Safe set up for molting

[CoolMantis]

Last night my girl did not have the best judgment in choosing a place to molt. She loves to hang from the mesh at the top of her enclosure which is about 20” tall. Last night she attached herself to the mesh fairly far away from any sticks or flora that she could have grabbed as she finished her molt. I could tell she would probably fall so I took a soft washcloth and held it just below her. She eventually dropped onto the cloth and I gently placed it on the bottom of her “house”. She is fine now and happily clinging to her mesh again. It looks like she will have another molt before she is fully grown. I would like to improve her set up to make it safer for a future molt. I do not want her to fall and hit a stick or something on the way down. Do I need to make her a mantis safety net or what???

 

[windupviera]

Last night my girl did not have the best judgment in choosing a place to molt. She loves to hang from the mesh at the top of her enclosure which is about 20” tall. Last night she attached herself to the mesh fairly far away from any sticks or flora that she could have grabbed as she finished her molt. I could tell she would probably fall so I took a soft washcloth and held it just below her. She eventually dropped onto the cloth and I gently placed it on the bottom of her “house”. She is fine now and happily clinging to her mesh again. It looks like she will have another molt before she is fully grown. I would like to improve her set up to make it safer for a future molt. I do not want her to fall and hit a stick or something on the way down. Do I need to make her a mantis safety net or what???

Mine has a habit of forgetting how to mantis occasionally, so I’ve combatted it with some soft and strategically placed plants at the bottom of her enclosure.

I have a couple of nerve plants which are only “short” but quite leafy and wide so she has a soft landing if and when she forgets to hold on.

Here’s an example of one of her crash mats near to some of the trailing decor items so she can clamber back up