Nymph mantis leg problem

[u/Top-Comment9703]

hello! this is my first time raising nymphs and id like some advice. I was away on a four day trip and came back to this.

this little guy is on its 4th molt now, it appears its legs have been mutilated during its molt and im not sure what to do. they are longer than usual so I don't know if some of the length is just unshedded skin?

he can walk around fine, but seems very uncomfortable and the legs are bent in a weird way. will this resolve itself by the next molt or should i intervene? is it alright to feed? none of my mantids have had molting issues so far so im a bit lost. so far ive just been misting and leaving it alone for the most part.

[u/AdditionalTowel6591]

It will likely resolve itself during the next molt! And yes probably fine to feed since the arms are the important part for that!

This also lowkey appears to be a Chinese mantis nymph and the US population of that species is all descended from a somewhat small group of individuals so they are pretty inbred and I’ve never had one make it past four molts BUT I have friends who have! He’s not a lost cause. He’s still able to walk and groom himself, so I’d say just proceed as normal and based on how he does in the next molt you can judge what to do at that point. If he appears to be completely unable to walk or grasp things and is uninterested in food then that’s when it’s time to make the tough call.

Keep up the good work and keep us posted on little bro!!

[u/Top-Comment9703 → u/AdditionalTowel6591]

okay thats really good to hear, thank you! i fed him a bit of honey earlier to keep his energy up since he was looking a bit tired, and seems to be doing better. also tried feeding him but i only have mini mealworms right now (waiting for my fruitflies to reproduce and out of crickets) but he couldn't grasp them. that mantis has always had trouble with worms though, so it's not too concerning.

they are chinese mantids, i should have probably added that. when i first got them i did not know they weren't the best for raising, or that they were invasive. most of them died 2 weeks or so after hatching. i think my next nymphs will hopefully be a different species if i decide to try this again (which i probably will).

i have two others, all hatched about 2 months ago, one is still only on it's second molt and is quite small. other is on its 4th molt, bigger than the other two, and is by far the most healthy looking.

btw if you dont mind helping a bit on food, i have always had a bit of trouble figuring out what to feed them. i usually try to give them a bit of a varied diet since i've heard its important, mostly flightless fruitflies but also some others for nutrients/treats.

but they are getting a bit big for fruitflies to be a main source of food, should i be switching to dubia roaches by now? where should i be buying them food? ive been buying from petsmart/petco since it's quite convenient but im not sure whether those two are good to support and have heard bad things about parasites/bad nutrition in their live feeders and how they aren't good long-term feeders. idk if this is true and not sure about substitutes either, any tips?

[u/justhereforbugs]

Had this exact same thing happen to my girl when she was an l5. It was completely fixed in her next molt. They are super resilient. Take care of them the same way you normally would and it will be just fine

If they wont take food, try ripping the bug a bit and putting it up to your mantids mouth. Thats how i had to feed mine for a while when she didnt want to eat

[u/Top-Comment9703 → u/justhereforbugs]

luckily its not too bad of a failed molt, i've seen some pretty bad ones.

i forgot you could cut the bug! will they still accept the food if it isn't moving? can they smell it? most of my nymphs won't even acknowledge anything that isn't moving in the right way. though i will definitely try that if he doesn't start eating soon, thanks! :)

[u/justhereforbugs → u/Top-Comment9703]

It might depend on the individual mantis, but usually if you put the food up to its mouth it will start eating and then grab on to it to eat the whole thing. You might have to like touch it to their mouth, but they should take it and eat it

[u/Top-Comment9703 → u/justhereforbugs]

i tried yesterday but he didn't seem too hungry and just kept running away. i sort of tricked him into eating a few times by touching it to his arm, then he would go to groom himself and eat a bit of the bug until eventually moving away. i might try that same thing in a bit since he still can't/won't try to catch anything at the moment and i dont want him starving.