One of my L6 Idolomantids

[Colorcham427]

One of my bigger ones has been weak for over a weak now. All of a sudden it began to become very joint impaired??? Not sure what to consider it's problem...

It's back legs are weak, funny thing is it wasn't weak after it's last molt. They just became weak? Maybe it fell and busted them up? I looked at them, they seem fine.

I took sugar water and dabbed it all over a little moth I found outside chillen close to my deck light. The moth was smothered in sugar water, and the mantis only drank the sugar water, but didn't eat the moth...

This IS the Idolo that seemed to love the hawk moths I was offering them.

The hawk moths weren't wild caught, they were captive reared. The larvae (hornworms) were raised on my own artificial recipe, mainly made up of wheat germ, has a bunch of other things in it, mostly anti-biotics. As I have been told, when they morph and pupate, they don't carry much nutrition? So, does this mean the artificial diet does not get carried over to the moth's body??? What else could have happened other then the moth containing something harmful to my mantis?

What are some good ways to help perk this mantis up? Honey? Sugar water? what's the difference? Would bee pollen be good to add to the sugar water mix...?

I'll try to hand feed it a blue bottle fly.

Any adivce/input is greatly appreciated from you guys, thanks and enjoy the disgusting hot weather! LOL

 

[Mex_Ghost]

I had a Idolomantis Female like that, She didn´t want to eat any bee or buttlerfly I put in her enclousure, so I hand feed her (with forceps of course) with a cricket, but I cut the "bottom" of the cricket and some fluid started to emerge, I put that part of the cricket in the mantis "mouth" and She started to eat the cricket, and later she took the cricket by herself and She ate it all. but the next time I tried to hand feed her like I said, she didn´t want the cricket, so I put a some honey over the cricket and offered the cricket honey side, and She ate the whole cricket.

I hope this can help

saludos

Arturo

 

[Rick]

Feeding the mantis honey or sugar water isn't going to "perk it up" or anything. I doubt the wild caught moth has anything to do with the problem. I am also unsure why you slathered it with sugar water. I just made a thread about some problems with one of my Idolo's.

 

[eur0pein]

i want some