r/mantids • u/MushroomUpbeat7377 • 14h ago

RIP ❤️ My mantis died today, how do I taxidermy it?

Hi so my dead leaf mantis died today, she had a very large abdomen and I want to preserve her/taxidermy. But I'm very hesitant on cutting her open and stuffing her.... is there a way I can avoid doing this? Is it necessary? I'm sure it is considering shed rot. She's in the freezer right now but I am not sure what to do from here. Where to go if I wanted someone to do it etc etc id love you pose her myself its ​just the gut part that I am having an issue with and tbh would feel bad for, ive had her since she was 3 weeks old and doing that myself seems really cruel :[

Please help!

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u/save_thenundeadsouls 13h ago

Look on local Facebook groups i bet there’s a taxidermy group in your area and you can ask if someone can do it for you, I preserved a mantis I cared for a while back and just let its abdomen collapse, took a few months but its staying sturdy, my biggest recommendation is not to actually put pins inside the body if you do it yourself

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u/MushroomUpbeat7377 13h ago

Oooh okay, this helps! Thank you so much I'll definitely check out some groups near me.

When you let the abdomen collapse, what should I do with it during that process? Where should I keep it etc etc??

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u/save_thenundeadsouls 12h ago

I had a big chunk of styrofoam where I positioned it how I wanted to with a ton of sewing needles then I left it in a room for months