# Need HELP with my violin nymphs



## Psychobunny (Dec 7, 2011)

I have 2 violins, about L4 (I loose track of everybodies instar!!) and they will not eat anything!!

They are in a container about 7'' tall and 4'' wide with a wide lid which has been cut out and screen

hot glued. So they spend most of their time on it, hanging upside down.

I have not seen either of them eat anything, but I'm sure they must have!!

Have tried small cricks, small dubia's, BB's and the smaller house flies. No interest in the food!!

I have read that this is a tropical species and they like it warm, so is it possible that they are not eating

because the temp is too low??!!

I now have them on a UTH (under tank heater) at about 90F and I mist them every day.

I also have 2 humidifiers going 24/7 and maintain a RH of 60%.

I use only paper towel as a substrate, and they have never had a miss-molt.

So, what am I doing wrong? I thought for sure they would eat the house flies!! I even tried fruit flies,

but they wont touch anything!!

I wouldnt be worried if it was only one of them not eating, but it's both!!

Any suggestions would be very welcome


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## patrickfraser (Dec 7, 2011)

Males eat less. What are the sexes?


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## Psychobunny (Dec 7, 2011)

I have no clue what sex they are but I took a few pics.

Didnt want to open the jar because there are house flies in it.

On the left of the jar is my "fly port". To feed them flies, I simple connect the tube.

On the right of the jar is a screen window.

You can see the nymphs hanging from the lid pretty well:


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## lunarstorm (Dec 7, 2011)

Your conditions sound fine to me, I think they'll eventually eat, on their terms. They seem to prefer flies (mine were taking BB from L3 onwards) but I've also seen them take an occasional cricket. My violins are certainly not the voracious eaters that some other species are, they are only offered a BB every other day and it's not uncommon for it to take hours before they nab it. If they ignore food for over 48 hours, then I expect a molt.


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## psyconiko (Dec 7, 2011)

They will be interested only in fruitflies.You can check their abdomens see if they have eaten or not.

The light MUST come from the top,do not overheat your terra or overlight it.If they are still and do not move much it is a good sign.If agitated,put them to the shade around 27°C.You can give them some drop of water to see if they are starving,if they do not drink then it is all fine.Otherwise they do not need water at all.

What Lunarstorm says about molting is exact.


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## gripen (Dec 7, 2011)

heat lamps are necessary for this species as they love to bask!!


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## lunarstorm (Dec 7, 2011)

After looking at your habitat dimensions, I suspect you're gonna need a new habitat for your Violins at some point. I doubt it's the reason they're not eating but maybe?

They are a surprisingly tall species that needs the vertical space. I think you risk a mismolt with a habitat that size, I recommend getting a netcube (the 12" work well) or something taller.


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## angelofdeathzz (Dec 7, 2011)

My Gongy ate quite a bit as a rule, only flies though no crix, there probably just going to molt soon, if you get worried give them some honey on a tooth pick they love it.


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## Psychobunny (Dec 8, 2011)

lunarstorm said:


> Your conditions sound fine to me, I think they'll eventually eat, on their terms. They seem to prefer flies (mine were taking BB from L3 onwards) but I've also seen them take an occasional cricket. My violins are certainly not the voracious eaters that some other species are, they are only offered a BB every other day and it's not uncommon for it to take hours before they nab it. If they ignore food for over 48 hours, then I expect a molt.


I am also thinking a molt since they came from the same ooth, it's not unreasonable to assume they

could both be getting ready to molt.

They seem to do it when they are ready regardless of what you do.

I agree, flies are the way to go but I have put BB's in there only to have to turn them loose outside a few

days later, and I count the feeders I put in and the same number always comes back out uneaten!!

I thought house flies would be more their size so put 4 in yesterday.

Yes, I have them under a reptile basking lamp and they get as close to the light as possible.

I guess that means they like it!!??


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## ismart (Dec 8, 2011)

If they have not eaten the 4 house flies yet? Then you should take them out. If they are going to molt you don't want the flies to knock into them, or stress them out during this time. I say they are both going to molt. From your pic they look plump.


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## Psychobunny (Dec 8, 2011)

Okay, when I get home I will check them out.

If flies are still there, they get their freedome (outside) and play the waiting

game for them to molt  

Thanks for the advise ismart, I agree there is no need to have flies in there

just being a pest!!


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## Termite48 (Dec 9, 2011)

If they are for sure going to molt, you might want to step up the R/H somewhat to make a smoother pasage from the old exoskeleton to the new. Also see if there is some cushion material at the bottom of the habitat in case of a fall. Otherwise all is well. They are surely having the options to follow what they feel compelled to do. You are not starving them, most likely they are well. Honey on a toothpick is a good test as well as a bit of banana. The forth molt is a snap for them is it is more humid.


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## ShieldMantid1997 (Dec 9, 2011)

i have gotten my first sexed pair of adults from my clutch of violins i have been raising from L2. I keep them at 98-106 degrees, and a humidity of about 25%. and in a net cube (12" x 12"). Not one mis-molt by the way.


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## sporeworld (Dec 9, 2011)

Yeah - all good advice.

Net cage, or cube, is the way to go - they're called "Wandering Violins" for a reason.  Give em lots of space. And lamp is better (in my experience) than UTH, as they can better find a place to hang out that's juuuuust right. With either one, the prevailing opinion is that they should have a day/night (hot/cool) cycle. Timers are cheap this time of year - just check the holiday lighting section!

Blue bottles (and moths) are just about it from L3 onwards. Just put enough in for them to snap em up. If they don't eat them, or look uninterested, let the flies out (or put them back in the fridge) to avoid any molting mishaps.

Good luck! Gongy's Rock!


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## Psychobunny (Dec 10, 2011)

ShieldMantid1997 said:


> i have gotten my first sexed pair of adults from my clutch of violins i have been raising from L2. I keep them at 98-106 degrees, and a humidity of about 25%. and in a net cube (12" x 12"). Not one mis-molt by the way.


That is a very helpful post, thanks.

Isnt that 12'' cube kind of big though for only little L2's??

I know they like it warm, and I dont mist them like I do others.

I have them on a plain paper towel substrate which I wet a few times a day.

Since they are on a UTH, the wet towels provide plenty of humidity for a few hours (they dry up pretty fast)

but I have 2 humidifiers going 24/7.

It sounds like you are saying I should put them in a larger cage?


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## sporeworld (Dec 11, 2011)

Mine liked it hot, dry and roomy. They wandered so much, it became hazardous to cage mates trying to molt.

Mine seemed to do best, as SheildMantid1997 mentioned, in the 90-100f range, and low (maybe 20-40%) humidity.

If you don't like the esthetics of the net cage, try an aquarium with a screen top. Although, I'd suggest adding a more clasper-friendly material to the screen (netting, cloth, or similar) for molting, and to avoid broken tarsus.


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## Psychobunny (Dec 12, 2011)

I have a few net cubes not in use, so will transfer them today.

Will also increase heat but with a gradient so they can pick the temp they like best.

Thanks all for the tips


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## Psychobunny (Dec 12, 2011)

I took everyones excellent advise and transfered my 2 nymphs to a 12'' net cube.

The basking lamp is 60W and heats the top of the cube to 85F (on a timer) , the UTH is

at 100F.

The humidifier you see in the pic is soon to be moved as soon as I get some end tables I

ordered so I can relocate it to another connected room.


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## sporeworld (Dec 13, 2011)

Nice!


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## Psychobunny (Dec 13, 2011)

It's hard to tell what they have eaten!

I know they have not eaten a single BB, house fly, maybe, its hard to tell.

They die in there, so maybe and maybe not.

I do know they have eaten the fruit flies because I counted those and they were

not all there the next day.

Never actually seen one of these guys eat though!!

BTW, that USED to be my dinning room table!! now, it's full of bug stuff and smashed

fruit flies, and a few dead cricks here and there!

It's weird to think how many people have eaten off of it, and now I squash escaped

ff's on it with my fingers


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## ZenViouS (Dec 31, 2011)

what is a "UTH"?


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## ZenViouS (Dec 31, 2011)

haha... read the first post and saw my answer


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## Psychobunny (Jan 9, 2012)

Well, now I only have one nymph left!! another just died! just dropped from the ceiling of the

net cube!!

I guess I wont be getting am more of these guys!! no luck at all


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## lunarstorm (Jan 9, 2012)

Sorry to hear this.  I'm having a very high success rate, my nymphs are all approaching adulthood, but I'm keeping them warmer than my other mantids. Their average netcube temps is around ~80F (70-90F is the range they experience between day/night), perhaps your temps are cooler?


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