# Praying mantis starving itself?



## Rebeccagane (Mar 2, 2013)

I have a Giant Indian Mantis who last shed for the 3rd time on the 14th of February and hasn't eaten since!

I've tried changing the feed but that didn't work. She/he (not sure yet) just runs away from food and sometimes doesn't even react likes she's blind! It's abdomen is almost as thin as a piece of paper so I don't think she'll last long if I can't find out what is wrong.

Does anyone know the reason for it? I really don't want it to starve!


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Sometimes food too big scares them, or food too small doesn't interest them. Have you tried leaving the food in with her? And what food items are you offering?


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## Reptgal (Mar 3, 2013)

hmm... doesnt sound like a happy mantis. did you see the molt? did she have any troubles with it? if a part of her is stuck in the molt, it could stop her eating? what are you offering her? if shes small, wingless fruit flies, aphids and MICRO crickets. anything too big will scare her. if shes tame try holding her and holding an insect in some tweezers infront of her, entice her and she might take it. if her abdomen is that thin i dont think its looking good :/


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## Rebeccagane (Mar 2, 2013)

I usually feed her small silent crickets and she takes them with no problem but when she didnt take them I bought slightly bigger ones. Then she didn't take those either. So I tried small mealworms. Still nothing. I saw her molt out of her skin and it dropped down whole. 
I usually give her food with the tweezers because shes always hanging down from somewhere. But shes just running away from anything its so frustrating. 

She has changed colour if that makes a difference? She went from green to brown to green to brown. 

Thank you for replying!!


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## Rebeccagane (Mar 2, 2013)

And yeah her abdomen is so thin its worrying. How could she not want food?!


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## Reptgal (Mar 3, 2013)

i have giant africans, n i know they vary loads between species so im not too familiar with the indian, but i think they are a species which can change color due to surroundings or change. i wouldnt worry bout that though, i defo recommend fruit flies! that is honestly the best source of food for them. i almost guarentee she will snap em up! ebay is good for little cultures,or maybe a pet shop near you? they last about a month and be sure to throw out quick else they smell... before you give up, order these. n i really hope she gets better!


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## Metamorphosis (Feb 25, 2008)

*mantis problem*

Hi
You haven’t told us how big she is now, but if you have had three moults with you I can guess it's a little large for fruit flies, but worth a try. Sometimes a moult can cause internal damage, they have to build up a lot of pressure to break out of the old skin, and if they rupture an "internal seal" they can effectively bleed to death inside. However also sometimes this lack of feeding can be seen when a mantis is not getting enough water, they do need to drink sometimes and particularly prior to moulting, try a light spray, if this doesn’t work I would offer a pre killed insect on tweezers direct to her mouth parts and see if you get a response, no response at this stage I am afraid normally shows a fatal problem. Best of luck and let us know how you do.

Regards

Graham


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## Rebeccagane (Mar 2, 2013)

Thank you for all your replies, she's about 3cm long maybe a few millimeters bigger. I do spray regularly but I'll try that along with the fruit flies.


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## chrism (Jul 5, 2007)

Get a wax worms in tweevers, and damage it, so still alive, but kinda oozing- and place it against here mouth- she'll either grab it to eat or in defence, so worth a try.


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## Reptgal (Mar 3, 2013)

''Get a wax worms in tweevers, and damage it, so still alive, but kinda oozing''....*You Animal!!* :-o :lol:


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## Rebeccagane (Mar 2, 2013)

*Hooraaaay!*

You'll be pleased to know that she ate yesterday! 2-3 weeks of no food and she finely decided she would take some! I bought wax worms and two sizes of crickets and she went for her original food. Little git!

Thank you all so much for your help! It's really appreciated!


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## Reptgal (Mar 3, 2013)

ahh nice one... glad shes eatin again!! post sum pics of her when shes big n tht  welldun :2thumb:


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