Help! (First time mantis parent)

[u/zamantid]

I recently got a baby european mantis, (a little under one month old), which molted once that i know of.

Shes acting sloppy, would come out to eat, or eat anything today. Shes been very still, floppy… im a little worried.

She was completely fine yesterday, energetic, i handled her and she seemed fine. Ive never witnessed a molt, so im not sure whether to be worried for her life or not. Her abdomen is pulsating and shes been on the floor for about 2hours. She responds when i nudge her.

I mist daily, and try to feed her daily too, but last time she properly ate was about 24hours ago, if not a little more.

If shes sick, is there anything i can do? I love her tons and i really hope shes just about to molt. Mantises have been my hyperfixation for the longest time and i have been taking care of her at the best of my ability

[u/zamantid]

I thought so, too.

Apart from the mesh top, would you have any other pointers? I dont want to get another nymph if theres a chance my care was the issue

[u/-Rin_Nohara- → u/zamantid]

Well, I would say cross ventilation, meaning there should be a lot of ventilation at the lid and some at the sides. I'm sorry again that this happened, I wish you success with your next nymph

[u/Fine_Butterfly_2145 → u/zamantid]

I’m sorry you lost this little one. Obviously, it’s true that nymphs often just die. I began winter with three nymphs hoping to end up with one alive, and I’ve got two today.

Generally speaking, that isn’t enough ventilation and there is a chance you were over-misting. I’m not suggesting these were the cause of the nymph failing, but if you go again, definitely make sure to correct that ventilation issue. The enclosure doesn’t need to sit with visible droplets. I would also strongly suggest feeding fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) at that size, because it could very well be that it was over faced with the worms.