strange behaviors

[D_Hemptress]

my elderly female stagmomantis limbata is on her last legs. she been having a really hard time moving around. this morning i noticed he rholding on to the sponge i have to plug a hole and she was just chowing down. i tried to pull the sponge away from her and she was holding onto it for dear life and not once did she stop biting it until i i put a fly right in her mouth, then she also let go and just ate the fly. i know this isnt normal, how do i prevent it from happening again

 

[psyconiko]

Everything normal.When about to die(going crazy) or starving,some species may act like scavenger and sometimes grab some remains to chew on(they can even chew/eat their own ooth).

I believe your mantis would have stopped chewing by itself but by pulling on the sponge you make her think it is actually alive,so it is not going to let it go for sure haha.

You did the right thing,offering food is the best you could do.

 

[D_Hemptress]

Everything normal.When about to die(going crazy) or starving,some species may act like scavenger and sometimes grab some remains to chew on(they can even chew/eat their own ooth).

I believe your mantis would have stopped chewing by itself but by pulling on the sponge you make her think it is actually alive,so it is not going to let it go for sure haha.

You did the right thing,offering food is the best you could do.

haha i could tell she definitely became more interested when i tried moving it away from her. she is just old now she is going to need some special care since she cant catch her own food anymore

 

[Domanating]

She's close to the end. Many of the mantids I had, used to grab on to things real tight when their death was imminent. Sometimes they didn't even try to eat anything. They just held on to the object.

I once held a female Religiosa on my hand and her body was clearly shutting down. She went berserk for a short period and grabbed one of my fingers with all her strength. It was incredibly painful and I was trying really hard to remove those claws. I had to wait a few long painful seconds until she relaxed her muscles so I was able to free myself. Needless to say I got my finger all punctured.

 

[Paradoxica]

I've had elderly female Religiosa and Unicorns start chewing through the mesh of their enclosure too. :wheelchair: :stuart:

 

[D_Hemptress]

so its an old age thing, she is going nutty... i fed her like 10 flies, i wasnt countin, but she ate alot. so imma keep her fat and happy until she finally passes

 

[RocknessMonster]

Mine usually hold onto some thick napkins, they learn real quick it's nothing to munch on, but it helps them crawl around if you 'carpet' the place she's on.