it started, but I've heard that Chinese can get a little difficult in the latter half of their molts. It is lifting its legs up to try to grip the sides of the jar or the mesh lid, but this is the first time I've ever watched a molt start to finish so I'm not sure how the last bit works.

Will my baby be ok?

 

[angelofdeathzz]

bad molts take hours not min. so you may be ok. keep us posted

 

[tikki]

Issue resolved. It grabbed onto the jar, gave itself a tug, and slid right out. Perfect molt, and almost 3 inches long now! Thank you for your concern, angelofdeathzz. I'm really kind of paranoid about my bugs, haha.

 

[LauraMG]

It's always best to not mess with them while they're molting. The bigger they are (in my experience) the longer they take to molt. I would not ever recommend going in after them while molting because you'll probably do more harm than good, and unfortunately that's also from personal experience.

 

[Rick]

That is normal. After emerging from the old skin, the mantis will often hang from it by just the tip of the abdomen. Eventually it should grab the skin or another surface and pull itself free. Do not disturb the mantis during any part of this process.

 

[hibiscusmile]

Ditto!