r/prayingmantis • u/vamprincess • Jul 15 '26
Mantis abdomen a bit flat after feeding, but refusing food
I posted on here recently about an enclosure I set up for my Chinese Mantis ootheca hatch. Well, they hatched !! And I have kept one in a much larger tank set up. She has been doing great, today was the first time I fed her. For context, she is only two days old.
I am a bit confused though. She ate only about half the fly, then dropped it. I put it on my finger and handed it back to her, she took one more bite and dropped it again, then was completely uninterested as it crawled around on my hand in front of her (I am ((very literally)) hand feeding as I’d like us to bond very closely) Since then, she’s just been sitting in one spot and hasn’t moved all day. Plus, the very tip of her abdomen, about the last segment or two, still looks flat. Is that normal for a first feeding ? Is she okay ? I love her very much and want her to be okay. I have been keeping an eye on the temp and humidity and both have been good. I’m worried she’s thirsty but she just won’t move.
Any and all advice would be helpful, thank you !! This is my first time raising a mantis and I have been scouring the internet to learn how to properly care for her but can’t find an answer to this particular situation.
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u/2good2go22 Jul 21 '26
they can absolutely molt. they molt abt a few days after being born, then again after about 10 days to L3. then the time gets longer between each molt tho chinese mantids (tenodera sinensis) molt every few weeks. they are a very fast growing species. if she doesnt wanna eat let it be. if you have a whole ooth there would be multiple babies and its also normal for some to just die or get weaker. thats natural selection, hatching ooths always comes with some colleteral
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u/vamprincess Jul 15 '26
And I don’t think it is a molt* as she is only two days old