Heat Wave

[tikki]

I wasn't sure if I should put this here or in the Health forum.

The heat spiked overnight here in Washington and because I've never raised mantids before, I'm just a wee bit paranoid. It's been around 80-90 inside with every fan in the house on full blast. I've been misting the babies (Chinese, most likely) every three or four hours and they're all eating excellently, but up to what temperature can they stand without getting sick? Should I mist more or less or am I doing everything right?

Another question, because I'm such a newbie: when they're hanging from the wire mesh at the top of their little cups and jars and I mist them, they often fall from their perch. I know I have to be really diligent about keeping the humidity high when they molt, which should be in a week or two, but how do I do that without knocking them down?

Thanks for your help, guys c:

 

[LauraMG]

They should be okay if they're Chinese. They survive in the wild here in Oklahoma and we spike triple digits for a month straight during the summer. It's horribly unpleasant. If they're not Chinese, then I have no idea!

I'm sure a few people who know more than me will chime in too. Good luck!

 

[lancaster1313]

I mist around mine, if that is possible for you. I also cut some feeding ports toward the bottom on the side of thier containers. I use that lower hole for feeding and sometimes misting. Before I touch any containers I look carefully to see if any mantid is molting at that time. I have accidentally sprayed a chinese mantid while it was molting! nothing bad happened, but I think I was lucky. Sometimes when I mist, I get the funniest threat poses. :lol: I don't know what to say about the heat, I am lucky to have a good air conditioning system. Unfortunately, the electric bill is not so good this time of year.

 

[tikki]

Ah, ok, thank you for the insight! I'm always careful about checking for molting even though they're only a week old and they're eating like crazy. I'll try misting around them, and maybe misting higher up too, since that seems to bug them a lot less.

And I'm really not entirely sure just what they are, Laura... they came in a little box from the nursery that didn't say what species they are. They're about half to three quarters of an inch long now and light brown with white-green stripes down their sides. Since Chinese are commonly found at nurseries for pest control, I'm assuming that's what they are, haha.

 

[LauraMG]

Probably. I've discovered that most unspecified ooths that are sold by places turn out to be Chinese. Mine was!

It was a "praying mantis egg shell casing" that I bought. I only have 1 left living out of all the little ones that hatched.

 

[lancaster1313]

Probably chinese. I got mine from Sears at the garden gate. Thier ooth would probably give them away. Someone could probably tell you, if they saw a photo of the ooth.

 

[Rick]

We have very high temps every summer and the chinese do just fine. I see them sitting outside in the sun. I think once you get over 100 you might want to worry. Or you can just put a slow fan blowing over their enclosures. You don't have to mist the mantids when you mist. Just dampen the substrate and get a little on the sides for them to drink if they want. Don't get too wrapped up in worrying about keeping humidity high for a molt. If it is realy dry mist twice a day, otherwise once is usually enough.

 

[hibiscusmile]

Also it is good to know that a shaded spot on the floor is really cooler than a table top, try placing them where there is airflow near the floor, if worried about the heat, HEAT RISES, COOL AIR FALLS!