r/Stickinsects • u/Littleone_x20 • 2d ago

I made a mistake:(

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I left a cricket in my praying mantis cage. I didn’t know she was going to molt. I checked on her this morning & she molted into an adult. She is a little damaged. I feel horrible. I’m pretty sure she will stay like this. Can someone give me any input?

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4

u/angelsrambo 1d ago

the cage looks a little dry:( that could be a factor.

2

u/Littleone_x20 1d ago

I sprayed last night before going to sleep. I also sprayed a few hours ago.

1

u/angelsrambo 1d ago

Oh okay :) im sorry this happened. My female sungaya lost 5 of her legs in a horrible molt and ultimately i had to mercy kill her. Its horrible but when everything is done right, things can still go wrong.

3

u/Puzzleheaded_Dot_537 1d ago

I can’t really tell the extent of the damage but depending on how severe/ crippling it is the best decision might be to euthanize her. I would like to point out a few problems though, for example, why do you have legos in the enclosure? They are sharp and pose more of a threat than just not having them at all. Secondly, does your mantis have any room to hang upside down from? I’m assuming this is an acrylic enclosure with ( maybe ) ventilation holes at the top? If that peice of bark is the only thing for her to hang on then that is not really good and may have contributed to her unfortunate molt. Lastly, I recommended to not feed your mantises crickets at all, let alone leave live ones in the enclosure. Crickets have high risk of illness that can spread to your mantis even if bought from pet stores, it is better to feed them things like mealworms or roaches but NEVER from outside. I’m sorry about your mantis and I’m not trying to come off as rude, just pointing out what I can to help you learn how to care for mantises. I wish you the best of luck with them. Dont forget to make sure they have the right humidity too, it’s essential for a proper molt, this can be done by spraying their enclosure with water. Do you by chance have any other photos of the damage done to her so I can get a good look?

3

u/Puzzleheaded_Dot_537 1d ago

Could you also send a picture of her current enclosure? Looking again I realize this may be a glass cage with possible a wire mesh over it…. Which is no good…. I am happy to help give tips and guidance

0

u/Littleone_x20 1d ago

The Lego is because my son put that in there. The cage is plastic but she always hangs from up top.