First Carolina Ooth!

[GreenOasis]

So, I guess this girl that I got from buginthebox is not "spent" after all! Eating the last mate must've given her the energy boost she needed to make another ooth just for me!

This seems like a small ooth, not that I have much experience, but she's even FATTER now, after laying it. I don't know if she's preparing for a BIG ooth or if she's just been eating really well.

So, couple/few questions since I still consider myself a 'noob': Do I need to let the ooth "cure" for a period before putting it in the fridge? Do I need to spray it while it's in the fridge? How long do I need to keep it in the fridge (minimum) before taking it out to hatch? & How often do I mist it when I DO take it out to hatch?

The ooth I hatchd out of the wild-caught female I had last year, I didn't spray at all (except when I first pulled it out), which is probably why I only hatched out 8 nymphs & only 2 survived. (If only I'd known about this forum sooner...so many senseless deaths could've been avoided!)

Thanks for any tips! (Time to go peruse the forum, too!) ;P

-Carey Kurtz-

 

[Precarious]

I don't know about refrigerating. Find out from someone experienced with this species before you do it or you may kill them.

Most ooths need to be misted every day. Remember they will be collecting dew each morning in the wild. If the pupae dry out they die.

After a day or so the ooth is set to remove to a separate container. I glue mine to the lid of a deli cup with humidity foam and excelsior for when the nymphs hatch. As a general rule, try to keep humidity around 60%. I mist the ooths directly in the morning, and mist the inside of the container in the morning at then again at night.

I'm sure others here will have advice specific to this species. Bets of luck!

 

[GreenOasis]

We get pretty cold winters here and that's what I did with the ooths from our wild-caught carolina girl from last year, but as mentioned, I didn't mist them except when I first took them out of the fridge....I didn't know how much or how often, etc... I just wondered if there was anything more I could do to increase the ooths' potential & minor details of care. Guess I should really invest in that book here soon!

Thanks for the response! Hopefully someone else will be so kind as to give some input as well.

-Carey Kurtz-