Hey all! I have a quick question about lighting that I haven't been able to find a solid answer for.
I have some grow lights that I have been using for my plants. They don't generate a ton of heat, but they keep the shelf my mantis is on at a nice 70-75 degrees, depending on the temperature of the rest of the room. I turned the light off tonight at 9 because it is night, but I was wondering if it would be alright to leave that light on all the time for him? I thought doing a day/night cycle would be nice, but I am a little worried about it getting colder than I would like. He's a Ghost Mantis so he can handle slightly lower temps, but he's also a little fella so I want to make sure he is nice and warm. But I don't want to accidentally mess him up and stop him from sleeping. I don't think a heat cable would work for my set up, so would a black light be a good option for at night? Something that wouldn't make it too hot- I don't want it above 80 for him.
Actually, random second question- how DO you know when a mantis is sleeping? Reaper Man is hanging upside down (kinda? Two legs on the mesh and two on the acrylic) and is being very still. Hasn't moved in a while, and I think he's asleep? But can you tell? He was responding to my presence all day today while I was feeding him and checking him out, but now he doesn't seem to notice me peeking on in.
And here- bonus picture of him on my hand from earlier!
I have some grow lights that I have been using for my plants. They don't generate a ton of heat, but they keep the shelf my mantis is on at a nice 70-75 degrees, depending on the temperature of the rest of the room. I turned the light off tonight at 9 because it is night, but I was wondering if it would be alright to leave that light on all the time for him? I thought doing a day/night cycle would be nice, but I am a little worried about it getting colder than I would like. He's a Ghost Mantis so he can handle slightly lower temps, but he's also a little fella so I want to make sure he is nice and warm. But I don't want to accidentally mess him up and stop him from sleeping. I don't think a heat cable would work for my set up, so would a black light be a good option for at night? Something that wouldn't make it too hot- I don't want it above 80 for him.
Actually, random second question- how DO you know when a mantis is sleeping? Reaper Man is hanging upside down (kinda? Two legs on the mesh and two on the acrylic) and is being very still. Hasn't moved in a while, and I think he's asleep? But can you tell? He was responding to my presence all day today while I was feeding him and checking him out, but now he doesn't seem to notice me peeking on in.
And here- bonus picture of him on my hand from earlier!
![1706342810305.png 1706342810305.png](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/mantidforum/data/attach/17/17657-1706342810305.png)