Molt Coming Up?

[reefshadow]

My G. Chiragra has begun to reject food the last few days, and has also started to seal up her burrow earlier in the day when the lights are still on. She will take food with a strong response when the burrow is open but then minutes later releases it and it floats away. I can also hear her smashing around inside her burrow alot more lately.

I'm a bit suprised as she molted about 6 weeks ago, and she is over 4 inches.

 

[Ehudd]

Sounds like moulting.
If fed decent they moult quite alot. My G Smithii moulted 7 times in a year.

 

[Gonodactylus]

The behavior sounds like pre-molt, but to molt again in six weeks for an animal this large is unusual - unless it is missing the raptorial appendages. The larger a gonodactylid gets, the less frequently it molts. This of course is also influenced by temperature, diet, and having a cavity.

G. chiracra females will also reject food and seal their burrow when they lay eggs - which if sterile, will eventually be eaten. If you have a female who closes up for awhile, you can't necessarily assume that she molted unless you see pieces of the old molt skin.

The largest G. chiragra ever recorded was 103 mm - right at 4 inches. Measurements are made from the tip of the eyes to the tip of the telson teeth.

Roy

 

[reefshadow]

Hmmm, well maybe she isn't quite at 4 inches, but it's gotta be pretty darn close, she's a big (long) mantis. I'm not about to grab her and find out, lol.

It's interesting you mention losing the raps because after the last molt I thought she had lost them but I guess she was just still very "soft" and I saw her much sooner than would be normal after the molt. She hadn't excavated a comfy burrow yet and didn't like the one I had made for her (she molted only about a week after I got her, suprisingly just right under an overhang.) But anyhow, raps are fine so that's not it. She also had a very nice colour change after the molt so i'm excited to see what happens next.

Haha, do you have any tips on measuring a mantis? I'm afraid of her, she's a terror. Maybe my fear makes her look larger - She definately is NOT a juvi though.

Maybe it's a food issue, I feed her pretty heavily (I think) with shell-on shrimp soaked in Selcon. I also have live food for her in the tank but she ignores it.

I'l just continue to offer food and see what happens.

 

[Gonodactylus]

For gonodactylids, the larger they are, the longer the molt cycle and the longer the point of no return once they start a molt. This is why we frequently see molts in a few days after shipping in large animals, but not is small ones. Once they commit to the process, it runs through to completion.

I measure animals by laying them flat on a couple of sheets of paper towel. Catch the animal in a net and place it on the towel. It will flop around for a few seconds. If it is on its back flip it over so the dorsal side is up and the animal is fairly straight. (Use the ruler if you don't want use your finger.) Once the animals is quiet, quickly grasp it from above and behind using your thumb and forefinger to pinch it by the thorax while gently pushing down. You are essentially holding it by the raptorial appendages. At the same time, use your third and fourth fingers on the same hand to push the abdomen to the side and down. This keeps the animal from curling its abdomen and impaling you with the uropod spines. I use my left hand and grab the animal whcih is facing right. I can then use my right hand to place the ruler on the back of the animal measuring from the tip of the telson to the tip of the eyes. With a little practice, you can pick up the animal while holding it in one hand because you have the abdomen locked in place by the sideways pressure of your fingers.

If you want to examine the gentital region to sex the animal, you can then take your right hand and grasp the thorax, slide your left thumb and finger back, and roll the animal away from you allowing you to look at the ventral thorax. Be sure to hold the raptoria dactyls shut since they can't strike if you are holding them closed.

This technique workds for animals in the 30 to 160 mm range. Smaller ones are more difficult because they are hard to grasp and anything over about 7 inches is hard to immobilize by holding the abdomen to the side. It typically takes two hands to hold an adult Hemsquilla or Lysiosquillina, but the principle is the same.

A word of warning. If you are going to try this, you have to be committed to it. If you are tentative in grasping the animal, it can sometimes slip free and strike. And always try to grab it when it is dorsal side up and facing way from your hand.

Roy

 

[Thurge]

Its things like this that make me wish I had a more docile species, like an N.wennera to practice on. My current choices are a G. grapherus which has already drawn blood, and a G. chiagra.

 

[Gonodactylus]

Actually, G. chiragra are easy because they are so thick bodied. One of the worst for its size to handle is G. smithii. They seem prone to stabbing.

Roy