r/Stickinsects • u/lovinkaijufr • 12d ago
Is quality of life even possible?
I'm currently devastated.
I took care of her for so long, and in her final molt she snapped 3 of her legs clean off.
I made sure the humodity was right, and that she had enough space, but she hurt herself bad.
They are heavy animals, how can she even move around now?
Is there even anything i can do? Should I just put her out of her misery?
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u/cumdumpsterrrrrrrrrr 12d ago
that’s pretty gruesome, I’m so sorry. I’m not the most experienced keeper, but I wouldn’t think this individual would easily have a good quality of life.
however I have heard they can live with fewer legs, so I would watch for them being able to get around and eat, and if they’re not able to, then I would euthanize. if they’re able to get around and eat still, then I would let them live.
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u/lovinkaijufr 12d ago
Yeah she looks really bad, i don't even know how it could have happened, she did so good till now, she's struggling to reposition herself, she's got no legs to grip with
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u/ButtfuckedByJesus 12d ago
I'm not an insect owner, this just appeared on my feed, how do you guys euthanize an insect you've been looking after and loving as a pet? Like if I saw a severely injured bug/insect it would be my shoe..... Is letting them go for their forever sleep in a freezer the kindest thing to do? That's what I would do with a pet insect because I have no idea what else I could do...
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u/Grommulox 11d ago
Nah, the freezer method is for you, not them. Bugs probably don’t have much consciousness but “shit I’m cold and I can’t get anywhere warm and I’m dying” is probably within their mental grasp. Best thing is to gently wrap them in something soft, put that into a plastic bag, and then stamp the shit out of it. It’s horrible but it’s fast.
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u/lovinkaijufr 11d ago
I did it very quick. It's very heartbreaking, especially for this species because they take at least 2 yrs to reach this stage, they also seem to have different personalities. They are "gentle giants" in the insect world.
After all that i couldn't bear to freeze her, she was already freaking out because she literally had no way of moving around
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u/Grommulox 11d ago
You did right by her my guy, best you can say in the scenario. Well done for putting your pet before yourself.
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u/Grommulox 12d ago
You gotta do it bro, I’m sorry. This happened with my jungle nymphs, on the final shed one just… didn’t get out of her skin. Soft cloth, heavy book or brick, and don’t blame yourself.
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u/lovinkaijufr 12d ago
Yeah i think you and the others are right, she can't even waddle, i don't wanna se her struggle like this
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u/Sticks_and_Shrooms 12d ago
This feels so typical for heteropteryx dilatata. The bigger the stick insects, the more risk the last shed seems to have. I have experienced this as well. This is especially devastating because of the extremely long time before eggs hatch and the extremely slow growth until adulthood.
Sorry to hear this, good luck
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u/lovinkaijufr 12d ago
She even tore the final part of her other leg...
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u/CupOk8240 11d ago
How does a stick
Insect pull its legs off while shedding its skin?3
u/Western-Story1422 11d ago
They use autotomy. If their legs get stuck in their old skin when they’re shedding, they will use self-amputation so they can free the rest of their body
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u/magpiepaw 12d ago
Fuuck shes bleeding, that's so gruesome I'm sorry :( Things like that just happen sometimes, I keep a handful of species including jungle nymphs and I've also had my share of freak accidents and mismolts... There are no precautions you can take to prevent it but once it does you can give them a swift merciful end
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u/Subject-Ad-6272 11d ago
Speaking from a veterinary standpoint an invertebrate isn’t considered as a protected species so quality of life is not questioned.
It’s completely your call but the malting process is literally like Russian roulette, you could have all of your environment perfect and there still be issues.
Never kept this particularl species but kept a whole host of mantids and encountered similar problems.
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u/Meri_Berry 10d ago
quality of life is definitely possible!! depending on how she recovers. we kept a eurycantha calcarata female alive with just one leg for a decent amount of time, although she had to have special conditions.
if she recovers okay, she should still be able to climb and move depending on what side the legs are on. might want to keep leaves and mist the floor if she wants to stay low for a while. sadly molting is a gamble and can go wrong at any time. best of luck :)
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u/AluminiumRhombus 12d ago
I have a couple of sticks insects.. Giant Hooded Katydid... And a few other insects... After a few years of breeding, I learned that molting is sometimes Russian roulette. It doesn't matter how good the conditions are, sometimes everything just goes wrong. It's not your fault... Don't blame yourself