Dry apartment

[lunarstorm]

Here are a few things I do that help humidity in my netcages:

1) The clear plastic pane rests against the ground all the time. Though this restricts visibility, I can still see them interacting, eating, etc.

2) The bottom layer is a paper towel covered by Carefresh pet bedding. Cheap, super absorbent, easy to clean, and provides a decent cushion.

3) I place 2-3 sponges on top of each cube.

Next, I'll see what happens when I setup a layered gravel tub with water underneath the cubes.

 

[Mantiskid]

I agree except for the need for a lamp (assuming 70F or better). Mantids are like plants and caterpillars. Anyone ever keep plants or caterpillars in a glass-topped terrarium and then leave the lid off for an hour? They dry up with uncanny speed and unnatural appearance. Within a few hours caterpillars can look like they're painted on a leaf if you move them from a humid terrarium to an exposed houseplant. Huge plants in glass terrariums can shrivel into nothing in hours with a massive humidity dorp. These creatures can adapt to humidity extremes but cannot adapt quickly. Many insects and plants adjust to humidity levels over weeks of time and If a high humidity is kept and the keeper forgets to fill the humidifier or leaves the lid ajar one day the animals suffer severe damage and death. You set yourself up for a fall by not using their natural ability to adapt slowly.

They still need to be misted as they can't produce metabolic water. My furnace is designed to remove water from the air as it heats so later in the winter the humidity goes below 5%. I installed a whole-house humidifier (connected to water lines so I could pump 20 gallons a day into the air if I wanted) years ago but learned it was a foolish idea. The dewpoint at low temperatures means all the water comes out as rain down the inside of the windows.

Well I only put the heat at 60 because my dad said he couldn't afforrd the bill.