Straightened Appendages

[TrappedMetal]

Well i woke up yesterday and either my P. Ciliata has had some kind of stress during the night or it has moulted. It is acting normally however both of its raptorial appendages are locked forward. I know this sign is usually followed with death, which is why i didnt post yesterday. He seems fine and is acting normally, hunting copepods and shifting his burrow. However i fear these straightened dactyls are causing difficulty in moving into tight crevices and also that they may pose a threat in the next moult. The mantis is no bigger than 2 inches long.
Should i attempt to take the appendages off myself or hope the mantis will be ok and tear them off at moulting?
Thanks
James

 

[TrappedMetal]

bump, Roy?

 

[TrappedMetal]

The ciliata is back to normal without a moult.
Checked today and they were folded in normally, gave him a shrimp and he speared it with gusto. Weird huh.

 

[J2FcM]

Mantis yoga, raptorial enduro flex. The apendage becomes one with the stereo vision multi spectrum eye.

 

[acrodave]

sometimes mine will hold them at a 90deg but will tuck them back in if i mess wiht her or feed

 

[Gonodactylus]

The problem of "sprung" rapts is more common with gonodactylid smashers, but it can also happen with other gonodactyloids. A variety of conditions can cause it - low oxygen, high or low temperature, extreme salinities, organic solvents, etc. Once the propodae (and in spearers dactyls) are extended and not retracted for more than a few hours, in my experience the animals rarely recover function in the appendage(s) and have to regenerate them. Since stomatopods cannot autotomize their raptorial appendages, they have to physically rip them off grasping and twisting them using the 3-5 maxillipeds.

We don't know exactly what goes wrong, but the extensor muscles are destroyed.

Roy

 

[cobaltplasma]

I was a bit concerned once when I saw my P.ciliata doing something a little similar to what acrodave described: Partial extension of the rapts, not full extension, though. Half the time, though, it's because she's cleaning around herself so it's not really a 'locked in place' thing, and I don't see her traveling around the tank with them locked up...gave me a bit of a scare at the time!

Roy, that's pretty crazy that the extensors are destroyed... just hypothesizing here, but maybe the muscles have to remain contracted and if left relaxed they atrophy from a lack of constant flexion and/or blood flow to the rapt mechanism? I dunno, hehe, just rambling...it's crazy that they would tear off their arms, if need be.

 

[TrappedMetal]

they were definatly locked and for a good few hours (10+)
Weird