Curiosity
Well-known member
Their names are Klara and Peridot. Both are doing the limp noodle routine - if I put them down, they sort of go facedown on the floor. They're both green Europeans, and it's been a few days since I sprayed either one of them. But Klara has had plenty of water (and also some milk - I was experimenting with what mantises will and will not eat) in the meantime; there's no dehydration factor for her. I became concerned about both of them when they suddenly lost their ability to cling to fabric - in Peridot's case, she couldn't get a grip on coarse tulle. On the same day. (Oct 11) I have different suspicions about what may be causing it though. Some of their symptoms are similar, others are not.
Here is a two column Venn diagram of their symptoms:
Klara
Oddly soft abdomen
Still, unless prompted
Lying in a mantid equivalent to a prone position
No discoloration
Has only had 1 ½ houseflies in the last several weeks; mostly lived off of moths
I’ve lost the paper I wrote the dates on; I think she became an adult in late July, have had her since L6
Peridot
Slightly abnormally hard abdomen
Was trying to move until about an hour ago
Lying on her side
Her face is sort of dark grey. Also, one of her legs came off. . . I don’t know when, must have been in the last 48 hours. Anyway, it came off at the uppermost joint and what is left has turned black
Has mostly lived off of houseflies for a week or two
Found her as an adult, has had her for about a month
Um. For Klara, normal behavior includes hanging upside down on the fabric glued to the top of her cage mostly limp. I mean, if I take off the lid and flip it before she can react, she sinks into a completely prone position, implying that she was exerting no effort to stay in any position but was just hanging on and letting gravity do whatever. She has three working tarsi; one was lost to, I suspect but can't prove, ants. The other three don't seem to stick anymore though. She can't cling. She will try to move as normal if prompted but is mostly still, and when she moves it is clear she has become more disabled. Due to a mismolt her wings are deformed and her "arms" are paralyzed; not sure that's important. My mother has suggested that this might just be age manifest, and I am inclined to agree with her, as this is sort of an extreme form of an already typical behavior. Klara has been low energy since the last few days of July, I think the time was, about the time she became an adult. Now she just doesn't move. I do see how that could be age exacerbating a preexisting condition. As I said, she became L8 in late July. Is that a normal timeline for a mantis to grow old? My 6 healthy ones, whose age vary by about 3 weeks, all seem just fine, not old at all. Is this probably just a natural process, or is it a note of something I did wrong?
OK, Peridot. Perry's normal behavior is moderate energy. She has only two functional tarsi; the first gone one was lost in the wild and I accidentally clipped the second one closing her cage. So her cage is now topped with green tulle. She can't grip on that. Like Klara, she was perfectly healthy on Oct 10; unlike Klara, she has much higher standards for "healthy". She has, as mentioned above, been living off of flies for a couple weeks and has some facial discoloration, so I believe she may be sick. Is this likely true? I'll be switching to feeding crickets in a few days; probably sticking to flies in the meantime because I can't get moths anymore. I've also been washing my hands after every time I touched Perry, trying not to spread it to the other girls.
Are my conclusions likely correct? If so, what can I do to help them? Is this something natural I couldn't have prevented, or have I found my 31st and 32nd ways to accidentally kill a mantis?
Also. . . can mantises subsist comfortably on being fed every other to every couple of days? I'm no longer able to feed every one of my 8 mantises every night and that has been weighing on my mind.
Here is a two column Venn diagram of their symptoms:
Klara
Oddly soft abdomen
Still, unless prompted
Lying in a mantid equivalent to a prone position
No discoloration
Has only had 1 ½ houseflies in the last several weeks; mostly lived off of moths
I’ve lost the paper I wrote the dates on; I think she became an adult in late July, have had her since L6
Peridot
Slightly abnormally hard abdomen
Was trying to move until about an hour ago
Lying on her side
Her face is sort of dark grey. Also, one of her legs came off. . . I don’t know when, must have been in the last 48 hours. Anyway, it came off at the uppermost joint and what is left has turned black
Has mostly lived off of houseflies for a week or two
Found her as an adult, has had her for about a month
Um. For Klara, normal behavior includes hanging upside down on the fabric glued to the top of her cage mostly limp. I mean, if I take off the lid and flip it before she can react, she sinks into a completely prone position, implying that she was exerting no effort to stay in any position but was just hanging on and letting gravity do whatever. She has three working tarsi; one was lost to, I suspect but can't prove, ants. The other three don't seem to stick anymore though. She can't cling. She will try to move as normal if prompted but is mostly still, and when she moves it is clear she has become more disabled. Due to a mismolt her wings are deformed and her "arms" are paralyzed; not sure that's important. My mother has suggested that this might just be age manifest, and I am inclined to agree with her, as this is sort of an extreme form of an already typical behavior. Klara has been low energy since the last few days of July, I think the time was, about the time she became an adult. Now she just doesn't move. I do see how that could be age exacerbating a preexisting condition. As I said, she became L8 in late July. Is that a normal timeline for a mantis to grow old? My 6 healthy ones, whose age vary by about 3 weeks, all seem just fine, not old at all. Is this probably just a natural process, or is it a note of something I did wrong?
OK, Peridot. Perry's normal behavior is moderate energy. She has only two functional tarsi; the first gone one was lost in the wild and I accidentally clipped the second one closing her cage. So her cage is now topped with green tulle. She can't grip on that. Like Klara, she was perfectly healthy on Oct 10; unlike Klara, she has much higher standards for "healthy". She has, as mentioned above, been living off of flies for a couple weeks and has some facial discoloration, so I believe she may be sick. Is this likely true? I'll be switching to feeding crickets in a few days; probably sticking to flies in the meantime because I can't get moths anymore. I've also been washing my hands after every time I touched Perry, trying not to spread it to the other girls.
Are my conclusions likely correct? If so, what can I do to help them? Is this something natural I couldn't have prevented, or have I found my 31st and 32nd ways to accidentally kill a mantis?
Also. . . can mantises subsist comfortably on being fed every other to every couple of days? I'm no longer able to feed every one of my 8 mantises every night and that has been weighing on my mind.
Thanks to Klara mostly. What do you feed mealworms and how long can you keep them alive? I found a place I can get some.
