I’m a beginner with any type of insect I’m just looking for any type of knowledge for this situation please

jiminymantis

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 25, 2023
Messages
2
I’m very new to owning a praying mantis it’s my first one and he’s only a baby. Recently he had his first shed unfortunately unbeknownst to my knowledge the tank got too dry and he lost one of his back legs so he’s currently using the front ones to move I’m hoping he adapts before his next molt however I was just wondering if this could affect his eating as he’s using his front legs to move I’m not sure he’s able to catch the flies he’s eating currently and I’m really worried as a new pet owner. It was my mistake and I’ve now learnt however during my research i didn’t see that information anywhere and the pet shop didn’t let me know so I wasn’t fully aware. I’m hoping anyone who’s had a similar experiences has any insight on how it will affect his eating. I feel awful and I should’ve done more research and I will definitely learn from my mistakes and I’ve done as much research as I can now to have the knowledge I need however everywhere I’ve looked hasn’t told me the answer to this question.
From what I can tell he is really happy and loves to be out climbing on me, when I try to put him away he just crawls back up my arm and I feel terrible for letting this happen.
 
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NMTs

Spider Wrangler
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Jan 22, 2022
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1,331
It should be fine. They have adapted to lose limbs as a defense mechanisms (if a predator grabs them by a leg, they just pop the leg off and make a getaway - or if they have a difficult molt they can still get free). From my limited knowledge on mantids, they are mostly ambush predators, meaning they sit and wait for prey to come to them rather than chase it around. That said, even if it's mobility were limited, it should still be able to capture prey effectively missing a rear leg.

Keep doing your research and learning along the way and you'll be just fine (and so will your mantis)!
 

Smotzer

ArachnoGod
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Jan 17, 2020
Messages
5,275
It should be fine, the only time loosing legs is not so good for mantids is when they loose their raptorial legs, loosing an ambulatory legs shouldn't affect it too greatly.
 
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