feeding a mismolt

Norlin · Nov 19, 2014

Have to hand feed a mantis that mismolted, his raptors are held off to the side of his body and he cannot grip with his left and barely with this right. He would drop a fly about 30-50 times per feeding and finally I decided to put something together to hold the fly for him, hopefully he'll be able to molt, the legs on his right side don't grip very well and the rear right is bent funny.

Danny. · Nov 19, 2014

Poor Idolo.

dmina · Nov 19, 2014

I hope it works for you... I think that is very clever... Best wishes...

TheArtisticArachnid · Nov 22, 2014

Hello! This is rather clever of you and I'm wondering how effective it was? The little one I have just molted about two weeks ago and she holds her raptors rather close to her face and they seem to have issues working properly as well as being tilted off vertically than straight. How did you construct this? Did your mantis appear to lose some of his appetite after the molt?

Norlin · Dec 2, 2014

The construction isn't anything special, it's a thumbtack stuck in some clay. I stick the tack into the food and push the base of the tack into clay which I push onto the table. I mush the feeder a little and push it towards the mantis' mouth and once they take to the food, I smush the clay onto the table to hold it there. I'm happy to report that the mantis molted today and doesn't show any signs of deformity now!

Digger · Dec 2, 2014

Norlin - I've been talking to a few others on another thread about this type of solution. My D. lobata has mismolted and has no use of his raptorials. Been hand feeding with tweezers, but that can get tiresome after a while. Others suggested a pin or nail like you've done here. My only concern was what possible damage Tenuk might do biting down on a sharp object. This push tack (or maybe even an unbent paper clip looks like a sensible answer.

CosbyArt · Dec 2, 2014

Norlin said:
The construction isn't anything special, it's a thumbtack stuck in some clay. I stick the tack into the food and push the base of the tack into clay which I push onto the table. I mush the feeder a little and push it towards the mantis' mouth and once they take to the food, I smush the clay onto the table to hold it there. I'm happy to report that the mantis molted today and doesn't show any signs of deformity now!

That is great news! Glad to see your mantis made it through the whole ordeal. Definitely some great husbandry on your part to make it happen.

mcervig@yahoo.com · Dec 7, 2014

Yay!!!

dmina · Dec 7, 2014

Really good job... Glad it all turned out... for the best... and a great molt... bonus!

Norlin · Dec 9, 2014

Digger said:
Norlin - I've been talking to a few others on another thread about this type of solution. My D. lobata has mismolted and has no use of his raptorials. Been hand feeding with tweezers, but that can get tiresome after a while. Others suggested a pin or nail like you've done here. My only concern was what possible damage Tenuk might do biting down on a sharp object. This push tack (or maybe even an unbent paper clip looks like a sensible answer.

I wouldn't worry about them biting down on it and damaging themselves at all, I think that would be akin to you biting down on your fork and hurting yourself, it could happen but usually doesn't. Also, the tip of the thumbtack isn't all that sharp, I have a hard time getting it to pierce the feeder insect even.

feeding a mismolt

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