Reclusive Mantis, Help?!

[Alexraptor]

I need help from anyone who knows something!

Well I posted in a previous thread around the end of September that my G. Smithii had gone into hiding sometime around early september.

I still have not "seen" him since.
But I know he's alive as I can still hear snapping sounds coming from the rocks, and almost every morning the rubble around its burrow entrance has been reshuffled.

He used to be so active for the better half of the year, exploring his tank, tunneling through adjacent rocks, digging out substrate from under his own rock and in general doing things stomatopods do.
But now he has become a complete recluse that does not seem to want to leave the confines of his burrow within his rock.
He does not even poke his head out in curiosity over food offerings, even when left in the tank over night.
But as he still seems to be alive he obvious is getting food from somewhere.

I just don't know what to do at this point, I'm glad he is alive, but since I never see him he may as well be dead.

Anyone know anything I could do to coax him out of his burrow and encourage him back to his old routine?

 

[Fartin'Gary]

You could maybe try re arranging the tank. When I moved all the rocks around mine would be very interested in the new surroundings.

 

[nmotz]

Yeah I agree with Gary....it's time to figure out what's going on with him. Just change his scenery up and he'll have to come out at least for a little while. It's weird that he's not really eating.

Maybe he lost one or both raptorial appendages while molting and is afraid to come out until he has molted enough times to grow them back? If that's the case, it would probably take like 6-8 months for him to regrow his rapts completely.

Do the usual stuff too, like checking your water conditions and all of that. Did you add any fish or other inverts to the tank that could possibly be affecting him? Sometimes mantids are apprehensive around larger fish.

Lastly, are you sure it's him moving the stuff around his burrow? Maybe you have a pistol shrimp that killed your mantis while he was molting and now he's in there popping away and rearranging rubble. Just a thought....

 

[Alexraptor]

Nope, no fish, no other co-inhabitants.
Haven't added anything new period into the tank since last december.

Tank does have a rich population of live mysid and pods, maybe he's feeding off them when unwittingly wander into his cave systems?

 

[Fartin'Gary]

I run charcoal sheets and ammonia absorbing rocks in my canister filter just to be sure.

 

[Alexraptor]

Would be nice if Roy could provide some insight, if theres anything he knows about this behavior from his long experience with Stomatopods.

 

[ebacon]

These creatures, while inquisitive and intelligent are reclusive by nature. You can rearrange the rock work, feed him or just start poking around in the tank and he may make an appearance. But if your expecting him to come out and dance a jig every time the lights come on you will most likely be disappointed

 

[Alexraptor]

Thing is, nothing seems to coax him out, he never seems to leave the confines of his burrow anymore.
I got small turbosnails in the tank breeding like rabbits and growing, completely unchallenged.

And he's been completely uninterested in any "offered food" ever since he went into hiding, but there are still signs of life.

He's always been cautious and shy, but never like this.
For 10 month's he was fine, inquisitive, shy, and then BAM, complete recluse.
Its just such a sudden and complete change in behavior.

 

[nmotz]

Man, that's tough. It has to be health related. Something is making him not want to come out of his burrow now and I think it has to be some illness or physical deformity caused by a bad molt or something. If it were me, I'd be digging him out to find out what was up. That's not always the best way to go though, and maybe he'll revert back to normal at some point in the near future.

Just keep the water as clean as you can. I know that's probably not much help at all. Mantid behavior adapts to conditions in and around their environment which is small but still includes water quality, what's happening outside the tank, tank inhabitants, food quality, physical condition, etc.

I just got an O. Scyllarus not too long ago that didn't use his smashers once for the first 3 weeks I had him. Even now he's just not that aggressive. I can hand feed him for the most part, although he did pop me pretty good once. But, he has improved remarkably from the first week that I had him. He almost never came out then, and now he's out fairly often. I still wish he was more aggressive (and violent), but its ok.

Just try to be patient and hopefully you'll see some changes in his behavior soon.

 

[Alexraptor]

Tick tock goes the clock...
Still refusing to leave the confines of his cave network, and the juvenile turbosnails that have been in there are being allowed to grow unmolested.
Heard snapping sounds as recently as the other night.

So yeah, No idea how i'm even going to coax him out of a solid block of rock... >.<

 

[Fartin'Gary]

I would leave it alone. It may be having trouble with a molt or something.

 

[Ciscokid]

Maybe he is stuck inside a rock. Why not move one rock at a time ....Just to make sure he is OK and doesn't need help..

The suspense is killing us all.. :thumbsup:

 

[Alexraptor]

My Mantis it sadly seems is long dead.
Instead I just found that as increadible as it may seem, the snapping sounds being produced the last few months is from a Pistol Shrimp.
Just disovered a molt from him on the rocks.

The thought had occurred to me but I kind of always dismissed it as I always assumed it would have been hunted down and killed long ago, since nothing new has been added to the tank since December 2011, and my Mantis didn't go AWOL until september last year.

Allthough I think he was still alive for many months after sealing himself up, as I noticed evidence of activity around his burrow.
I guess he probally died about 2 months ago when all activity around his burrow openings ceased.

So I wonder, molting problems? Bad altercation with pistol? or was i just not feeding him enough? =/

I just hope my next stomatopod, wherever it may come from, will stick around a little longer.

 

[Ciscokid]

I am sorry to hear about your loss.

I doubt the pistol shrimp had anything to do with his death..

I also doubt it was lack of feeding b/c the pistol shrimp would have been a snack a long time ago.

 

[ebacon]

Maybe old age?

 

[Alexraptor]

Dunno, he wasn't very big when i got him, and he grew pretty rapidly.

 

[ValleyDude]

Bummer man. Sorry to hear the news.

 

[nmotz]

Pistol shrimp could've got him during a molt.

 

[Kharn]

G.smithii are tough and hardy and due to being a small species will molt rapidly generally the whole process could be over in a few days...if a G.smithii doesn't show itself after a week I'd go digging through the tank.

Sorry to hear about your loss