Graceface
Well-known member
My adult female Orchid, Heidi, is dead. It happened so fast, I honestly just don't know what is going wrong.
Yesterday, she was totally fine; climbing around her enclosure looking hungry at feeding time. I fed her, as I normally would. She happily ate around 8 blue bottles and was hanging from the lid of her enclosure after her meal. Last night, in one of the many times I looked in on her, she was pumping her abdomen. I assumed she was calling (because she is 3 weeks mature) and got excited. Well, an hour later she was dangling from the lid by 2 of her feet. In the process of getting her enclosure out to check on her, she fell to the floor and made no attempt to get up. I fed her water and honey powder/bee pollen and she drank a bit but didn't move. She wouldn't drink anything else or respond to stimulus and this morning she is dead. Her decline was so rapid, she was normal at noon when she ate and by 8pm she was dying and there was nothing I could do
I really don't get it. I don't have any idea what went wrong or how to improve. My male orchids are totally fine, my nymphs are fine, but this is the 2nd adult female I've lost unexpectedly and unexplained. What could possibly be causing this? She was completely fine and then died within 12 hrs. I will break down the care I give them and maybe someone can tell me if I'm doing something glaringly wrong.
I keep all my orchids in plastic cups with paper towels as substrate. The adult females are in modified 64oz Tupperware containers. The enclosures are kept in 10 gal aquariums with reptile fogger and heat mats. Heat is set to around 85 for my females, and RH is set to 70 with a 7% window of differential, RH typically stays in the mid 70s. The foggers are filled with distilled water. I mist daily with distilled water and change substrate every other day. They eat solely Blue Bottle flies, which I source from Mantids Galore. I feed my adult females every other day, and they usually eat 8 or 10 flies. If they don't eat some of the flies, I remove them.
Letty declined in a similar fashion, albeit a little slower. She was fine, eating normally, had a meal and died within 12 hrs. Granted, Letty had mismolted and was eating less than Heidi, but she was eating and moving and acting fine then died suddenly after a meal. They were around the same age (3 weeks mature). I'm sourcing clean flies from a reputable place, could it be the flies? Is the humidity too high/not high enough? Coincidence?
Idk, I feel I'm grasping at straws. I have no idea what happened to Heidi. Is it something I'm doing? Any help would be appreciated. I don't want to see any more dead orchids
Yesterday, she was totally fine; climbing around her enclosure looking hungry at feeding time. I fed her, as I normally would. She happily ate around 8 blue bottles and was hanging from the lid of her enclosure after her meal. Last night, in one of the many times I looked in on her, she was pumping her abdomen. I assumed she was calling (because she is 3 weeks mature) and got excited. Well, an hour later she was dangling from the lid by 2 of her feet. In the process of getting her enclosure out to check on her, she fell to the floor and made no attempt to get up. I fed her water and honey powder/bee pollen and she drank a bit but didn't move. She wouldn't drink anything else or respond to stimulus and this morning she is dead. Her decline was so rapid, she was normal at noon when she ate and by 8pm she was dying and there was nothing I could do
I really don't get it. I don't have any idea what went wrong or how to improve. My male orchids are totally fine, my nymphs are fine, but this is the 2nd adult female I've lost unexpectedly and unexplained. What could possibly be causing this? She was completely fine and then died within 12 hrs. I will break down the care I give them and maybe someone can tell me if I'm doing something glaringly wrong.
I keep all my orchids in plastic cups with paper towels as substrate. The adult females are in modified 64oz Tupperware containers. The enclosures are kept in 10 gal aquariums with reptile fogger and heat mats. Heat is set to around 85 for my females, and RH is set to 70 with a 7% window of differential, RH typically stays in the mid 70s. The foggers are filled with distilled water. I mist daily with distilled water and change substrate every other day. They eat solely Blue Bottle flies, which I source from Mantids Galore. I feed my adult females every other day, and they usually eat 8 or 10 flies. If they don't eat some of the flies, I remove them.
Letty declined in a similar fashion, albeit a little slower. She was fine, eating normally, had a meal and died within 12 hrs. Granted, Letty had mismolted and was eating less than Heidi, but she was eating and moving and acting fine then died suddenly after a meal. They were around the same age (3 weeks mature). I'm sourcing clean flies from a reputable place, could it be the flies? Is the humidity too high/not high enough? Coincidence?
Idk, I feel I'm grasping at straws. I have no idea what happened to Heidi. Is it something I'm doing? Any help would be appreciated. I don't want to see any more dead orchids
