Heating,cohabitation

[Lylelovett666]

Howdy,

I'm setting up an enclosure for my first mantis and have a few questions.I live in Seattle and the weather can be chilly at times.I am considering an undertank heat system mounted on the back of the tank.Will this keep the ambient air in the tank at a warmer temp?Would a lamp be better and if so what wattage.Also I'm planning on housing two mantis(1m/1fm) in a split 10 gallon tank and was wondering if this will work.Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Seth

 

[AmandaLynn]

Hi, I live in Bellingham. You don't need any extra heat, especially now that it's finally getting warm around the N.W. Just remember to mist them lightly everyday so they can drink and to keep the substrate damp. Aside from that, just feed them other insects that are about (roughly) 1/3 their size and they should grow up fine.

What kind of mantis do you have?

Also a 10 gal tank split in half is fine, maybe a little too big for hatchlings but as long as you give them plenty of prey items to choose from they should be ok.

Good Luck!

 

[kmsgameboy]

Unless you have a species that likes higher temps or its winter and you have a drafty house you probably dont need to worry much about heating your tank. Most mantids do just fine at room temp. If you do need to add a little heat most of the time a normal lamp does the job just fine.

 

[Lylelovett666]

I'm waiting until I have all my goods together to order my bugs but I believe Blue Flash will be my species.Thanks Y'all

 

[kmsgameboy]

I believe blue flash mantids do just fine at room temp.

 

[catfish]

I'm wondering about temperatures too. I live in Canada and usually keep the heat lower than most people in the winter - about 13C. I have an L3 Tenodera sinensis and I think it might get too cold, so I've bought a small incandescent light which I can use to keep things warm (I'd probably wrap the tank at night to keep warmth in) but I'll have to see how it goes. Weather now makes this a non-issue for the next while.

 

[PhilinYuma]

I'm wondering about temperatures too. I live in Canada and usually keep the heat lower than most people in the winter - about 13C. I have an L3 Tenodera sinensis and I think it might get too cold, so I've bought a small incandescent light which I can use to keep things warm (I'd probably wrap the tank at night to keep warmth in) but I'll have to see how it goes. Weather now makes this a non-issue for the next while.

Yeah, 13C (55F) is way too low. As has been said on here many times before, though, you need to monitor the temp very closely when you use a lamp because of the inverse square law. You might find it easier to use a ceramic heater or a black light at night.

 

[catfish]

Good to know. I have a thermometer in there that I have been checking frequently for the short periods when I've turned the lamp on so far. It's also true that where I'm living now probably won't be so cold indoors during the winter which will make things a lot easier. If the equipment I have turns out not to be good enough I'll buy something better. Thanks.