My first mantis, Susanna a Stagmomantis carolina, died this morning just after midnight. The last few days she was slowing down, barely hanging from her lid (just a few legs unlike normal), and not wanting to eat the final couple days - although she finally did eat once yesterday morning.
I assume Susanna died of old age, as I saw no black substance or any noticeable problems. I caught her outside my work October 23, 2014 (saving her from the first winter freeze), and she died January 5, 2015 aging 74 days - she got to see in the new year, survived a cold winter, laid 8 ooths, and got some new mantis nymph neighbors for a few hours (a generation of Carolina ooth nymphs laid and hatched during her lifetime).
It's a strange coincidence, one of my incubating ooths (one that I found outside - this one in fact that had the mites) hatched yesterday and I noticed the nymphs around 6pm - then about 4 hours later I found Susanna dying.
I'd like to say she went peacefully, perhaps she did for a insect - as she was my first pet mantis I have no idea. I found her laying in her coco substrate at 10:40 PM and she out stretched her left raptor foreleg as I laid her habitat in my bed to get her out. At which point she had her four walking legs already curled inward and she never moved them.
I placed her careful in my hand, my first and last time I got to do that (as any normal time she would head butt my hand and run from it). Anyway I held her for over 30 minutes saying our goodbyes; however, after several times I thought she was gone I realized that if I pushed on her raptor forelegs gently she would swing them wildly for a second and it wasn't just "nerves".
During the time I knew she was still alive she would randomly fling her raptors around her head and hold them there for awhile before drawing them back inward - and at times flaring from side to side while doing it.
After the first 30 minutes she quit the random arm movements as mentioned. But any knocking nearby her or touching her raptors would still make her flare her arms a bit. This continued for about an hour and a half... I finally placed her back into her habitat where I found her once she barely moved no matter how much I touched or knocked - which I only did twice.
The picture below was me holding her shortly after finding her, and she was still quite alive. I thought it was appropriate to get one final photo of her alive; although, you can see her walking legs folded, her color was fading and black slowly creeping in, her face seemed to slowly liquify, and her eyes became cloudy. She fought to the very end. I will bury Susanna under a bush that is always full of insects during the summer near my door.
I thank her for allowing me the chance to save her and find such a great hobby/pets such as her, which I will continue. I am though shocked at how sadden I am over her death - the same as nearly any pet I have lost over the years, even for the short time I had her (must be the fact of the daily care, turning her light on/off, sitting beside my desk, etc..).
Her first ooth I have been incubating 72 days now so I assume that sadly her ooths are unfertilized. I will continue incubating them though for another month or two before giving up. if they don't hatch in the end, I will bury them beside Susanna.
I assume Susanna died of old age, as I saw no black substance or any noticeable problems. I caught her outside my work October 23, 2014 (saving her from the first winter freeze), and she died January 5, 2015 aging 74 days - she got to see in the new year, survived a cold winter, laid 8 ooths, and got some new mantis nymph neighbors for a few hours (a generation of Carolina ooth nymphs laid and hatched during her lifetime).
It's a strange coincidence, one of my incubating ooths (one that I found outside - this one in fact that had the mites) hatched yesterday and I noticed the nymphs around 6pm - then about 4 hours later I found Susanna dying.
I'd like to say she went peacefully, perhaps she did for a insect - as she was my first pet mantis I have no idea. I found her laying in her coco substrate at 10:40 PM and she out stretched her left raptor foreleg as I laid her habitat in my bed to get her out. At which point she had her four walking legs already curled inward and she never moved them.
I placed her careful in my hand, my first and last time I got to do that (as any normal time she would head butt my hand and run from it). Anyway I held her for over 30 minutes saying our goodbyes; however, after several times I thought she was gone I realized that if I pushed on her raptor forelegs gently she would swing them wildly for a second and it wasn't just "nerves".
During the time I knew she was still alive she would randomly fling her raptors around her head and hold them there for awhile before drawing them back inward - and at times flaring from side to side while doing it.
After the first 30 minutes she quit the random arm movements as mentioned. But any knocking nearby her or touching her raptors would still make her flare her arms a bit. This continued for about an hour and a half... I finally placed her back into her habitat where I found her once she barely moved no matter how much I touched or knocked - which I only did twice.
The picture below was me holding her shortly after finding her, and she was still quite alive. I thought it was appropriate to get one final photo of her alive; although, you can see her walking legs folded, her color was fading and black slowly creeping in, her face seemed to slowly liquify, and her eyes became cloudy. She fought to the very end. I will bury Susanna under a bush that is always full of insects during the summer near my door.
I thank her for allowing me the chance to save her and find such a great hobby/pets such as her, which I will continue. I am though shocked at how sadden I am over her death - the same as nearly any pet I have lost over the years, even for the short time I had her (must be the fact of the daily care, turning her light on/off, sitting beside my desk, etc..).
Her first ooth I have been incubating 72 days now so I assume that sadly her ooths are unfertilized. I will continue incubating them though for another month or two before giving up. if they don't hatch in the end, I will bury them beside Susanna.
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