usually they will either bury and eat it later or just eat it right away, regardless whether or not it is infected with the shell disease. They will not eat the hardest parts like the smashers though... those are the only pieces of exoskeleton i have ever found.
in your case, since the mantis was so accomodating, I would remove that infected exoskeleton asap (before the mantis realises it hasnt eaten it yet).
Dont bother it until it shows its face. when you do feed it, feed lightly, and only feed once every 3 days. this somewhat reduced feeding diet will ensure the mantis stays active... if you feed to satiation immediately after a molt, they'll get lazy. soak the frozen feedings in a supplement. dont feed hard shelled food like snails crabs and hermits for a while... it may hurt the mantis when it tries to strike with a still-soft rap.
if you want, you can reduce photoperiod although that isnt really necessary. avoid doing water changes and dont stir up the sand too much. basically yeah, leave the mantis alone as much as possible and definitely do NOT open up the burrow yourself to taker a peek. there's a few people who did that and their mantids died shortly after.
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07-12-2007, 11:59 PM
Hybrid Mode
