Worst case you've nursed back to health?

[jday]

Our fiercest hunter just had a horrible molt. He's hunchbacked and lame in several legs. We've got him eating cat food on a stick (YUM!) and drinking water from a dropper, but his prospects seem dim. I know some of you have helped some pretty disastrous cases back to good health, so I thought I would ask people to share their inspirational (or disappointing) stories.

Also, I think he's what's called a "sub adult" although I've never heard exactly what that term means. Is there a mantis glossary somewhere?

 

[LauraMG]

I'm sorry to hear that. My Chinese had a fall during molting into adulthood and deformed her wings and a couple of her legs. I started hand feeding her crickets on a stick (which I felt horrible for the poor crickets I tortured to do that) and after about a week she started eating on her own and is doing just fine now. It terrified me though. She still doesn't get around very well which is kind of nice.

I don't have to worry about her running off or jumping absurd places like she did before. She chewed off one of her own legs too, so she's minus all wings and one leg. Overall, not too bad. I hope yours makes it. The one thing I learned from this is that they are pretty resilient, and especially in captivity where they don't have to worry about predators. I really hope yours makes it!

 

[Rick]

I generally don't mess with them if they have a molt and can't fend for themselves. These mantids are generally fed to another mantis or to one of my turtles.

 

[Woodbox]

I generally don't mess with them if they have a molt and can't fend for themselves. These mantids are generally fed to another mantis or to one of my turtles.

+1

I could see caring for a hurt one if it is the only one I have left of that species or if I am extra attached to a particular individual.

 

[LauraMG]

I kinda wish I was less attached like Rick sometimes. I have a feeling these little guys are gonna lead me to be grey a bit before my time!

 

[lancaster1313]

It goes both ways for me. Depending on the extent of the injury/deformity, I will try to help it if it will accept feeding and doesn't seem to be suffering badly. I have had a couple that were so bad that death would be better than bothering them all the time. Bad cases go to bigger mantids, or the freezer.

 

[Mr.Mantid]

I generally don't mess with them if they have a molt and can't fend for themselves. These mantids are generally fed to another mantis or to one of my turtles.

I tend to do that too. I do that with the runts too.

 

[Ntsees]

Our fiercest hunter just had a horrible molt. He's hunchbacked and lame in several legs. We've got him eating cat food on a stick (YUM!) and drinking water from a dropper, but his prospects seem dim. I know some of you have helped some pretty disastrous cases back to good health, so I thought I would ask people to share their inspirational (or disappointing) stories.

Also, I think he's what's called a "sub adult" although I've never heard exactly what that term means. Is there a mantis glossary somewhere?

Mantids that mismolt are usually done away with in my case. As for the term "subadult", whenever I read it, I think of the final instar stage before it molts into an adult.

 

[JoeCapricorn]

A couple interesting cases:

Nereid:

Found in process of molting on the bottom of enclosure. Caused bent antennae but no other deformities that I could notice.

Nereid's molt to sub-adult was in a too-small of a container, giving him a slight curve in his thorax, otherwise was healthy. Nereid molted successfully to adult and is still alive today - the last of my Giant Asians.

Baphomet:

Baphomet had two mismolts in a row. One was to sub-adult and mismolted in a too small of a container giving him a very twisted thorax. At some point he refused to eat, but it hadn't been that long and he was eating normally before. His abdomen was as flat as paper at one point and I thought then and there he would die. One day, I just left flies in his enclosure - after trying to feed them to him with honey on top and all sorts of crazy methods to get him to eat. OR was it crickets? I forget, but either way, I woke up and saw he had a "plumper" stomach. I got up that morning, fed him a cricket and he ate right away.

His next molt was to adult and it was disastrous. His wings were messed up, he lost a leg, lost use of another leg but could at least grab food. He lived until a week ago... but as an old mantis.

Probably my favorite of the cases...

T. sinensis code named "Gamma":

Taken from colony of c. 26 mantises to separate them into their own containers marked with Greek letters. Gamma was a peculiar case because he had only one forearm. The other was completely missing, bitten off at the shoulder. He was the one being preyed upon while I noticed the start of cannibalism among the newly hatched buggers. He was in rough shape. He was also missing a leg, I think his middle left leg, and had a strange wobble to his movement. I had to feed him fruit flies by hand. That... is hard to do, but this little fella cooperated. With each molt, he would regain strength. His missing leg grew back in one molt, but was small. His missing arm came back in one molt but was useless. Now he is probably about 2 molts to adult... could be 3 if he is a she, but I am sure he is a he and I have given him a name that is fitting...

Wilbur. As in the pig from Charlotte's Web, that was deemed a runt and about to be slaughtered, but rescued when the farmer's daughter Fern protested.

By the way, Wilbur's sibling Chinese mantises, all from that first egg case (a gift from my first mantis Emerald) that hatched in the middle of my room, are named Fern (from the girl in Charlotte's Web), Aranaea, Nellie and Joy (The three daughters of Charlotte in the story that appear at the end). A sixth sibling, from the 2nd egg case, is still code named "Phi"

At this moment, Wilbur has full use of his regrown arm. It is a bit thicker and smaller than the other arm, but just as strong and he is a hyper, lovable mantis with a long happy life ahead of him. He also has the CUTEST green eyes I have ever seen in any mantis EVER! <3

Wilbur is probably close to molting to another stage in the future. Nellie, Joy, Fern and Aranaea all molted and are considerably larger than Wilbur.

At some point, many of the mantises had problems with bent or disfigured legs due to too little space to molt. Since moving them into taller containers, all of them have had perfect molts and all 6 are perfectly healthy. Yes... this includes Wilbur!!!