A self-solved problem that may be of help to you

[Malakyoma]

Hey guys, I was having a problem with my L4 ghost. She was trying so hard to get out of her cup it seemed frantic, like she couldn't stay there another second. I was getting pretty concerned she may hurt herself so I took her out, put her on a potted plant for a playground and set about to cleaning her cup for the second time this week.

I had used natural sticks in her cup originally, which may have been what allowed mold to grow near the bottom. I found the mold when I removed a dead leaf from the stick and saw the white/green fuzz on the underside, nearest the paper towel substrate. After I found the mold, I removed ALL natural sticks from the cup, gave it a good scrub, replaced the paper towel, and replaced the natural sticks with popsicle sticks.

After being placed inside, my ghost was as calm as day one again. I feel like a bad owner to not have caught the mold sooner, but I'm happy that I was able to remove it in time.

TLR Ghost being frantic in her cup? Check for mold.

 

[garin33]

wow, very interesting. I would have never thought that reaction would be to mold.

thanks for the information.

 

[Malakyoma]

She's getting close to molting, so maybe in the process of finding a safe place to molt the mold set off that she shouldn't molt in there.

 

[SilentDeviL]

You are a good Owner they should do just fine not like me i don't have too much time caring them .. just feeding all the mantis takes 2hrs...

 

[psyconiko]

Mold does not affect Ghost mantis.They can stand very humid conditions.

 

[Malakyoma]

Mold does not affect Ghost mantis.They can stand very humid conditions.

Just reporting my experience. She's not scrambling to get out of the cup anymore.

 

[Rick]

I doubt it was the mold. Popsicle sticks will mold too. I admit I've had many a mantis cage get mold and I wasn't quick to fix the issue. Never bothered them.

 

[gripen]

You are giving to much credit to the mantis. They are not enherently smart animals. They also do not have the best sensory organs ( besides eyes and antenna) I doubt they could even sense mold.

I have never had a problem with mold on any kinds of sticks. How often are you spraying them?

 

[agent A]

You are giving to much credit to the mantis. They are not enherently smart animals

they certainly r not dumb lol

i've had popas recognize when it was time to be photographed and 3 of my mantises learned to expect me to come home at around 2 pm and they and burrito start pacing around more when the time comes until i see them

my idolo has caught on to when i turn on and off the lights and will tap the cage if i dont follow suit with her learned pattern

and warpdrive trained a majuscula to fly to him

but i dont like mold at all, i am partially allergic to it and it really grosses me out

 

[gripen]

they certainly r not dumb lol

i've had popas recognize when it was time to be photographed and 3 of my mantises learned to expect me to come home at around 2 pm and they and burrito start pacing around more when the time comes until i see them

my idolo has caught on to when i turn on and off the lights and will tap the cage if i dont follow suit with her learned pattern

and warpdrive trained a majuscula to fly to him

but i dont like mold at all, i am partially allergic to it and it really grosses me out

I still do not think that they physically have the brain to learn. Intact I can almost guarantee they don't learn. Everything they do is based on instinct. While that instinct is highly evolved and produces complicated behaviors it does not mean they can learn. Remember we are not talking about a cat or dog we are talking about an insect.

 

[agent A]

we are talking about an insect.

ants are smart enough to work in groups and make bridges and even tunnels out of each other

anyways, because i dont want to have this post be 100% off topic, i would like to say the poster has a good idea with popsicle sticks but i would suggest using fake plant vines made of plastic or that waxy material because i've never seen any mold on those things (except on the leaf parts of the vine when it is put in a frog cage)

fake plant vines are inexpensive and easy to find, natural and attractive looking, and really fun for photography purposes

 

[gripen]

ants are smart enough to work in groups and make bridges and even tunnels out of each other

anyways, because i dont want to have this post be 100% off topic, i would like to say the poster has a good idea with popsicle sticks but i would suggest using fake plant vines made of plastic or that waxy material because i've never seen any mold on those things (except on the leaf parts of the vine when it is put in a frog cage)

fake plant vines are inexpensive and easy to find, natural and attractive looking, and really fun for photography purposes

Yes but that is INSTINCTIVE not learned.Good suggestions about the fake plants.

 

[twolfe]

I use a combination of branches from outdoors and silk plants. I haven't really noticed any issues with mold.

I have only seen the frantic behavior on a few occasions at my house. One time may have been from the enclosure being too warm. A bunch of my wahlbergii were running around like crazy, and when I lowered the temperature, they settled down. Another time was when I had mites in the summer of 2011. It was in a terrarium with older mantises. I had gotten rid of the problem upstairs and didn't even think to check downstairs because I wasn't feeding any of the mantises fruitflies. When I discovered them, I realized that I had moved a plant from an enclosure upstairs. The third time was with an adult that just couldn't find a suitable place to lay her first ooth. Once I added a larger branch, she immediately stopped her behavior and started to lay her ooth.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

I guess springtails eat mold if you feel it's a problem?