I went from a mantis who wouldn't eat to a mantis who became deformed after a molt. I'm starting to feel like a bad mantis parent.
As background I have had my giant Asian mantis since about June 2016. The other day I placed him in a feeding enclosure with a cockroach. I did not know he was about to molt and did so that night or early morning. I enclosure is small, only about 5 or 6 inches tall at the most. When my mantis hung from a twig after molting somehow he fell onto his back, still partially inside the old skin. The enclosure was too short to accommodate a larger mantis plus extra room for the old skin. (I would have never left him in the small cage had I known he was about to molt). I scooped him up and placed him in the larger cage. The damage, however, was already done. As you'll see below both back legs (which I believe were tangled in the old skin and twig) are twisted and broken. One of the other feet also appears broken. In addition his newly gained wings won't fold down properly. He seems to get around okay but does drag himself a bit.
My questions are as follows: is there anything I can do for him, he seems to get around okay but it looks pretty pitiful. Also will he molt anymore or is he done? (if so, how many months does he have left).
As background I have had my giant Asian mantis since about June 2016. The other day I placed him in a feeding enclosure with a cockroach. I did not know he was about to molt and did so that night or early morning. I enclosure is small, only about 5 or 6 inches tall at the most. When my mantis hung from a twig after molting somehow he fell onto his back, still partially inside the old skin. The enclosure was too short to accommodate a larger mantis plus extra room for the old skin. (I would have never left him in the small cage had I known he was about to molt). I scooped him up and placed him in the larger cage. The damage, however, was already done. As you'll see below both back legs (which I believe were tangled in the old skin and twig) are twisted and broken. One of the other feet also appears broken. In addition his newly gained wings won't fold down properly. He seems to get around okay but does drag himself a bit.
My questions are as follows: is there anything I can do for him, he seems to get around okay but it looks pretty pitiful. Also will he molt anymore or is he done? (if so, how many months does he have left).
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