My mantis is worrying me, again!

Mantidforum

Help Support Mantidforum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I once had a mantis (L4) go two weeks without food while my friend was watching her because they ran out of fruit flies. Of course, you should never intentionally try to replicate these results. 

As long as your mantis is still plump, she should be fine. The more you try to force feed her, the longer she’ll delay her molt, from what I’ve observed with my own mantids. I would suggest leaving her alone for several days, and if she starts to get skinny again, you can try feeding a little more.

Good luck!

 
I once had a mantis (L4) go two weeks without food while my friend was watching her because they ran out of fruit flies. Of course, you should never intentionally try to replicate these results. 

As long as your mantis is still plump, she should be fine. The more you try to force feed her, the longer she’ll delay her molt, from what I’ve observed with my own mantids. I would suggest leaving her alone for several days, and if she starts to get skinny again, you can try feeding a little more.

Good luck!
Ok, that's reassuring! Thanks, I'll stop meddling with her for now :)

 
Well, her dropping her prey could be a sign that she will molt soon, so keep caring for her and hopefully she'll molt!

- MantisGirl13

 
I'm a beginner so take this with a grain of salt, but my S. Aurea just completed her final molt and she did not eat for maybe 5 days beforehand. The day after she scarfed down two big crickets and is back to normal now. So it could be a molting thing in my very limited experience :)  

 
Thanks everyone! We're on to day 7 since her last cricket today. She's moved to a different position in her cage but still no molt. I put some crickets in with her, she saw one but made no move to get it.... so, the wait continues!

 
How flat is her abdomen? Can we see pics of her and her enclosure?

- MantisGirl13

 
How flat is her abdomen? Can we see pics of her and her enclosure?

- MantisGirl13
Here's some pics...

20181025_132839.jpg

20181025_132903.jpg

20181025_133000.jpg

 
Thank you! I think she looks a bit fatter in those pics than in real life but maybe that's because I've zoomed in so can actually see her better... I'm never good at judging if she looks fat or skinny, lol!

 
:)  Yeah, just leave her alone until she molts or gets too skinny. 

- MantisGirl13

 
One of the crickets I put in there earlier ran past her on the stick and she just swiped at it loads til it was gone, so I'm going try to be patient and give her space to molt without me or crickets bothering her! Thanks so much for the reassurance ?

 
My freshly molted female mantis lookes skinnier than yours. ;)   Your mantis will be fine. but you need to be be sure she hangs higher than on the pic, or she will be getting a mismolt.

Good luck on her molt. :)

 
She died. I got up this morning to find her laying on the floor of her cage. She was twitching her limbs a little when I touched her but she wouldn't eat and things looked pretty bad, I think she was pretty much dead, so I've put her in the freezer. So sad ?

 
I am so sorry! I thought she would be fine, but I guess something was wrong. 

- MantisGirl13

 

Latest posts

Top