Cat fell while in J

[donnap27]

one cat obviously did not have a good strong hold on it's silk mat before it went into it's 'J' .... is it possible to 'glue' their hind feet to something, so they can continue into their chrysallis ?
answer needed quickly
thanks
Donna
ps: i should mention ... it fell to the bottom of the cage ....

[Mona Miller]

I've carefully taken the caterpillar and if you pull it carefully across the silk mat it might reattach. There are hooks in the proleg end. Sorry if this is not in time.

[allaflutter}i{]

I don't know if I got to you in time....I had this happen and I slipped a toothpick in between the back claspers while holding the caterpillar close to some polyester batting. When I pulled the toothpick out, the claspers grabbed the batting.

[Mona Miller]

I've never tried the toothpick, but I'll try it when I get the opportunity. There's always one that loses grip.

I have learned to carefully pick up the caterpillar, it's a lot harder when it has shed its skin and is laying there.

[donnap27]

thank you both ! ... unfortunately for this one, it was too late and the 'process' had already begun ...
BUT those are both great ideas ... Mona, i did try to find the silk mat, but didn't really see anything ... this may have been the problem -- poor silk-making skills ... but the idea with the toothpick and the polyester batting probably would have worked. i'll file that with the other 'tricks'
this is a GREAT forum ... keep up the great work !
Donna

[Mona Miller]

I've even used the silk pads from previous pupae, q-tips, cotton balls,... You can be inventive. The more butterflies you raise it seems you are bound to run across issues.

[dandjtaylor]

I have had some luck with leaving the "J" on some soft tissue or cotton padding until it pupates. If you are there soon after pupation, then you can tie the cremater with some thread and hang him before his shape is set. They can pupate on their side pretty well as long as you don't leave them there for long.

[allaflutter}i{]

Yes, Dand'. I've done that, also.

[Mona Miller]

http://www.monarch.org.nz/monarch/
I did a search on the Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust
I searched for "reattaching pupae"
"I have had success with 2 'J' caterpillars that lost their grip due to wind. I used nylon thread to re-hang them using one of their back legs (I don't think they felt it). After a few hours, they exuded their black stem from inside & I was able to attach the thread to this. Soon afeter, they transformed into perfect chrysalis."

[MrsZ]

I was so thankful to find this section. I had one cat spin it's silk across another chrysalis and then J. It did not have a silk button that I could see and, sure enough, it fell. I immediately ran in, fired up my computer and came to the forum to search for "J fell" and found this section. I did have some quilt batting which I promptly dug out and grabbed a toothpick. I managed to get it to grab the batting and using a clothespeg, attached it low in one of my cages. I put tissues underneath in case it fell again as it morphed. I had to go out and when I returned it had successfully changed and looked fine. It was not very secure on the batting, however, so I tied a thread around the cremaster and it did not take much to remove it. I then tied it to the toothpick and used quick-drying tacky glue to secure it. Now I must wait to see how it emerges! Thanks for all the great tips! I will now add quilt batting to my emergency first aid kit for monarchs!
P.S. I try very hard to never touch my cats or chrysalids with my bare hands. You never know whether soap residues or creams can harm them.