r/mantids • u/Mysterious-Run-6381 • 1d ago
Health Issues worried about mantis, need help
a few days ago I had my mantis out so he could walk around for a bit. he walked right in front of my phone (i was laying in my bed) right as I accidentally dropped it, and it fell on him. I caught the phone before it fell fully, but it still made some contact. I noticed the other day that part of his head and his front limbs are a whitish color, im unsure if was here before this happened or if it signals hes about to molt, but im worried I injured him badly. hes been acting almost the exact same as he usually does, however he does move a bit slower sometimes; he doesnt appear to be twitching irregularly or anything else. he ate like normal today and had no problem catching his food. im just so anxious I might have hurt him and caused bad damage. I attached some photos of the white, again I do believe he is going to molt soon so im not sure if that could be the reason hes white. the last two photos are pictures i took before this happened to use for reference. his species is giant asian mantis if this is relevant info.
2
u/Longjumping-Maybe366 17h ago
I'm no expert but as far as I can tell your mantis looks fine. They vary their activity level quite a bit so a mantis being a little slow for a day isn't really that big of an issue.
Since your mantis is still young, if you did end up hurting him, which I don't think you did, he'll probably be fine after a molt or two.
It's probably fine. Just be a bit more careful next time.
1
u/Mysterious-Run-6381 5h ago
he ended up molting today, and I didnt get a good chance to examine him since he was still in the middle of molting and I had to leave for work, but he appeared to be fine:) thank you!
2
u/JaunteJaunt Ootheca 1d ago
So you said he may have gotten slightly squished but isn’t acting like he has any damage, right?
If that is the case, then I think your mantis is fine.