Did I rip off Precarious? Maybe....

[LauraMG]

my Father-in-law is dying so my stress level are through the roof

I'm really sorry to hear that man. I hope you can find some peace in the middle of the storm.

I LOVE that you busted out the Trek on me! I understand what your point is, completely. Once it's clarified like that, kinda makes more sense.

 

[Precarious]

I LOVE that you busted out the Trek on me! I understand what your point is, completely. Once it's clarified like that, kinda makes more sense.

Every now and then I just need to Spock you upside the head. :wacko: :hammer:

:tt2:

 

[LauraMG]

Every now and then I just need to Spock you upside the head. :wacko: :hammer:

:tt2:

:lol: Awwwwww.....

 

[LauraMG]

Just a poor quality iPhone pic, sorry. But, I wanted to relay my experience with the behavior of my gongys when I put this light up. They didn't have any more of the fancy hood lights at PetSmart, so I used this rig which is for Arthur the bearded dragon. It keeps his 10 gallons a toasty 90 degrees on average with just a 100 watt bulb. I rotated off to see what kind of temp I could get with this enclosure and noticed immediate behavior changes. First, they all backed off into the shade which tells me I need a less intense bulb. Good to know since I'm ordering a hood light. Second, they started dancing around. I haven't seen much of this constant movement that I hear people talk about, and I always assumed it was because I still had them at room temp. There was butt wiggling and swaying and head bobbing galore! It's obvious to me they seem to "feel better" with the extra heat. I may just rotate off the light at night until I can get the hood light in and set up. Arthur doesn't like it at night. It interrupts his slumber :lol:

 

[Precarious]

They won't mind a temp drop at night and they need darkness to set their circadian rhythm like every other living thing.

Please make sure the light isn't so close it heats up the screen or you may damage their feet. Looks too close in the pic. I have my light clipped on the shelf above my tank shining into it from about 8" away and I still get a temp increase. I try not to have it on too long. Just from like noon till 4 or 5. That's when the sun is hottest.

Looks like a nice home for them!

I made up a new terrarium for the Idolos today. I'll have to create a thread and post some pics.

 

[sporeworld]

Anyone have experince with the ceramic bulbs (heat no light)?

 

[LauraMG]

Please make sure the light isn't so close it heats up the screen or you may damage their feet. Looks too close in the pic. I have my light clipped on the shelf above my tank shining into it from about 8" away and I still get a temp increase. I try not to have it on too long. Just from like noon till 4 or 5. That's when the sun is hottest.

Mos def! I used it as a very temporary experiment to see what their reaction would be. I killed the light after about 30 minutes and left them to rest in darkness and cold. :lol:

 

[Precarious]

I killed the light after about 30 minutes and left them to rest in darkness and cold. :lol:

Awesome!

This is an arctic species so keep them in the freezer at night. They prefer extended periods of light and dark. You'll have to built an igloo for them to lay their ooths in. And have seals on hand for them to hunt because they cover the ooths in seal skins.

You'll have to trust me on this... :wacko:

 

[Ricardo]

I often hear the terms " L5 " Or L4. Does this reffer to the molts? Like " molt 4 ".

How many months does the usual mantis go for without wings?

Btw great enclosure. Once you get the substrate in there how often do you have to replace it?

 

[LauraMG]

I often hear the terms " L5 " Or L4. Does this reffer to the molts? Like " molt 4 ".

How many months does the usual mantis go for without wings?

Btw great enclosure. Once you get the substrate in there how often do you have to replace it?

L4 or L5 refers to what instar the mantis is, or it's age if you'd prefer. L1 hasn't molted (first instar), L2 has molted once (second instar), etc. all the way until they are an adult. Most species go through 7 or 8 molts (I think) but it depends on what species. As for the substrate, that just depends too. It usually takes a long time before I'll replace it, but I do clean out the droppings and mix it up to avoid molding and perpetually bad smells!

 

[LauraMG]

Well, here's the hood and light. It's an compact fluorescent hood and I got a "tropical" bulb for it, which I know I paid too much for but I wanted it to be setup and done! The gongys are gathering around the bulb and dancing like crazy again! It doesn't overheat the screen either, it remains cool to the touch. Pretty nifty, and the gongys are happy! Now, I think I'm done and I've spent enough on this enclosure..... :lol:

 

[Precarious]

Damn, you went all out! Looks great!

 

[sporeworld]

Very nice work

 

[LauraMG]

Spanks guys! :tt2:

 

[Ricardo]

Spanks guys! :tt2:

hey laura how many mantids you you have? / enclosures

 

[LauraMG]

hey laura how many mantids you you have? / enclosures

I currently have 33 mantids in 10 species contained in 17 enclosures, mostly 32oz deli cups. I have 2 big terrariums, one for the gongys as pictured here and a 5.5 gallon tank turned vertically. I have one critter keeper, one converted beta fish tank, 4 one gallon dry goods containers from WalMart converted with screen holes and drilled ports in the tops, and all the others are small enough for deli cups. (that ended up being a longer answer than I thought!)

 

[Ricardo]

I currently have 33 mantids in 10 species contained in 17 enclosures, mostly 32oz deli cups. I have 2 big terrariums, one for the gongys as pictured here and a 5.5 gallon tank turned vertically. I have one critter keeper, one converted beta fish tank, 4 one gallon dry goods containers from WalMart converted with screen holes and drilled ports in the tops, and all the others are small enough for deli cups. (that ended up being a longer answer than I thought!)

how do you manage to have some coexisting? OR do you divide up the enclosures?

 

[LauraMG]

It depends on the species and their age. The beta tanks I have are split in 2 and I raised several Creobroter nebulosus in them just fine because they're such a tiny species. The gongys can live communally for a while, but I'll have to separate out the boys eventually. I also have a bunch of babies that I'm just starting to put into their own enclosures, so somewhere around 7 of those guys are still in only 2 enclosures.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

you did it ! you got the thing to look better than Precarious's rig ..two thumbs up

ladies touch I guess???

 

[LauraMG]

you did it ! you got the thing to look better than Precarious's rig ..two thumbs up

ladies touch I guess???

My ego would like to say it's just me, but you're probably right about the ladies touch....