When you realize that your mantid has fallen during their molt, there are two possible scenarios.
One scenario: The mantid has fallen a long time ago. When the mantid's new skin dries while it's still stuck in the exuvia (shed exoskeleton), there is usually no hope. They will either be dead or if you remove the exuvia, seriously deformed.
Second scenario: The mantid has just fallen during the molt. The skin that so far came out of the exuvia is still fresh. If this is the case, you can use tape or a sticker on the mantid's legs and then stick them to an object (the wall, a shelf, container, etc). Mist the mantid once as it's molting (when out of the container - moisture must be present to ensure a good molt. If too dry, the mantid can get stuck in the skin and either lose limb(s) or die). If you do this, it should be okay. Also, once finished molting, make sure they're able to get up without getting their new skin stuck to the sticker/tape.
Here's a photo of what I did to save an L3 going to an L4. The same thing can be done with L5s, L6s, L7s as well, so long as the tape is strong enough to hold the larger mantid. Multiple pieces of tape can be used, as well - one for each leg.
When I found this one that had fallen in his/her container, s/he had only just started to molt, so only the head was fresh.
One scenario: The mantid has fallen a long time ago. When the mantid's new skin dries while it's still stuck in the exuvia (shed exoskeleton), there is usually no hope. They will either be dead or if you remove the exuvia, seriously deformed.
Second scenario: The mantid has just fallen during the molt. The skin that so far came out of the exuvia is still fresh. If this is the case, you can use tape or a sticker on the mantid's legs and then stick them to an object (the wall, a shelf, container, etc). Mist the mantid once as it's molting (when out of the container - moisture must be present to ensure a good molt. If too dry, the mantid can get stuck in the skin and either lose limb(s) or die). If you do this, it should be okay. Also, once finished molting, make sure they're able to get up without getting their new skin stuck to the sticker/tape.
Here's a photo of what I did to save an L3 going to an L4. The same thing can be done with L5s, L6s, L7s as well, so long as the tape is strong enough to hold the larger mantid. Multiple pieces of tape can be used, as well - one for each leg.
When I found this one that had fallen in his/her container, s/he had only just started to molt, so only the head was fresh.
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