Mantid Religiosa Ooth Care

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pilotdave1970

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My mantid Religiosa laid an ooth....Can someone give me pointers on caring for it preferrably indoors. Referigerator???.

Dave

I am in Pocatello ID and its down in the 20's at night and 40's to 50's during the day.

 
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depends do you want to hatch it out now or next year depending on where you are

 
you can keep them outside for this in a container of some kind so they can be exposed to the elements and when it gets cold it will not hurt it and use like a critter keeper or something like that or even a sports bottle with holes poked in the top and bottom and put the ooths in that and place it someplace outside where it wont get ruined by animals or anything!Alot of people just use the refridgerator and put them in something with paper towel in the bottom and but it in the fridge and mist it once a week in the fridge but either way should work!

 
Yea I put it in a zip lock bag in the vegetable crisper, I will mist it once a week. Will temps above freezing make them hatch sooner? I think my fridge is about 38-40 deg.

 
bag might be a bad idea though since it might hold in the moisture and ruin the ooths better to use like something else a small like plastic box or something ziplocks may cause it to mold or dry out or it might ruin it!

 
pilotdave1970 said:
My mantid Religiosa laid an ooth....Can someone give me pointers on caring for it preferrably indoors. Referigerator???. Dave

I am in Pocatello ID and its down in the 20's at night and 40's to 50's during the day.
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I'd stick it outside tomorrow. Bring it in sometime later (two weeks to next spring) when you want to incubate and hatch.

Religiosa ooths need a period of diapause. I think putting it outside would be the easiest way. I have artificially set religiosa ooths indoors here in CA, and I think it's more difficult than it is worth. I think next time I keep them, I'd stick my own ooths outside too.

 
If I were you I would put it outside. I would attach it to a stick or a popsicle sitck or something and then zip tie that to a bush or something. Couple months later I would go get it and bring it in. A ziploc bag in the freezer is a bad idea due to it being airtight.

 
I would find a nice place to put it outside. I find nature to be the best for diapause, and incubation for this species.

 
be careful where you put it if your not using any containers to keep it safe because your be exposing it to birds and squirrels and other animals too that could carry the ooth off and devour it or store it for food and better to keep it in like a net cage or a bottle with holes in it or something to prevent animals from getting at it!This happened to me a few years ago had found some ooths when I was getting a christmas tree before I knew bout this hobby and thought to try to keep them safe for spring and had them in a place I thought was safe and checked on them after x-mas and the ooths were gone and so just remember to take precautions to prevent them from being hijacked by animals or being damaged by some kind of event or something!

 
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massaman said:
be careful where you put it if your not using any containers to keep it safe because your be exposing it to birds and squirrels and other animals too that could carry the ooth off and devour it or store it for food and better to keep it in like a net cage or a bottle with holes in it or something to prevent animals from getting at it!This happened to me a few years ago had found some ooths when I was getting a christmas tree before I knew bout this hobby and thought to try to keep them safe for spring and had them in a place I thought was safe and checked on them after x-mas and the ooths were gone and so just remember to take precautions to prevent them from being hijacked by animals or being damaged by some kind of event or something!
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Unlikely. I store ooths outside often and have never had it happen.

 
well around here it does happen and did for me being we have birds all over the place and squirrels and chipmunks and your prob in a area with prob small number of them or they just dont come around often and does not hurt to be prepared and take precautions anyways!

 
I moved it outside this morning and I am sure it will be secure. I guess just like nature it makes more sense to put them out in there natural environment. I put them in a cardboard egg holder, like what you buy your eggs in. Maybe I am being to cautious with it.

 
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pilotdave1970 said:
I moved it outside this morning and I am sure it will be secure. I guess just like nature it makes more sense to put them out in there natural environment. I put them in a cardboard egg holder, like what you buy your eggs in. Maybe I am being to cautious with it.
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That may get wet and hold too much moisture around it causing it to mold. If you put it inside anything make it mesh or a net cage.

 
better yet if you got any cinder blocks like the ones with cubby holes in them you can set the brick in a spot and put the ooths inside the cubby holes and if you got any long flat rectangular bricks or anything then put that on top of the cubby holes of the cinder block and got a makeshift box to hold ooths in outside and it wont be air tight so the ooths can be exposed to the air and temperature and the changes in the weather!

 
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That seems like a good idea, Paul. The trick is not just to protect the ooth from, predators, parasites and rain/snow, but also from the wind. Those of us who buy Chuck's fly pupae are familiar with those little purse-string bags that he sends them in. You can put an ooth in there, tie it to a branch, and you are set.

 

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