Injured Mantis religiosa

[VolkswagenBug]

I was out at a picnic today and found an injured Mantis religiosa. It's in very bad shape - it has a black eye, what appears to be a prolapsed anus, and it has trouble standing all the way up. I tried to give it some honey to see if that would help it perk up a bit, but it refused to eat it. It shows a bit of interest in flies, but is too tired to catch them. I'm wondering what I should do with it. I know that it's going to die no matter what I do, but what's the most humane way? Should I euthanize it in the freezer? Put it outside and let nature take its course? Try to keep it alive in a cage? Right now it's just in a spare net cage that I have, with a light misting of water in case it wants to drink. I think it may have been stepped on by somebody.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Prolapsed anus sounds pretty bad.

You can try holding squashed insects or meat up to its mouth to get it to eat... I once had a juvenile Chinese mantis with injured mouthparts that I didn't have the heart to euthanize, so I kept her alive by feeding her milk with a pipette until she molted.

 

[VolkswagenBug]

Prolapsed anus sounds pretty bad.

You can try holding squashed insects or meat up to its mouth to get it to eat... I once had a juvenile Chinese mantis with injured mouthparts that I didn't have the heart to euthanize, so I kept her alive by feeding her milk with a pipette until she molted.

Unfortunately, it's an adult. I don't even know that it will be able to poop if I do feed it, the prolapse is really bad.

 

[basin79]

Squash it's head and then leave it for nature to dispose of. The poor thing is knackered.

 

[MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf]

NO! DON'T KILL IT! Send me some picks of the anus, my mantis is completely disabled, but still got the power to eat and poop. It's even missing 1 ripper claw.

 

[basin79]

NO! DON'T KILL IT! Send me some picks of the anus, my mantis is completely disabled, but still got the power to eat and poop. It's even missing 1 ripper claw.

And what "life" does it have? Sounds absolutely terrible. I'd sooner be dead.

 

[MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf]

It lives a happy life, an animals worst nightmare is to die unmated, so keeping it to life may encourage it that it is strong, and atleast die happy.

 

[basin79]

It lives a happy life, an animals worst nightmare is to die unmated, so keeping it to life may encourage it that it is strong, and atleast die happy.

You typed your mantis is completely disabled. It "lives" a thoroughly miserable life. It doesn't know why it can't move. It feeds because that's what they're programmed to do.

Would you want to live as a vegetable? Lead their unable to move, feed yourself?

It's different if the mantis isn't full grown as if you can help it moult it just might make a recovery.

As an adult it can't.

The mantis won't be able to mate. So that's a moot point.

 

[MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf]

Whatever. im not letting down any of my pets. I Could feed it to my bearded dragon but it didnt, sometimes you got to survive in every condition, afterall, plants live a happy life dont they? They dont have to hunt or move, they wait for their food to come, in this case water.

 

[basin79]

Whatever. im not letting down any of my pets. I Could feed it to my bearded dragon but it didnt, sometimes you got to survive in every condition, afterall, plants live a happy life dont they? They dont have to hunt or move, they wait for their food to come, in this case water.

You're seriously going to try and compare a plants life to that of a disabled animal?

Really?

I really hope your mantis passes sooner rather than later so it can have an end to its suffering.

 

[MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf]

Now that's not nice.... Wishing a person's pet to die... I think your way of thinking is kinda depressing and not optimistic. Even if it's "dumb" to keep an injured insect, I think it's still living a better life than other healthy "pet" bugs who suffer from lack of space,minimum food and water but also and terrible care in pet stores or careless breeders out there. Even in hands of uneducated or newbie to the insect keeping hobby people.

 

[basin79]

Now that's not nice.... Wishing a person's pet to die... I think your way of thinking is kinda depressing and not optimistic. Even if it's "dumb" to keep an injured insect, I think it's still living a better life than other healthy "pet" bugs who suffer from lack of space,minimum food and water but also and terrible care in pet stores or careless breeders out there. Even in hands of uneducated or newbie to the insect keeping hobby people.

I'm not bothered what you think. I'm thinking about the poor mantis not YOUR needs.

 

[TylerFishman5675]

Please do euthanize the mantis, it cannot fufuill its purpose to breed, anyway. Theres no sense to keep it living besides your personal enjoyment of it

 

[Duriana]

I would euthanize it.. I'm not taking sides here, I disagree and agree with each sides. But if you were that badly disabled (and weren't as social as humans) would you really want to keep living?
I however don't agree with squashing its head. I would put it in a container and place it in your freezer. In my opinion this is the most humane way to do it.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

I would euthanize it.. I'm not taking sides here, I disagree and agree with each sides. But if you were that badly disabled (and weren't as social as humans) would you really want to keep living?
I however don't agree with squashing its head. I would put it in a container and place it in your freezer. In my opinion this is the most humane way to do it.

Especially since that's pretty much how adult mantids die in winter.

 

[MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf]

WRONG! This Is the most humane way, not the best way. If I were to euthanize a living being, I would only do it if it couldn't live anymore, like the destroyed anus, it cannot poop so it will die in a few days. The best way to let it die, is to let it die free, by releasing , hoping other animals will eat it and get a chance to survive another day. Believe it or not that's the best way and the most humane, insects don't have such complex nervous systems and they don't feel pain, they only got instincts. That's why worms wriggle after being eaten 90%

 

[TylerFishman5675]

WRONG! This Is the most humane way, not the best way. If I were to euthanize a living being, I would only do it if it couldn't live anymore, like the destroyed anus, it cannot poop so it will die in a few days. The best way to let it die, is to let it die free, by releasing , hoping other animals will eat it and get a chance to survive another day. Believe it or not that's the best way and the most humane, insects don't have such complex nervous systems and they don't feel pain, they only got instincts. That's why worms wriggle after being eaten 90%

Invertabrates do infact feel pain, ever grab a spider on the leg and it comes back to bite you? Arthropods feel pain, but not on the level that humans do, aince emotions exacerbate the symptons of pain, invertabrates do infact feel something

 

[MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf]

Mostly they dont, only emotions they feel is safety, danger, and sometimes joy when they eat. Most of those are instincts though. But yes, they do feel pain but much less than we do.

 

[VolkswagenBug]

There isn't any way to lock my own threads, is there? I didn't intend to start a fight over the best way to euthanize an insect and whether or not they can feel pain.

 

[LHamami]

Well, I found myself here and grateful for all takes on the issue: earlier tonight, I found an injured mantis in a store’s busy parking lot. He had long human hairs wrapped around him and ants eating at the apparent wound on his thorax(?). I’m not going to pretend to know anything about insect anatomy, let alone when or how is the “best” or “most humane way” to end the life of a mantis. I do know however, that my instinct told me to take him home and try to see if he can heal before “putting him out of his misery.” Funny enough, just after I got his little habit set up a friend of mine came over, took one look at the guy and said “I would have squished that fuckin bug!” I love that humanity can be so complex and contemplative and yet Mother Nature will always prevail… Dennis Profant was my ornithology teacher who unfortunately passed away suddenly and too soon, but he had an incredible wealth of knowledge on all things entomology and it would seem that he gave me the bug; His love for bugs lives on <3 God’s speed, fellow bug nerds. Pray for my Mantis!