First Mantis questions

[phreeze]

Very useful forum you have here packed with information, been reading through for a few days now and i still have a couple of questions i'd like to ask about my first mantis. I've bought a ghost mantis ooth which is on its way to me now, i have some small fruit fly cultures all ready to keep my mantids fed when the time comes. Currently the tararium i have set up awaiting my ooth is always between 60-70% humidity wise and its temprature is stable and above 25 degrees C. However to keep the ventilation right i have been having to spray 3x per day which is more than i was expecting, i am just using a cloth on the bottom to hold moisture at the moment, and was wondering if i could replace this with a mix of peat and orchid bark. Or am i best waiting till they are slightly bigger before i move away from an empty enclosure.

Next question may seem kind of stupid but i'll ask any way, i live in the UK and my house isn't all that warm so i'm using a small heat mat to keep the enclosure warm, where is it best to place the heat mat? in the enclosure under the cloth/peat and bark mix, under the enclosure, or attached to one ot the sides of the enclosure(outside) if the best place is underneeth are there any recomended things to put the heat mat on.

Thank in advance for any answers, and sorry if these questions have been asked before, i have looked about a little and could not find what i was looking for.

 

[Giosan]

You don't have to spray 3 x a day! If you spray one time a two days it will be fine. You'll probably see them bend down and drink! You can put whatever you want as substrate. The cloth is good enough for now yes.

As for the heat math, don't put it beneath the terrarium as it is unnatural that heat comes from below. (don't make jokes about hel guys.... )

From the side is best!

Good luck

 

[Rick]

You are making it much harder than it has to be! There is really no need to fret about humidity. Misting 3x a day is insane. I never use anything to gauge humidity because it really is not necessary. Just mist it every other day and it will be fine. Keep it warm like you are. Put the heat mat under the enclosure assuming it is made of glass. I don't use heat mats or any heat but it may be needed for some in colder climates. I personally don't care for ghost mantids and would have recommended something easier for your first mantis. Put in some slightly damp paper towels or some spaghnum moss which is what I use to help hold in some humidity during sprays. If you use these you may only need to mist every few days. Too much humidity is probably worse. Throw away that gauge or you will worry yourself sick.

 

[The_Asa]

Throw away that gauge or you will worry yourself sick.

Agreed. Save it for the fishies and the reptiles. At least wait until the harder species.

 

[sidewinder]

Coconut fiber is probably better than spaghnum moss. If you feed crawling insects they will not be able to hide as easily.

S-

 

[phreeze]

thanks for the responces, i'm only worrying/being cautious because it my first mantis and i don't want my lack of experience to have a bad effect on the animals as that is not fair and as for ghosts, chose them because i wanted some thing different to some of the more plain mantids, orchids would have been my first choice but they are just too hard to get hold of here, may be the time of year but i'll be keeping an eye out for orchids any way.

 

[Peter Clausen]

Hi Phreeze,

I personally find Ghost mantises to be one of the easiest species, due to their less-agressive tendencies toward one another (a big plus while breeding).

I'd be pretty careful with that heat mat. Drying out/baking ooths is my personal #1 favorite way to (accidently) kill oothecae. If you are going to use it, I would be very careful in watching the humidity. I spray my oothecae almost every day, sometimes twice on days when I put them in the warm cupboard above our bearded dragon's cage. I don't use any meters, but I do eyeball the humdity on the inside walls of the container. Make sure it dries out after a few hours at room temperature or warmer. Ghost oothecae seem less likely to mold over than some other kinds of oothecae. When I have problems with them, it's from them being too dry.

So, some conflicting responses, maybe, but we all have different experiences because we all use different kinds of containers with different ventilation and temps, etc.

I have hatched out 3 ghost oothecae in the last 5 weeks that were laid by females that are still alive!

 

[Rick]

Coconut fiber is probably better than spaghnum moss. If you feed crawling insects they will not be able to hide as easily.S-

Not in my experience as it dries too quickly. But the food can hide in the moss I use but the drying issue is a bigger one IMO.

 

[sidewinder]

Not in my experience as it dries too quickly. But the food can hide in the moss I use but the drying issue is a bigger one IMO.

Rick,

I would think that between having to add moisture more often to the coconut fiber or dealing with hiding food in spaghnum moss, adding moisture is the lesser of two evils. A hiding cricket can damage or kill a molting mantid. Not to mention getting foul smelling sooner.

I am thinking about the first time mantis keeper here...

S-

 

[phreeze]

well my ooth has arrived and is in its tempory home keeping the temp and humidity right untill i get a larger terarium delivered. The person i got the ooth off said it was liad on the 21st of september and i have been told that the time between the ooth being produced and the nymphs arriving is up to 8 weeks, just wondering if any one could offer me an idea of the quickest they could hatch that would be great. Will put up some pics hopefully later tonight.

and thanks for all the previous repplies.

 

[Birdfly]

Rick,I would think that between having to add moisture more often to the coconut fiber or dealing with hiding food in spaghnum moss, adding moisture is the lesser of two evils. A hiding cricket can damage or kill a molting mantid. Not to mention getting foul smelling sooner.

I am thinking about the first time mantis keeper here...

S-

So tissue it is :lol:

 

[sidewinder]

So tissue it is :lol:

Sure. But that looks so unnatural! But that is what I will probably use until my mantids are big enough to move into a terrarium with a natural looking environment.

S-