# Frozen Eggs



## Curiosity (Nov 11, 2020)

Hi, um, I have two questions. I have this one ootheca that has been in the freezer for about 2.5 weeks now, and I have still been misting it. . . semi regularly. . . as I'm fairly certain I accidentally terminated some other mantis eggs by letting them dry out, and I don't want to repeat that mistake. There are frozen water droplets all over the sides of the cup. I was wondering if there is a better way to keep the egg . . . not moist, but not fatally dried out either, and, um, is there any chance that some of that water could get inside the egg and freeze into sharp ice crystals? 

Less urgent problem: Last night, I removed a pair of egg cases from the wall of my house. There was a frost sometime last month, and it's snowed a couple times in the last week. . . it's not warm in Idaho anymore. I was wondering if I could just assume these ones have been in the cold long enough by now due to the weather, because I am trying to get all three of these eggs to hatch at more or less the same time.


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## Mantid-Tim (Nov 11, 2020)

I've always been under the impression that you should keep it in the fridge, not the freezer. I keep mine in a small plastic container with 2 pinholes and a drop or two of water every week. (Credit to Orin for that)


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## MrGhostMantis (Nov 11, 2020)

Yeah...fridge not freezer


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## MantisGirl13 (Nov 12, 2020)

I always put mine in the fridge too...

- MantisGirl13


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## Curiosity (Nov 12, 2020)

OH, SNAP. . . 

I'll move them over   I sure hope I didn't damage them. . .


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## MantisGirl13 (Nov 12, 2020)

Curiosity said:


> OH, SNAP. . .
> 
> I'll move them over   I sure hope I didn't damage them. . .


I wouldn't be too hopeful if its already been in there for 2.5 weeks. Hopefully they aren't damaged, but it's very possible that they are.

- MantisGirl13


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## Curiosity (Nov 13, 2020)

Well, only one of them has been in there for 2.5 weeks. Two have been in there for two days. So has the little one I'm not sure is going to hatch in any case. Would you be hopeful about the second two? They're in the fridge now. . . how could I have misread so badly?. . . and how could being in the freezer be worse than being outside in a snowstorm?


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## MantisGirl13 (Nov 13, 2020)

I hope that the ones that haven't been in there long will hatch! 

And your freezer is likely colder than it would be outside in a snowstorm.

- MantisGirl13


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## Curiosity (Nov 16, 2020)

@MantisGirl13 So, back to my original question. . . I took two of those eggs inside 1.5 weeks ago. I've had one in the freezer/fridge for 3.3 weeks now. Can I treat the first two eggs as if they have been in winter mode for a sufficient amount of time, as it's been cold out for a while now here? I'm trying to get all the eggs to hatch at the same time, if they hatch at all.


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## MantisGirl13 (Nov 16, 2020)

Yeah, you can.

- MantisGirl13


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## Curiosity (Nov 17, 2020)

Great, thanks! I'll be pulling them out soon then. . .


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