SntaCruz83
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2011
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 0
Again I find myself in a position where I come to this forum to express myself since there really isn't anyone in my life that would likely care or understand why I was in such a panic just a few minutes ago. I came home from the hardware store and decide to check in on each of my mantises. On the top shelf I notice my sole Green Chinese Mantis isn't there. I grab a step stool, and I climb up to see if he was going after a feeder I may have left behind. To my shock I see him on the floor and kicking his legs about.
I quickly slide him out of his enclosure and into the palm of my hand. He can't stand upright and his two back legs look awfully contorted. I can see his abdomen pulsating/throbbing and his mouth moving quite a bit. At first I thought he might be thirsty or that maybe he ate something bad but then remember that he rejected a grass skipper earlier in the day and those are his favorites. His legs are too twisted up to be able to climb back up to the top of the enclosure or to get him to hold on to a stick, so I grab an exceptionally fuzzy/worn wash cloth and press each of his four back legs against the towel until he sticks. I then carefully flip it upside down so he hangs and attach it to a hanger. Not 30 seconds go by before I can see him trying to push his way out of his old skin.
However, instead of sliding down like I normally see, I can see that the center of his body is just bulging up and getting fatter and fatter - never seen anything like this. I'm really beginning to panic thinking I didn't get home in time and that he is just going to mismolt and get stuck in his old skin. I grab my water-mister and start spraying him almost excessively. I was considering heating up some water and holding it under him to create some humidity, but if he fell from the towel...well...that'd suck. I spray a few more times and then just look away while I hope for the best.
A few minutes later I look back and see that he's coming through and has gotten past the blockage/bulge I saw earlier. He's still "drying" right now so I'm not one hundred percent in the clear, but I'm ecstatic to see that he appears to have molted fine, with all 4 legs and his raptorial arms in tact. It was just such a close call and I wanted to share my story.
P.S. I've decided to name this mantis, "Justin Time."
I quickly slide him out of his enclosure and into the palm of my hand. He can't stand upright and his two back legs look awfully contorted. I can see his abdomen pulsating/throbbing and his mouth moving quite a bit. At first I thought he might be thirsty or that maybe he ate something bad but then remember that he rejected a grass skipper earlier in the day and those are his favorites. His legs are too twisted up to be able to climb back up to the top of the enclosure or to get him to hold on to a stick, so I grab an exceptionally fuzzy/worn wash cloth and press each of his four back legs against the towel until he sticks. I then carefully flip it upside down so he hangs and attach it to a hanger. Not 30 seconds go by before I can see him trying to push his way out of his old skin.
However, instead of sliding down like I normally see, I can see that the center of his body is just bulging up and getting fatter and fatter - never seen anything like this. I'm really beginning to panic thinking I didn't get home in time and that he is just going to mismolt and get stuck in his old skin. I grab my water-mister and start spraying him almost excessively. I was considering heating up some water and holding it under him to create some humidity, but if he fell from the towel...well...that'd suck. I spray a few more times and then just look away while I hope for the best.
A few minutes later I look back and see that he's coming through and has gotten past the blockage/bulge I saw earlier. He's still "drying" right now so I'm not one hundred percent in the clear, but I'm ecstatic to see that he appears to have molted fine, with all 4 legs and his raptorial arms in tact. It was just such a close call and I wanted to share my story.
P.S. I've decided to name this mantis, "Justin Time."
