# Heterochaeta Mismolt Help



## Connor (Nov 18, 2017)

It’s been a rough day now with a lot of my new Heterochaetas mismolting... what the heck is going on! This is my first ever species I’ve had trouble with and this isn’t been a difficult species to keep. It’s just been a disaster. I put them in deli cups the day I got them(together). Sprayed all their container that day. Next day I fed them and sprayed them. That night 2 got stuck in their skin. Had to rip off their old exoskeleton this morning. One is barely able to walk so I’m probably just going to put him down. The other own can walk perfect but his raptoral claws are twisted and not useable so I’m gonna have to hand feed. Just got back from work to see another one stuck in its skin. This guy seems pretty badly stuck so idk if he is gonna make it. Only one out of four have molted successfully....These guys are L2 btw. What am I doing wrong?! I have a hole in the top of the deli cup where I stick foam into for easy access(lol). Is this part of the problem? I am thankful for any tips or responses.


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## Krissim Klaw (Nov 19, 2017)

I've never kept this species, but I wonder if they just don't do well in deli cups. Most people I've seen on the forums rearing them tend to do larger communal set ups with net/mesh cages and lots of stick options. Have you noticed them drinking when you spray? I would probably start hand watering them to make sure they are fully hydrated prior to molts.


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## Connor (Nov 19, 2017)

@Krissim Klaw well they weren’t falling, they just couldn’t get out of their skin. I’ve heard even the experts of this species say they keep them in groups in delicups until like L4-L5. As far as water goes I’ll try and see if they drink so I’ll know if they need more. But looking at the caresheets it says that the humidity can range from 30-70 %. My house is already 30. But yeah I’ll try more water. Thanks for the feedback.


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## sally (Nov 19, 2017)

I keep them communally in a 13x13 mesh when they are nymphs. Lilac branches are perfect, but branches with small offshoots horizontally will work. Humidity  70 to 75% ( humidifier)

And temps of 80 to 85 day cooler nights.

I also mist lightly every other day. I literally dump Mel's or hydei in depending on the instar of the mantids.

They are piggies.  I never use the deli cups. I think the ventilation  isn't  enough, or the horizontal space.

Maybe 1 in a deli cup, modifies with mesh on the side with horizontal  molting surfaces. 

I hope it goes better for you.


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## Connor (Nov 19, 2017)

@sally thank you! I will be trying to mimic these conditions and hopefully not lose any more...


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## PrayingMantisPets (Nov 19, 2017)

all i can say is keep the humidity high.


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## Krissim Klaw (Nov 19, 2017)

@Connor Yah personally I feel the water inside their bodies is more important than humidity itself. A well hydrated nymph can shed successfully in even bad humidity but one without enough water in their system is likely to have problems even if the humidity is perfect. Nymphs can desiccate fast. You might find it helpful to move your misting more towards the night. I tend to like to mist twice with most my mantises, once in the morning and once at night. The humidity tends to dip at night and that is when most mantises time their shedding.


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## Connor (Nov 19, 2017)

@Krissim Klaw Makes perfect sense. Thanks for the tips. I will definitely be trying to give them more fluids.


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## Kermit (Nov 19, 2017)

I know this may be controversial but I I have found that misting a mantis directly within a day or so of their molt will cause issues. It changes the consistency of their skin and leads to a higher propensity for mismolts. Of course molting surface is very important consideration but even when that is fixed and optimized my experience with directly spraying with water ended in disaster.


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## PrayingMantisPets (Nov 19, 2017)

Kermit said:


> I know this may be controversial but I I have found that misting a mantis directly within a day or so of their molt will cause issues. It changes the consistency of their skin and leads to a higher propensity for mismolts. Of course molting surface is very important consideration but even when that is fixed and optimized my experience with directly spraying with water ended in disaster.


im gonna test that with Chinese mantises. 3 sprayed directly every day and 3 spraying the container. Ill see the results


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## Connor (Nov 19, 2017)

@Kermit hm never heard of that but it’s seems reasonable. Thanks for the tips.

@PrayingMantisPets Sweet. Lmk how it goes


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## Krissim Klaw (Nov 19, 2017)

PrayingMantisPets said:


> im gonna test that with Chinese mantises. 3 sprayed directly every day and 3 spraying the container. Ill see the results


I've never noticed anything like that. I will sometimes spray mantises directly when I know they are coming up on a molt and they snub me when I try to offer water for drinking. I will spray so some droplets collect on their claws. If they are thirsty they will drink them off. If not, they just flick their claws and disgust and go back to being a mantis. Never had any molting issues tied to it. Only thing I could think would be a problem is harassing them with water when they are in the early stages of trying to molt. In general I like to give my mantises as much privacy as possible with molts because I feel it reduces the risk of them moving too soon when they are still drying. One thing I do know I do that is different than most people is I tend to set my cages so the lid is at about a 45% angle rather than perfectly horizontal.


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## PrayingMantisPets (Nov 19, 2017)

@Krissim Klaw Same here but its worth a try.


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## Patty (Nov 28, 2017)

Connor said:


> It’s been a rough day now with a lot of my new Heterochaetas mismolting... what the heck is going on! This is my first ever species I’ve had trouble with and this isn’t been a difficult species to keep. It’s just been a disaster. I put them in deli cups the day I got them(together). Sprayed all their container that day. Next day I fed them and sprayed them. That night 2 got stuck in their skin. Had to rip off their old exoskeleton this morning. One is barely able to walk so I’m probably just going to put him down. The other own can walk perfect but his raptoral claws are twisted and not useable so I’m gonna have to hand feed. Just got back from work to see another one stuck in its skin. This guy seems pretty badly stuck so idk if he is gonna make it. Only one out of four have molted successfully....These guys are L2 btw. What am I doing wrong?! I have a hole in the top of the deli cup where I stick foam into for easy access(lol). Is this part of the problem? I am thankful for any tips or responses.


I breed this species too. I think 80-85 may be a little too warm. I suggest anywhere between 65-80 degrees


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## PrayingMantisPets (Nov 28, 2017)

I recommend keeping them in 32oz cups until they get too large. I then kept mine in a pop up net cage and wrapped 90% of the sides with Saran Wrap to hold humidity and allow perfect ventilation. I lightly sprayed them each night so they get proper humidity and plenty of drinking water to stay hydrated. In addition I placed a desk lamp to keep them warm (not too hot) but enough to be around 75-78F.  This is how I kept them and I’ve never had a mismolt.


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## Connor (Nov 30, 2017)

Patty said:


> I breed this species too. I think 80-85 may be a little too warm. I suggest anywhere between 65-80 degrees


I was keeping them around 70-80.

@PrayingMantisPets

i was keeping them in deli cups but they all mismolted in them. I now have them in a net cage where they still Mismolt. A lot of times they try and molt on the side of the cage and it doesn’t work out. 

Im now down to THREE(3) out of my original TWELVE(12). Absolutely crazy.


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## Kermit (Nov 30, 2017)

32oz are way too small for these guys.

They need space, like net cubes but later instar Molts require sticks or course fabric otherwise they can't properly "flip" from the cube fabric... Dane with Brunners and gongys.

I only mist their face and infrequently at that. My experience with misting too closely to a Molt has proven to have bad mis Molts. 

I feed blue bottles exclusivly and keep them at 78 to 85f

I have 3 right now and they are doing great!


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## Connor (Nov 30, 2017)

@Kermit thanks for the tips. I was keeping a group of L2s in a 32oz when I first got them. These guys are tiny at such a young age.

i provided them with birch sticks but they only wanted to molt on the SIDE of the net cube... doesn’t work out well for them.


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## Kermit (Nov 30, 2017)

Sorry for your recent mishaps ?

I use the cheap hamper / laundry basket fabric and have almost completely eliminated mis molts! 

Target has them cheap.

I cut the four sides separate from the basket, keeping the spring wire in tact. I arch a piece inside of the net cube and bend the corners so the PM's can't go above. This only needs to be done for the last 2-3 Molts as their tarsas (feet) get to big to properly hold on to the cube fabric. Once adults I remove the fabric.


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## Kermit (Nov 30, 2017)

This is a Gongy but you can see how the top and sides are covered.?

http://


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## Jessie (Nov 30, 2017)

Haha I just bought a cage like that 2 @Kermit for my truncatas.


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## Connor (Nov 30, 2017)

@Kermit alright I’ll have to try that out for sure. I appreciate all of your help. Just lost another that had mismolted earlier in the week. Down to 2 now. This species has officially kicked my ###.


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