chinese

[nebrakacinese]

Well just before bedtime tonight,i checked on my mantids like i usually dne of my L4 female chinese nymps had passed away.Recently i've been changing their food to small crickets and they've been doing fine.I don't know if its the food change or just a mortality rate for young chinese.Just kind of bummed out about it.

 

[Ricardo]

sorry mate . . . but don't feel to bad about it. you're doing fine, but even the best care can't stop a few doomed youngins in the batch. how many nymphs do you have?

 

[Rick]

The rate is pretty high as L1 nymphs. Once you get as far as L4 you shouldn't really have a high mortality rate. If you have several and you lost one that wouldn't be too uncommon. Losing more than one at that stage would be a bit odd.

 

[sporeworld]

I must be blessed or something. I had virtually no trouble with mass Chinese other than canibalism. Nylon mesh and occassional spraying - lots of crickets (but I'd do flies this time).

I wonder if it's too much humidity...? Bacterial problems, maybe...?

 

[nebrakacinese]

I've been misting every other day now,I mean really misting.When they were young i had a lot of trouble with their shed skin hanging on their very back leg.One i pulled off and they lost a leg but it grew back the next molt .I thing i may be putting too much water in their when i mist i have no data to go by i have about 15 nymps,all healty and eating crickets.Like i said before every thing will be done different when raising hatclings.A bunch i gave away.

 

[nebrakacinese]

I forgot to mention she had a few black spots on her.

 

[dgerndt]

The black spots might have been a sign of bacterial infection. Maybe too much humidity or dead feeder bug bits in the enclosure. Crickets especially will become full of bacteria very quickly.

But sometimes random deaths just happen. I recently lost an Egyptian mantis at L2 for no apparent reason. Sometimes things just happen.

 

[PhilinYuma]

The black spots might have been a sign of bacterial infection. Maybe too much humidity or dead feeder bug bits in the enclosure. Crickets especially will become full of bacteria very quickly.

But sometimes random deaths just happen. I recently lost an Egyptian mantis at L2 for no apparent reason. Sometimes things just happen.

Or to radioactivity, or to cosmic rays! Usually, fungi, not bacteria attack from the outside, but since we have no way of testing, and no cure if we did, it's academic.

You can control the humidity, though. If you don't have a humidity gauge (you can get a nice one for humidors for about $17 from Amazon, just check if the moisture on the inside of the container is dry in about 1/2 hour. If the bottom is wet all day, you have too much humidity.

 

[dgerndt]

Or to radioactivity, or to cosmic rays! Usually, fungi, not bacteria attack from the outside, but since we have no way of testing, and no cure if we did, it's academic.

You can control the humidity, though. If you don't have a humidity gauge (you can get a nice one for humidors for about $17 from Amazon, just check if the moisture on the inside of the container is dry in about 1/2 hour. If the bottom is wet all day, you have too much humidity.

I actually got a really nice thermometer/humidity guage from Walmart for $6.50.

 

[nebrakacinese]

I all sounds like good advice.I tried to find one at walmart ,but to no avail.I'll checjk the harware stores.i have the feeling i overmist.

 

[lancaster1313]

You could also probably find a hygrometer at a tobacconist or cigar shop. I have seen them at my local tobacconist, but I don't know how common those type of shops are anymore. :lol: There are quite a few around where I live.

 

[dgerndt]

I all sounds like good advice.I tried to find one at walmart ,but to no avail.I'll checjk the harware stores.i have the feeling i overmist.

I found the gauges in the home section. Sort of by the lightbulbs and stuff.

I've been misting my Chinese nymph like crazy yesterday and today. But that's because he's due to molt really soon.