Erratic Movement, Wings out of Elytra?

L

Laserhamster1

L1
So, my G. caseyi was rolled onto its back when I looked at it today, and while it has usually been able to right itself by grabbing some leaves or something, this time I helped it back up. Upon looking at it, a wing tip was sticking out from between the elytra on its back, and the other wing sort of comes out to the right side then tucks under its abdomen. I tried mechanically putting the wings back in place, but it keeps walking around and fidgeting, and invariably puts the one wing back under its abdomen again. Seems very uncomfortable.

So, any suggestions on what to do? Or is my boy just on his way out?

Thanks all

 
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Yep, I replace the banana in his enclosure every couple of days. He finally stopped walking around and went underground, so maybe he'll sort it out himself? Last I saw, they were still messed up.

 
Hmm, usually when beetles do that it means that they are looking for food. I had stag beetles that tried flying, flipping over, and acting wild when they didn't have access to food. Since he has food, I'm not sure what could be wrong. There is the possibility that he sorted it out himself. He didn't emerge with messed up wings, right?

 
^Ratmosphere has a point! Have you been misting the enclosure? Insects are prone to desiccation due to their surface area to volume ratio. If humidity is not the cause of such behavior then perhaps temperature, other irritants (parasites, mites, mildew, etc), harmful chemical exposure, or he is reaching the end of his life. Hopefully you will be able to resolve this and he can be back to normal, good luck!

 
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I see him eating and I mist the enclosure daily, but it does have a mesh top rather than a sealed top so it may be drying out too quickly still. I'll try misting more heavily and see if that improves things. I don't think he has malformed wings, but I've also never seen him fly, so I'm not positive. Thanks for the advice!

 
It's good to hear that he's eating, hopefully he's defecating too as absence of defecation usually indicates abnormality. You don't need to mist too much, just enough to provide moisture as high humidity may encourage fungal growth.

 
Wow! He surfaced this morning, and everything is back in place. I don't know what he did down there, but he seems perfectly happy on the banana. Thanks for all your help, I guess I underestimated him!

 
sometimes a piece of substrate will stuck under the elytra when they attempted to fly.

will usually sort it back when they fly again.

 
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