A Memorial to Bandit
Bandit was growing proficiently and happily eating lots of crickets when I woke up this morning to find him in a frightening state. His abdomen was crumpled and misshapen and a pulpy black secretion was attached to his anal area. A mantis of his species does not have the ability to fold their abdomens as some species do, and a healthy mantis has an abdomen at least double that size so I could clearly see that something was very wrong.
I watched him for a time, and deplorably he was unable to flex his abdomen in a natural manner. I desperately searched for information on this problem in hopes that there could be a solution, but all the signs pointed to a slow and unavoidable death. The issue arises in cages where too many prey are left in the cage with the mantis, and disturbs it while it is attempting to molt, (a time where the mantis is soft and extremely venerable). The disturbed mantis suffers from an exoskeleton that does not form correctly. The crickets in my cage had been getting bigger and bolder, and were often climbing up Bandit's sticks. I thought this was a good thing at the time, because it seemed that Bandit would have an easier time hunting, but now I wish I had seen the problem in this before. I think Bandit tried to molt upside down from the mesh lid to avoid the crickets, and his abdomen drooped from that angle. This was a really hard lesson for me to learn, and I wanted to present this issue so future mantis owners could know avoid this.
I did not want Bandit to suffer, so we put him in the freezer so he could die peacefully as recommended by an expert on mantis care.
I now know that it is critical not to keep prey in the same cage with the predator as I was attempting to do. I also learned that only so many prey should be offered at a time, and to avoid feeding when the mantis is preparing to molt.
I really wish I could have known this before it cost my little pet Bandit's life.
I watched him for a time, and deplorably he was unable to flex his abdomen in a natural manner. I desperately searched for information on this problem in hopes that there could be a solution, but all the signs pointed to a slow and unavoidable death. The issue arises in cages where too many prey are left in the cage with the mantis, and disturbs it while it is attempting to molt, (a time where the mantis is soft and extremely venerable). The disturbed mantis suffers from an exoskeleton that does not form correctly. The crickets in my cage had been getting bigger and bolder, and were often climbing up Bandit's sticks. I thought this was a good thing at the time, because it seemed that Bandit would have an easier time hunting, but now I wish I had seen the problem in this before. I think Bandit tried to molt upside down from the mesh lid to avoid the crickets, and his abdomen drooped from that angle. This was a really hard lesson for me to learn, and I wanted to present this issue so future mantis owners could know avoid this.
I did not want Bandit to suffer, so we put him in the freezer so he could die peacefully as recommended by an expert on mantis care.
I now know that it is critical not to keep prey in the same cage with the predator as I was attempting to do. I also learned that only so many prey should be offered at a time, and to avoid feeding when the mantis is preparing to molt.
I really wish I could have known this before it cost my little pet Bandit's life.