Saying Goodbye :(

[GingerC]

My male H. membranacea is dying of old age. There's nothing I can do about it, I just wanted to write a little memorial to him.

He moulted into adulthood five and a half months ago, and I've had him a total of nine months, which is a pretty good run for a male of his species. He's been slowly declining over the past three months, in little ways- at first, a case of floppy abdomen. Then, a shaky walk. Nowadays his antennae and feet appear shrunken, he is barely responsive to touch, and I suspect he may be blind.

This morning, I woke up to a bit of a commotion coming from his cage. He had face planted into the food dish and couldn't get up. I put him in a small plastic bug keeper for his safety and got him to nibble a bit of honey, but he hardly moves and he can't sit up straight (or at least he won't- I got him upright to eat some honey, but only shakily). 

I don't know if he'll make it through the night, not sure if I want him to. In any case, as much as I've been crying over this, I know it really is about time for it to happen. There's no way to tell you that I'm going to cast the corpse in epoxy resin without it sounding weird, but yeah, I'm doing that.

In the meantime, I'm shopping for another pet bug, since the prospect of a new pet always cheers me up. I've been crying most of the day and debating whether or not to use the freezer.

I didn't really post this to get any help or start any thoughtful discussion, but since it's out here for the entire internet to see, I may as well ask you: what did you do when your favorite mantis kicked the bucket? Does it make you as sad as it makes me, or am I just a silly sap?

Writing this made me feel a lot better. Rest in peace, George.

 

[Jessie]

Im here if you need to talk.

 

[mantisfan101]

Same

 

[cwebster]

Am sad whenever I lose any mantis. They just dont live long enough. All you can do is cherish them. Hope you have lots of pictures of George.

 

[GingerC]

When I checked on him last night, his entire front half was paralyzed; all he could move were his legs and abdomen. When I looked at him this morning, rigor mortis had set in.

I cried my eyes out days ago, so I could finish being sad and send him off in good humor. Here's hoping he doesn't mind being a paperweight forever.

 

[Ocelotbren]

Sorry for your loss.  My first (and only) mantid loss so far was my female Chinese mismolting into adulthood.  It was certainly tough after having her for three months, and I'm sure it will be much worse when my adult male finally passes since he is about eight months old total (four months as adult).  I'm bracing myself for it, but I know it will be hard anyway.

 

[GingerC]

Sorry for your loss.  My first (and only) mantid loss so far was my female Chinese mismolting into adulthood.  It was certainly tough after having her for three months, and I'm sure it will be much worse when my adult male finally passes since he is about eight months old total (four months as adult).  I'm bracing myself for it, but I know it will be hard anyway.

I've lost a nymph by accident too, never really got over that one. In George's case... he lived way, way longer than expected, and it made it easier on me knowing he lived out a full lifespan under my care. I miss him, though. Mantids are awesome.

 

[Ocelotbren]

@GingerC Yes, it is easier knowing they had a long life. 

 

[Orin]

I feed them to a lizard or a tank of orange heads so they don't have to suffer a slow, painful decline.