Bob the mantis is dying!

Bob is hanging in there

 

Quick question how did your mantis act before a molt ? My keeps laying on his back and has been real lazy and less movement the last couple of days. I check my params and nothing out of whack. Thanks much

 

Bob usually stops eating for couple days, gets really irratible (PMS....premolting syndrome) ;D, rearranges her tank, and then burroughs herself into the den for a week to week and a half. I also notice small "holes" in her shell

If yours in on their back then chances are it is going into a molt. Usually they will go into den and not do it in the open but Bob has been doing it in the open

When they go on their back they are usually struggling with it. Best to turn off all lights and leave them be. As hard as it is to not peak it is best to try to not to!

Curt said the "huffing and puffing" that she was doing is her trying to expand and contract her exoskeleton to get water under it to help peal it off.

Bob is hanging in there..she is upright now, seems to be moving her swimmettes more, and seems more alert. You can tell she is very stressed still.

Curt says she is "still soft, but hanging in there" so that is cool She has not been able to get her smassher off yet but we are going to wait

thanks all for concern

 

Shew.. just read through all of this. Glad to hear she is doing better.

 

Anything new?

 

the suspense is suspenseful. edge of the seat hoping everything works out for the best.

 

She's still working at it. Peacocks are the prettiest mantis there are but you can lose them in a bad molt more than other species. She wants to live and is fighting.

 

does it get tougher and riskier to molt as the mantis gets older?

 

Yes. Young mantis molt quite often. In fact, a lot of times you won't even know that it happened. You don't see it for a day. When they get older, the molts take longer and are more challenging.

 

ty. was asking just to learn more about the whole process. adding to the learning bank. lol.