over 2 months since last molt.. is this going to be OK?

idodia · Aug 22, 2018

First time owner here, I have a giant asian mantis. She had a healthy molt June 10th, (which was at least >20 days since her last molt, since i got her on May 20th) but since then she has not molted AT ALL.

She's got a healthy appetite and nothing appears wrong with her, but I'm pretty sure mantids are supposed to molt much more frequently. I don't know though, as it's harder than expected to find specific information on frequency, much less for this specific species. She just readily ate today, so doesn't look like it's going to happen in the next few days either.

I suspect that it could have something to do with temperature, since I know cooler temperature slows their metabolism down and I have had to keep her at our air conditioned room temperature (~70 degrees) for the time being as she is too small for the larger enclosure that can accommodate any form of controlled heating. Most care sheets say they're safe at a minimum of 68-70 degrees fahrenheit and it definitely hasn't gone below that, but I'm not sure on the accuracy of that information and concerned that she might be too cold. I've moved her to a warmer area of the house that stays around 73-75 degrees for now and as soon as she DOES molt and gets larger I'll be moving her to a larger enclosure with a small heat mat on the side to create more favorable conditions.

I unfortunately do not know what instar she is, but I'm guessing at L3 or L4 as she is still small (a little under 2 inches)

Anyone have any experience with this issue or further recommendations? I'm fairly certain temperature is the key and I've placed her in a more suitable area, but really hoping all I've done is slow down her metabolism with lower temperatures and haven't caused any permanent harm. Thanks in advance!

ausar318 · Aug 22, 2018

Usually they do grow a lot slower when kept at a lower temp. The best thing to do, I would say, is to move it to a warmer part of the house, maybe around 75-76+. Here is a link to an amazingly comprehensive care sheet, and it suggests temps to be between 77 and 86.

https://www.mantidkingdom.com/mantid-care/hierodula-membranacea/

I’ve never had any experience with Giant Asian mantids, but I did have a female Chinese mantis a few years back, (L2, so really quite young) go six weeks without molting!!! I fed her regularly, gave her water, but the temperature was a constant 66-69, dipping to about 63 or so during the night. She was delayed a very ling time, but she did eventually molt, and it was a good molt, and I ended up raising and breeding her. She did better, however, when I moved her into a slightly warmer area, about 75 degrees.

The key thing to remember is that they molt when they are ready. And as long as you are properly caring for them, they should be just fine.

idodia · Aug 22, 2018

Wow, that's the one care sheet I DIDN'T see! The others suggest lower temperatures... I'll definitely do my best to keep the room she's in around 75 as much as possible. I think I have an old heat lamp for my snake that I replaced with an UTH, if it's still not warm enough I'll try putting it nearby during the day (not shining directly on her or too close of course, and I don't have a thermostat so I'll have to watch it like a hawk) to keep things a little more comfortable until I can get her hooked up with an actual heating setup.

Thanks for the info, glad for the reassurance that she'll probably be fine.

ausar318 said:
Usually they do grow a lot slower when kept at a lower temp. The best thing to do, I would say, is to move it to a warmer part of the house, maybe around 75-76+. Here is a link to an amazingly comprehensive care sheet, and it suggests temps to be between 77 and 86.

https://www.mantidkingdom.com/mantid-care/hierodula-membranacea/

I’ve never had any experience with Giant Asian mantids, but I did have a female Chinese mantis a few years back, (L2, so really quite young) go six weeks without molting!!! I fed her regularly, gave her water, but the temperature was a constant 66-69, dipping to about 63 or so during the night. She was delayed a very ling time, but she did eventually molt, and it was a good molt, and I ended up raising and breeding her. She did better, however, when I moved her into a slightly warmer area, about 75 degrees.

The key thing to remember is that they molt when they are ready. And as long as you are properly caring for them, they should be just fine.

idodia · Aug 25, 2018

Just in case anyone else ever happens to run into this thread with the same questions, she molted this morning after just a few days of being kept around 75!

Mantis Lady · Aug 25, 2018

My hierodula molted 1x every month since i got her, only the last molt took way longer and longer preparing time. I rembered that i let her drink from a straw because she didn't wanted to eat. That worked. Think with her took maybe 2 months too till she molted to adulthood. I kept her on 21C (my living room temperature.)