HELP!!! MANTIS TURNING BROWN!!

[moonmantis]

Hi! New here. I have a spiny flower mantis. I've had her a few weeks and she is not year completed her final molt. Recently she has been hanging upside down, not moving, turning brown, and her abdomen is pulsating non-stop. Is she molting? Or is she dying? HELP!!!!!

 

[mantisfan101]

Pics?

 

[moonmantis]

http://imgur.com/a/P8QJj0W

 

[mantisfan101]

Looks normal to me, she might actually be changing colors. I’ve seen some specimens that were more brown, green, or pink than usual. As for the abdomen pulsating, that’s a common behavior seen among many different mantids, including paeudocreobrotra and creobroter. She’s likely just doing that as a form of communicating or to hide her movement.

 

[moonmantis]

She hasn't really moved or eaten in 3 days. She moved to the ground just now. Here's a picture.

 

[mantisfan101]

She is approaching her final molt, maybe try offering some water or honey and get her on a vertical or horizontal surface where she can hang upside down

 

[moonmantis]

Well, things aren't looking good. She was hanging by 2 legs dangling from the top. Then she fell to the bottom (I put fake leaves so she didn't fall far). Her abdomen is still pulsating but now when it pulsates her whole body contracts. She's laying at the bottom bearly moving now.

This can't be molting? Parasite, maybe?