Heat source?

[drotski]

Hello, I am wondering if what I am using is a good heat source. First of all, I am using a Zilla thermostat, set around 77F (25C) , centered around my cups in a small converted plastic greenhouse. The heat source is a Exo Terra 50w night heat lamp bulb, suspended in the middle of the greenhouse with no reflector.

Visually, it emits very little light, and maintains temperature well. It cycles on and off every 5 minutes or so.

I am worried the light would be bad for the mantids day/night cycle. Humans and reptiles can't see this kind of light well, not sure about insects.

Room temperature at night would be between 60 (15.5C) and 80 (26.7C)F depending on weather that day, this time of year. In winter it's usually around 65F (18.3C) day/night.

 

[jrh3]

What species is it? I dont think light matters for the eyes. I have some of my desert species under arcadia 12% uvb bulbs and they love it.

 

[CosbyArt]

Not sure about the visible light they would see, but sounds like it should not be a problem. My mantids will still sleep when my nearby desk lamp is on late at night when I'm busy with a project.

I will add though my mantids are "covered" with a towel over the front of the shelf that their habitats sit on. On top of the shelf I have a small 5 watt night light pointed at them now too. It's been this way for over 5 months and no issues. The mantids seem to like the low light at night as some will actively catch and eat flies and such still (when without the light they wouldn't). I figure it is much less light than a typical night with the moon so it isn't a problem.

I originally added the night light because I have their main light set on a aquarium timer (turns the light off and on automatically for me to ensure they get a proper length of "daylight" each day for the temperature range I am simulating in their environment (late spring/early summer), and the light turns on and off the same time each day so they get use to a daily schedule of sunrise/set). So with the main light it would at times go off once they were all fed, and before they finished eating, so I added the night light so they could finish their dinner (as most mantids would drop their feeders once the light turned off).

If you wanted you could get really fancy with it too, and add a lunar moon light controller to simulate the moon phases for brightness.

 

[drotski]

Right now I just have Chinese ooths in there, but tomorrow I am expecting a few Rhombodera extensicollis nymphs and a few Polyspilota griffinii nymphs. As long as they survived the journey.