Heat Pad Or Heat Lamp?

I'm getting a couple orchids later this month. If you get a heating pad do you put it under the Insect cup or above! If you guys could tell me that would be great!

A heat pad is put under the cups.

- MantisGirl13

Sure! Anytime!

- MantisGirl13

Wouldn't that heat pad melt if put under the cups?

You will want to put something in between them. For example, I am in the process of building an incubation box. I won’t go into too much detail, since it’s not finished yet ?, but I have a big piece of floor tile that I’ve attached some heat mats to. It’s about 1/4 inch thigh, which is perfect. I left the mats on overnight, to test it, and the tile was warm to the touch, but not scalding got, like the mats would usually be. The tiles (which are ceramic) do a very good job of maintaining and distributing the heat from the mat(s). 

Hello Mantid Z!

Now, heating is my speciality. I don't have any mantids to keep yet, though I have hundreds of ants, which require heating.

Now in my experience insects generally require anywhere from 75-85 F, but some more tropical species require higher temperatures. Make sure to check the species you will be hearings prefered temperature. Now if you think about it, naturally insects get their heat from above. (Sun.) They generally do not receive any heat from the ground. Insects become very uncomfortable when being heated from below. You can buy a heat pad with adhesive on the back, and stick it to the side of the container. Or even better, use a heating lamp to act as the "sun". Either way, I suggest not heating from below. I would assume it would not kill them, just make them uncomfortable. They would most likely adapt to heating from below, but it would likely require time.

To make it easier for you and your mantids, just heat from above using a heating lamp.

Regards

-Major

Mantids are fine with undercage heating and overcage heating, but I can understand how ants would be uncomfortable with undercage heating. You sure know your stuff on heating, @Major!

- MantisGirl13

Is it still ok to use a heat pad from down below?

Yes, @Mantid Z. It is still ok to use heat pads under the cage. 

- MantisGirl13

Thanks MantisGirl13!

You may know better than me on this one, but I think overhead heating is the preferred method for all insects. The sun always shines down on them. And a heating lamp also shines down on them. While a heating from below may be fine with mantids, giving any creature its preferred conditions always leads to an outcome of more favorable results. 

-Major

Major said:

The sun always shines down on them. And a heating lamp also shines down on them. While a heating from below may be fine with mantids, giving any creature its preferred conditions always leads to an outcome of more favorable results.

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I hadn't thought of that aspect, which seems obvious now that I think about it. 

I use seedling heat mats for my Orchid Mantids. I have it set on a thermostat to hold at a temp. I have my insect cups housing my Mantids inside an aquarium which sits on top of the heat mat. The glass warms and seems to provide an ambient temp i desire inside the aquarium (depending on the time of day it is 78 to 81). The bottom isn't "hot" to the touch and the cups don't feel warm on the bottom, if that makes sense.

I had heat mats and thermostats on hand already, so I went with them instead of buying something else. I also liked that I could set a thermostat to hold the temp on my heat mat and eliminate the chance of fluctuations and inconsistencies in their environment. Long term, i may get a heat lamp and try them side by side to see if one produces better results for my Orchids.

I am interested as to whether anyone has more insight or personal experience to share as to heating from above vs underneath in regards specifically to mantids

@Major I think that the answer is this: Whatever you prefer to use, go ahead and use it, because either one will work. I have a heat pad and a heat lamp, although my heat pad just stopped working, so I need to get another one.

- MantisGirl13

I am using a under the tank heater for my Devil Flower tank to raise humidity to 72% with a wet substrate.  It is useless in raising the temp to 92°F so I use a ceramic top heater. After all, my mantis spents most of the time on top. I also use a cheap $10 always on heating pad like the one in Walmart. The heating pad is between two tanks pressed together so that I do not waste the heat. Both my Devil Flower and my Wandering Violins require high heat but different humidity levels in each of the two tanks. I have five Wandering Violins and I have not lost one due to mismolt.  The Wandering Violins grew faster and bigger than I excepted. First time with the Wandering Violins with good success so far. One is an adult and likes to flap its wings. The first Devil Flower had all its legs broken due to a collusion with a big fly. I am doing better on the second attempt with the Devil Flower mantis.     

I have a question will a 15watt lightbulb be good for a Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi and is there any risk of the light making the fabric catch on fire!

I currently use a seedling mat under my glass tank with a thermocontroller. The sensor is about midway up the glass and it generally keeps it warm. It's definitely drier in there as all I have in the tank is a green fabric on the bottom. I have had no luck with real substrate because of mold, but the mantis in the tank is an adult and I am not really worried about it. It stays generally between 35-45% humidity. If you decide to go underneath, be sure to have proper ventilation to prevent overheating of the mat. And invest in a thermocontroller with it, but check amazon. Much cheaper than pet stores.

@Mantid Z. a 15 watt heat lamp bulb? Yeah, that should be fine. As long as it is not directly up against or within a few inches of fabric, it will not catch on fire, don't worry.

- MantisGirl13

What kind of heating do you prefer for a spiny flower mantis?

I would use a heat mat or a low wattage heat lamp. I have mine near a heat lamp in a closet, but not directly under it.

- MantisGirl13

Greetings once again!

I would like give several reasons why under-cage heating may not be as benificial. 

For example- if you were to use an adhesive heating mat on the side of an enclosure, it would provide a heat gradient. This would allow the mantis to choose the best temperature, while being able to regulate it based on his or her preferences. The heat would spread evenly, farther out would be colder, while closer would be hotter. This would be the easiest thing to do. They are also fairly cheap from your local pet store. See what he or she likes- if they move closer to the heat, they obviously like it. Vice versa. Move it accordingly to their preferences. 

If you decided to use the heat lamp approach, here is what I would suggest. Make sure the lamp has a low wattage. I can't say for exact what wattage you would need, your going to have to experiment a bit. Do a bit of reaserch of the species you intend on housing's prefered temperature range. Put the lamp over one side (a couple inches away to lower risk of the fabric igniting and/ or your mantis overheating). Once again, move accordingly.

I hoped this helped and feel free to ask any questions you have!