# Has any one ever had....



## d17oug18 (Aug 30, 2009)

100% nymphal casuality from an ootheca hatch. I had an ooth hatch for me the other day and about 60 hatch(unknown speices) and in a matter of 2 days they dropped dead, 2 lasted 4-6 days and died as well... As far as i know id have to guess that it was either a grass mantis or #9/Q mantis(from ooth). they were fed 1 day after hatching and humidity was 10-30%(im guesstimating) all in a 32oz cup with the stringy wood stuff in it.

Im really boggled about this... as far as i know they were well taken care of but still lost all of them... and not from cannibalism either...


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## kamakiri (Aug 30, 2009)

Hatching tropical species in the desert can do that. I spray a heck of a lot more now that I have the AC running.

Not sure if that has anything to do with your troubles, but hatching an unknown species is a big risk here in CA/SoCal.


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## Ntsees (Aug 30, 2009)

d17oug18 said:


> 100% nymphal casuality from an ootheca hatch. I had an ooth hatch for me the other day and about 60 hatch(unknown speices) and in a matter of 2 days they dropped dead, 2 lasted 4-6 days and died as well... As far as i know id have to guess that it was either a grass mantis or #9/Q mantis(from ooth). they were fed 1 day after hatching and humidity was 10-30%(im guesstimating) all in a 32oz cup with the stringy wood stuff in it. Im really boggled about this... as far as i know they were well taken care of but still lost all of them... and not from cannibalism either...


I don't know about others in the forum but I had the same experience that you described in the past. I don't think any experienced breeder can not have experienced it at least once. And for those that have bred many mantids and were always successful, all I have to say is they are very lucky. But, whatever the case may be, we become even better when we fail.


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## d17oug18 (Aug 31, 2009)

is there anything that causes an ooth do die off like that? can you guys share were you got your ooths from? i dont know... im still bothered by it.


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## ismart (Aug 31, 2009)

If you don't even know what species it was that hatched, then how can you give them proper husbandry? Granted most species can be kept similar, but not all. Take this as a costly lesson. If it bothers you this much maybe you will take some time to find out what your hatching to begin with next time.


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## PhilinYuma (Aug 31, 2009)

I was curious about the humidity, Doug. If it was 10%RH, then it is substantially lower than in the Sonoran Desert. It, by itself, could kill new nymphs that are very susceptible to dehydration. Apparently, you don't use a hygrometer, but if the air feels very dry, you may want to mist them several times a day.


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## hibiscusmile (Aug 31, 2009)

Doug, the no 9 is an ooth like the ocellas and creo, and the nymphs are all black and sparkly like they glitter, if it dont look like that, then it wasnt one of them. and usually they are pretty hardy nymphs a big die off would be weird.


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## PhilinYuma (Aug 31, 2009)

Well, thanks to Hibiscusmile's help, we can come closer to guessing the problem. I found two caresheets for the grass mantis, one Yen's, and they agree that you need a temp of between 80-90F and 50-70% humidity. As usual, no one really knows why your babies died, but these two values may have been a factor, in case you dfecide to try this species again.


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## d17oug18 (Aug 31, 2009)

well im in southern cali and right now the ambient humidity is around 30% and i sprayed them once a day and the temps around here is like 90 but often times closer to 100F, and we cant afford to have the AC on so the ambient air and temp is what all my mantises are living in, if they need more humidity then whats already here i spray them with regular water, if they need to be cooler i spray there container with cold water. I dont think it was the #9 becuase they had no sparkle at all, but they were black with a few stripes of very dark brown, there rears made a circle upwards(and not a V like boxers). they were not aggressive at all and most were hesitant to even eat. the one that survived shed around 5 days after hatching and walked... how can i say it... they walked tall, kinda proud like i guess. im glad i got more feedback on this... i will do my best to figure out the species, maybe it was an artic species LOL and it was to hot =P(yes that was sarcasm) ^_^


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## massaman (Aug 31, 2009)

might be a reason your gambian ooths are not hatching either


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## Opivy (Sep 1, 2009)

I want to try raising from an ooth - but this is what I'm afraid of &gt;&lt;


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## d17oug18 (Sep 1, 2009)

dont be afraid of that happening, although im new, this was like the 50th ooth ive had hatch, plus it was a species i knew nothing about nor takin care of it as an adult. Raise mantis from ootheca to adulthood is rewarding and you should try it. I suspect this to (maybe) never have this happen again, i just wanted to share this info for others.


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