Idolomantis Consolidated

[Bryce08]

I noticed they like to congregate on the right side wall. There is a window a few feet to the right on that

side, so I thought they were attracted to the sunlight.

I put a piece of black craft paper over that side to block the light and train them back to the ceiling!!

So far, my plan isnt working so well!! Maybe I should put stronger bulbs in the fixture??

Mine roam and move all over the cage all the time, for a few days they will all hang around up top, then stay at the bottom of the cage for a couple days...the positioning of my light doesnt seem to change anything for them.

 

[sporeworld]

I noticed they like to congregate on the right side wall. There is a window a few feet to the right on that

side, so I thought they were attracted to the sunlight.

I put a piece of black craft paper over that side to block the light and train them back to the ceiling!!

Yup! Light attracts the Idols - heat attracts the flies. You'll see them separate almost immediately. Move the light and heat sources and come back in an hour for proof. I repositioned all my enclosures to avoid any view of the sun.

 

[Psychobunny]

Looks great! Top sticks could be thinner but I don't think that is a deal breaker. Just watch the molts to make sure it isn't.

Had a problem! the bulbs in the hood melted the hot glue, causing a few of the sticks to fall !!

No injuries, but had to think fast and fix it.

Now I have the hood elevated one inch so it does not rest on the lid.

I also put a small 3'' fan (battery op) on the hood.

 

[Psychobunny]

Yup! Light attracts the Idols - heat attracts the flies. You'll see them separate almost immediately. Move the light and heat sources and come back in an hour for proof. I repositioned all my enclosures to avoid any view of the sun.

Yep, they did just that! in a few minutes, they were back on the lid

If it is not possible to possition the cage away from an unwanted light, thick black craft paper works wonders

You can order it from any arts and crafts place pretty cheap.

 

[sporeworld]

+1

Even with wildly different temps, we all came out about the same.

Also, if the glue is failing and you aren't that handy with tools (me), you can use twisters, garbage ties, thread, or even pipe cleaners. All will hold them in place. Just lace it though the screen, the carpet liner, or both.

 

[Psychobunny]

I do the same, I spray them directly (they dont seem to mine it at all!!). It's the only way

to be sure they get a good drink.

I prefer not to spray through the top of the terrarium because I have sticks glued up there,

and I dont know what continued dampness may do to them!!

I just open the front door (a few sometimes make a break for it!) and spray!

I think my melting glue problem is solved as long as the light hood is not actualy touching

the top metal screen.

The hood is now elavated an inch with a small fan mounted to it.

In this position, the temp from the 2 25W bulbs has dropped some, so I was able to put a

better 60W full spectrum bulb in it. It now looks much better, white light instead of incan yellow!!

and no over heating yet.

Controlling the temps between the lights, and the under tank heater was a little tricky.

I want a temp zone so they can go to what ever place they want for the temp they want.

Something I learned from keeping reptiles, hot end, cool end (where the food and water are).

 

[dr0ndeh]

just thought i'd post in this thread to show my appreciation. I recently acquired a couple of L2 idolo's from a breeder on the UK forum, both doing very well, one just shed this evening to L3, used alot of the info on this thread to make the enclosure etc so I just wanted to say a big thanks as they seem to have gotten off to a great start, both feeding well and seem very content, and hopefully will be able to stay that way to adult (which with the info gained from this thread im fairly confident they will.)

so thanks! heres a couple of pics if you're interested...

 

[sporeworld]

Nice! Since you only have 2, that cage might last you through their entire lifespan. Not sure how you're planning on introducing prey items, but I've always appreciated feeding ports in the top of my enclosures. Here's a few pics.

I cut the screen and used rubber ports at first. Then, found large rubber washers at the Hardware store. Eventually, I just bought pieces of colored foam from the craft store and cut it to size. In any case, just creating a way to drop in food without opening the door is a huge boon.

Good luck!

 

[dr0ndeh]

Nice! Since you only have 2, that cage might last you through their entire lifespan. Not sure how you're planning on introducing prey items, but I've always appreciated feeding ports in the top of my enclosures. Here's a few pics.

I cut the screen and used rubber ports at first. Then, found large rubber washers at the Hardware store. Eventually, I just bought pieces of colored foam from the craft store and cut it to size. In any case, just creating a way to drop in food without opening the door is a huge boon.

Good luck!

thanks sporeworld, as these are the only mantids I have im feeding wild caught flies, just catching the food in a jar, opening up the front of the viv and letting them fly out the jar and right in. in the event they manage to escape before i close the front i just re-catch them in the room and try again currently feeding them crane flies or blue/green bottles pretty much on a daily basis (or less if theyre particularly full from a bluebottle.) all seems to be going well so far, the 2nd molted to L3 today:

 

[sporeworld]

Nice.

Nothing was produced from the mating(s). I kept the ooths for myself and didn't let them breed again, but nothing hatched (pretty sure the science says it couldn't).

 

[sporeworld]

Earlier in the thread I mentioned a kind of "Shield Rot" I had seen on my Idolos. I finally got some close-ups back from my friend with a Macro lens (although, I may have already posted this). Here's the early stage...

Here's a more advanced case...

Here it's worse...

Genetic? Parasite? Mineral deficiency? Pretty sure it was just in the one group.

Any thoughts...?

 

[Precarious]

Genetic? Parasite? Mineral deficiency? Pretty sure it was just in the one group.

Any thoughts...?

I would guess that's the result of a fungus. I've seen various spots and holes on a few of mine but nothing as extensive as this. Not sure what could be done about it but I wonder if in some cases it's internal and causes deaths.

I just had a sub female die for no apparent reason. Stopped eating, evacuated her bowels and went limp. Today I looked at her corpse and noticed one of her eyes is clear, like the fluid normally in it drained out. I've never seen that before and I'm wondering if it has something to do with the cause of her death. It wasn't that way while she was still alive. Maybe there is some kind of parasite in there.

 

[sporeworld]

Yeah - kinda thought a fungus might be the culprit, too. It looks like something is penetrating the skin, and causing blood loss. Amazing what we still don't know...

 

[sporeworld]

I only remember seeing it with adults. It might have shortened their lives by a bit, or diminished their health... hard to say (or remember). It wasn't quick, in any case.

 

[Chivalry]

This is my L7 male. I have the now-L6 trio in my ExoTerra but this one is a full molt ahead of them and I haven't wanted to mix instars so he's solo. He was in an 80 ounce deli cup with a well-lined lid and, I'm afraid, probably not enough humidity - usually he stays immobile for days before a molt, and this time he didn't, and ate up to the day before, so he caught me by surprise... the plan was to move him to his new hex home before the molt happened. nline2long: And here I thought my noobness was wearing off some.

Long story short, he got one of his middle legs caught in his exoskeleton. I've had this before with some of my other guys so I soaked it really well and helped him get out of it, I thought. Well, turned out I just detached the exoskeleton leg and the new leg was still in it. Unfortunately I didn't notice this until 2 days later. Every once in a while he manages to hook the bum leg up correctly for inverted hang time (which is his default, he is really not one to crawl around or hang out on the sides of his container) but for the most part he just leaves it hanging.

We have 1 molt left or two? He gets along with this the way it is but my big concern is that he's not going to be able to hang properly for his next molt, especially if it's his final molt. What say you?

Here's his new setup, a 10" plastic hex, which he seems to approve because the sticks are at varying heights, so he can rest his leg where it's comfortable. I have carpet liner on the ceiling with sticks below, and I found this awesome greenery chain at Hobby Lobby that I thought might make a decent safety net. The 45 degree surfaces, except for one viewing surface, have either carpet liner or the hemp (I think?) grid that is used for rug hooking.

And the other 3 are in my ZooMed 12 x 12 x 18. I'm hoping to move the big guy in there when everyone's adult. Carpet liner covering the screen, sticks with weather stripping holding them up, greenery garland along the sides. Substrate is coco bark plus sphagnum moss. I have a 60 watt bulb plus a UTH that is actually meant for a much smaller tank, but it helps a little. It stays around 83-85 degrees in there near the top. Humidity is a constant challenge to keep up.

The L6 trio is doing great, came through the last molt with not a hitch. Actually the big guy's issue is the only molt issue we've had so far, but of course they've all been subadult molts. Fingers crossed for me, guys.

 

[Precarious]

The L6 trio is doing great, came through the last molt with not a hitch. Actually the big guy's issue is the only molt issue we've had so far, but of course they've all been subadult molts. Fingers crossed for me, guys.

Not much you can do about a missing leg other than cross your fingers.

I would be concerned there is not enough ventilation in that hex. Maybe replace one face or at least the lid with screen. It wouldn't hurt to add a loop of fake vine around the wall opposite the other vine. I buy a nice length pretty cheap at ACMoore. It's really useful because the wire in the stem is pretty stiff allowing you to shape it. It will even stay in place without gluing if you bend it properly. Would add a lot of cloth leaves to climb and hang from. Also, the more surface area you add to the enclosure the better it will hold humidity. If not you should add a few strips of the hemp grid to grip. Chances are he will molt from the spot he's in in the photos. You want as much grippable material within reach as he hangs from the old skin.

Ideally those upper slanted surfaces would be used to molt if they were coated. Then he could just step forward off of the skin.

 

[agent A]

r u sure the L7 is a male??

it's cool though

 

[Chivalry]

You probably can't see, but there are six 1" holes cut in the top above the mesh. Think I need more ventilation than that? I will cover the slanted surfaces with hemp and add more vines, and possibly a few more sticks on those slanted surfaces too.

Here's another angle, you tell me if you think male or female. I was ... maybe 80% sure I'd finally figured it out :shifty:

 

[Precarious]

You probably can't see, but there are six 1" holes cut in the top above the mesh. Think I need more ventilation than that? I will cover the slanted surfaces with hemp and add more vines, and possibly a few more sticks on those slanted surfaces too.

Here's another angle, you tell me if you think male or female. I was ... maybe 80% sure I'd finally figured it out :shifty:

Yeah, I would add more ventilation than that. Add a screen window somewhere.

Definitely female. L7 male antennae look like horns. I can't see the abdominal spikes well enough to count.

 

[Precarious]

if i get a terrarium should i make the top mesh or metal screen which one is easier to grip on to while molting?

We put a lot of work and info into this thread so we don't have to answer basic questions individually. Read through at least the first couple pages before asking questions.

And check these threads for photos of how I setup my enclosures:

Enclosures and Housing: The Basics

Terrarium with lots of twigs

New Idolo Tank