# Wahllie ooth laying tips?



## hierodula (Dec 11, 2012)

So my wahllie has been mated, at she is super fat! she eats about half a dozen bb's a day, and every other day a medium sized cricket. She is in a container that i like to call the ooth laying chamber. it has a vertical popsicle stick in the container, and two diagonal popsicle sticks. She hasn't layed in over a week, so my question is is there anything i need to change in her tank?


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## aNisip (Dec 11, 2012)

Raise RH, give her as much water as she'll want to drink (from a pipette or straw) and don't just give her those flat popsicle sticks, add some real ones...and/or remove the pops sticks completely and go with the real ones...


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## hierodula (Dec 11, 2012)

All right, thx man


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## agent A (Dec 11, 2012)

Dont feed them crix

They and creos get plugged up on crix


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## twolfe (Dec 11, 2012)

Has she laid any ooths yet? I've probably had about 50 wahlbergii ooths that have been laid on branches. Every now and then one lays an ooth on a plastic lid. I keep my adults in 80 ounce plastic containers and exo terrar faunarium critter keepers. The branches I use are thick.


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## hierodula (Dec 11, 2012)

agent A said:


> Dont feed them crix They and creos get plugged up on crix


The crix are usually small (relative to the mantis), and they have also been gut-loaded


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## hierodula (Dec 11, 2012)

Tammy Wolfe said:


> Has she laid any ooths yet? I've probably had about 50 wahlbergii ooths that have been laid on branches. Every now and then one lays an ooth on a plastic lid. I keep my adults in 80 ounce plastic containers and exo terrar faunarium critter keepers. The branches I use are thick.


I have popsicle sticks, but they are more flatter than thicker. Shes mated, eaten her mate, and has eaten a lot of bb's and2 or 3 crickets.


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## twolfe (Dec 11, 2012)

Have you used popsicle sticks with other species? The branches I use are oak and very dark and bumpy. The wahlbergii seem to like them a lot. The ooths darken so much that they blend right in, and sometimes I don't notice them right away. Once I moved branch in with a male Orchid that had been used by a wahlbergii female and was surprised one morning to find that he had a bunch of little wahlbergii nymphs to keep him company.


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## hierodula (Dec 11, 2012)

haha!  The popsicle sticks i use are a light brown color, but i have some dried plum tree sticks that are purple-brown. would those work?


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## agent A (Dec 12, 2012)

go to acmoore and get some fake vine or plant stuff and is less than $10 if u know wat u r doing


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## Termite48 (Dec 12, 2012)

I would follow the words of Tammy W. She is the Wallie Queen. It works, so just do it if you want to copy the best.


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## SilentDeviL (Dec 12, 2012)

Rich S said:


> I would follow the words of Tammy W. She is the Wallie Queen. It works, so just do it if you want to copy the best.


+1


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## hierodula (Dec 12, 2012)

all right, i have two plum branches in her enclosure, but they are a quarter inch thick, is that thick enough?


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## Termite48 (Dec 12, 2012)

In my opinion, it is. I have had plenty of othecae laid on twigs of that size. Update: 12-13-12 Last night before bedtime I saw that the Wallie female I was couting on for an ooth, looked pretty fat. I placed a twig in a mostly vertical postion during the day so she could get a perch. This morning there is a 2"+ long ooth attached at about 2-3" from the top of the net cage and she is guarding it a little below the ooth. I use birch tree twigs. The one I used is about 5/16" diameter at the fat end,


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## hierodula (Dec 12, 2012)

all right thx Rich!


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## hierodula (Dec 16, 2012)

Tammy, i moved her to an exo terra critter keeper, and placed half inch sticks in her tank. However, she is acting wierd, she didnt eat anything today, and when i offer her a fly, she just strikes at it. She also seems a lot more agitated.... signs of an oncoming ooth?


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## twolfe (Dec 16, 2012)

hierodula said:


> Tammy, i moved her to an exo terra critter keeper, and placed half in sticks in her tank. However, she is acting wierd, she didnt eat anything today, and when i offer her a fly, she just strikes at it. She also seems a lot more agitated.... signs of an oncoming ooth?


Could be. It seems as if they don't eat before laying an ooth. Make sure to give her a good drink. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!


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## hierodula (Dec 16, 2012)

thank you! i really hope too. This will be my first exotic to lay an ooth. So far i have always been plauged by troubles with exotics. My giant asian female's digestive system became clogged and she died, the year before my male giant asian died, but i was left with a beautiful brown female. So far i have only had luck with european mantids.

Edit: i should also add, the sticks are diagonal, should they be at a different angle?


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## twolfe (Dec 16, 2012)

I really don't think it will make a difference. My sticks are more like branches though and are thicker. I've never known them to be that picky. Let us know if she doesn't lay in the next 24 hours.


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## Malakyoma (Dec 16, 2012)

Could always try feeding her honey to keep her strength up.


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## hierodula (Dec 16, 2012)

all right Tammy  Malakyoma, ill try feeding her honey.


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## hierodula (Dec 17, 2012)

not layed yet, will let you guys know when she lays


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## hierodula (Dec 17, 2012)

sigh, still not laid she always wants to be at the ceiling, i dont think she likes the sticks i have placed for her...


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## hierodula (Dec 17, 2012)

thats her enclosure, i spray it lightly twice a day and its about 80 degrees.


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## agent A (Dec 18, 2012)

use fake vine with leaf things on it


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## hierodula (Dec 18, 2012)

i just got a really thick branch, and she seems happy with it, cause shes not trying to climb up all the time. @ Agent A, i figured those wouldn't be thick enough


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## hierodula (Dec 18, 2012)

Victory! she is laying as we speak, saw her when she started! thanks to everyone that gave me advice!


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## agent A (Dec 18, 2012)

hierodula said:


> i just got a really thick branch, and she seems happy with it, cause shes not trying to climb up all the time. @ Agent A, i figured those wouldn't be thick enough


Trust me they r and they find a way :lol:


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## twolfe (Dec 18, 2012)

hierodula said:


> Victory! she is laying as we speak, saw her when she started! thanks to everyone that gave me advice!


Yeah! I'm glad you were able to find some thicker branches. Posting those photos when we were in the chat really helped. Congrats! I hope it's fertile.


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## hierodula (Dec 18, 2012)

thx! me too and thank you especially tammy for being patient with me! she was mated by two diff. males before this ooth, so it should be bursting with nymphs! the care for the ooths is the same as the adults right? one mist a day, 80F?


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## twolfe (Dec 18, 2012)

Wahlbergii ooth are very forgiving when it comes to incubation in my opinion. I've had a few surprise ooths hatch. Mine lay on oak branches that are not smooth, and these ooths darken more than others. I moved a branch in with an adult male Orchid and was surprised to find a bunch of little wahlbergii nymphs running all over one day. So was the male Orchid. I gave him a few drinks now and then, and I'm sure some droplets hit the branch.

Anyway, I've incubated mine anywhere from 75 - 85 degrees. I typically mist mine every other day.


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## hierodula (Dec 18, 2012)

all right thx!


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## twolfe (Dec 18, 2012)

If it's dry where you are, you can mist inside the container where you incubate the ooth on the days when you don't directly spray the ooth. But I don't spray mine directly every day.


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