please help! mantis shaking and leg fell off

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yaih0550

yaih0550

Enjoyer of all insects (except wasps)
Joined
Oct 12, 2022
Messages
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Location
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my ghost mantis went through his final molt a few days ago and he was doing alright, his wings were severly deformed but he took food and didnt seem to have any mobility issues so i was keeping an eye on him. I went to check on him a few minutes ago and when i went over to his enclosure he moved away from me and his leg just fell off. now hes leaned all the way forward alternating between violent shaking and cleaning one of his arms, please help i dont know what to do. he was fine a few hours ago i dont understand whats wrong.

UPDATE: it's been about 20 minutes and the shaking has stopped. is it possible he was injured during the molt?
 
Last edited:
yaih0550 said:
my ghost mantis went through his final molt a few days ago and he was doing alright, his wings were severly deformed but he took food and didnt seem to have any mobility issues so i was keeping an eye on him. I went to check on him a few minutes ago and when i went over to his enclosure he moved away from me and his leg just fell off. now hes leaned all the way forward alternating between violent shaking and cleaning one of his arms, please help i dont know what to do. he was fine a few hours ago i dont understand whats wrong.

UPDATE: it's been about 20 minutes and the shaking has stopped. is it possible he was injured during the molt?
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It could have been that hemolymph flow was cut off in the leg during molting. A leg falling off isn't really anything to be concerned about honestly. Just keep him hydrated.
 
The Wolven said:
It could have been that hemolymph flow was cut off in the leg during molting. A leg falling off isn't really anything to be concerned about honestly. Just keep him hydrated.
Click to expand...
thank you for letting me know, im glad it isnt a major concern. after he got over being confused and wobbling around, he hung upside down like normal so i think all is well. i will make sure to watch the humidity extra close and offer him extra water.
 
yaih0550 said:
thank you for letting me know, im glad it isnt a major concern. after he got over being confused and wobbling around, he hung upside down like normal so i think all is well. i will make sure to watch the humidity extra close and offer him extra water.
Click to expand...
Eh humidity isn't that big of a concern for mantises usually (as long as they're roughly in the range the species needs to be). Internal hydration is far more important and is a key factor for molting. Mantises basically use the water inside them to pump themselves up like a glorified balloon when their exoskeleton is soft during the molting process. Man, imagine if we could do that. Rip out our skeletons every few weeks and expand.
 

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