Gongy molt

[dlemmings]

Yay!

she had a successfull molt...she did not eat for 2 days so I expected a molt. but it did not happen, so i fed her a Blue bottle fly and now she molts...lol

 

[Mvalenz]

Sweet! Is she adult now?

 

[Bryce08]

uhhhhh i cant wait for my gongy ooths to hatch!!!

 

[hibiscusmile]

Lookin Good!

 

[gripen]

2 or 3 more moults and she will be done!

 

[CoolMantid]

Mine molted with about 40% humidity. She was fine. I wonder how low the can handle it.

 

[agent A]

Mine molted as low as 35% rh

Makes u think...

 

[warpdrive]

congrats.

post some pics when she drys up.

Harry

 

[Termite48]

Remember that the outside humidity is important, but there needs to be pressure from within the mantid to cause a successful molt, also. That means the proper nutrition always, but especially right before the molt.

 

[dlemmings]

Sweet! Is she adult now?

No I think Pre-sub...

Mine molted with about 40% humidity. She was fine. I wonder how low the can handle it.

I do mist her very lightly every few days...and all my mantis enclosures are housed inside a large acrylic octoganal aquarium I have laying sideways. it has two lamps mounted in the top (the old "side") and is open on only one side (the old "top") so it holds humidity inside aquarium at 60-70 on average...and higher in the individual enclosures. I keep Gongy on the "open" end for ventilation and lower humidity but I have to imagine she still sits at around 40-50 inside her enclosure.

Mine molted as low as 35% rh

Makes u think...

wow, that would be lower than I would think...but if they are misted a little every so often so they can "lick" the water from their bodies they may keep hydrated.

congrats.

post some pics when she drys up.

Harry

Will do...gotta clean my stuff...hard water spots. I spray normal tap water but am going to switch to distilled

1) because the water spots really bother me and 2) some suggest that tap water is not good to spray on mantids

 

[warpdrive]

wow, that would be lower than I would think...but if they are misted a little every so often so they can "lick" the water from their bodies they may keep hydrated.

I too have had good molts when the humidity is not always perfect. I too wonder if it is because I tend to lightly mist my mantids so they will drink almost every day. if hydration is almost just as important as the humidity in order for a good molt.

Harry

 

[CoolMantid]

You might want to get a bigger enclosure. She is almost touching the ground

 

[guapoalto049]

My entire group lived at 15% RH and all molted and mated. All the Empusidae I've kept (Blepharopsis, Gongylus, and yes even Idolomantis) have been raised in extremely dry conditions and molted to adulthood in perfect condition. The only exception was a RH raise during the molt from sub to adult in Idolomantis, to coincide with the onset of eastern Africa's rainy season.

Nutrition and a good perch, in my opinion, are more important in ensuring a successful molt than humidity.

 

[sporeworld]

My entire group lived at 15% RH and all molted and mated. All the Empusidae I've kept (Blepharopsis, Gongylus, and yes even Idolomantis) have been raised in extremely dry conditions and molted to adulthood in perfect condition. The only exception was a RH raise during the molt from sub to adult in Idolomantis, to coincide with the onset of eastern Africa's rainy season.

Nutrition and a good perch, in my opinion, are more important in ensuring a successful molt than humidity.

I totally agrees with you on perch & nutrition. And you're probably/possibly correct on the humidity (or lucky).

My experiences with dry conditions for Gongy's was the same as yours, but I experienced trouble below 40%RH with the Idolos, even in the low instars. But NO ill-effects (besides mold) with the higher RH (unlike with Blephs, where high humidity is reported to be fatal). So, for people with only a few nymphs, I'd say you risk less with mid-to-high humidity than you do with low. But I'm glad we still have a healthy debate!

Note: The problems I DID experience with low RH, was mainly legs or raptors stuck in the skins. To be honest, this wasn't a COMMON problem, but when it DID happen, it was ALWAYS correlated with below 40% RH.

 

[dlemmings]

You might want to get a bigger enclosure. She is almost touching the ground

lol...you are the first one to see that!!!

she was maybe a quarter inch from the bottom towards the end...whew...I was $hIt*ng bricks...haha..she will get a new enclosure...i think I will build something cause I still want to keep all my mantids in the aquarium (but limitedspace) and will eventually have to get some mesh cubes I think

 

[sporeworld]

BTW - I thought this thread was entitled "Gongy MELT" and that someone had created a truly distasteful new sandwich. I'm glad I read it wrong.

 

[agent A]

I'm actually more of a GLT (gongy lettuce tomato) fan

 

[CoolMantid]

I'm actually more of a GLT (gongy lettuce tomato) fan

UGGH I hate tomatoes. I preffer a GLC (Gongy lettuce cheese)

 

[dlemmings]

here is Video I took...sorry for the hard water spots...I use Distilled water now.



and here is a pic fron tonight whe I let her out: