oh no! diabolica!

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Sparky

The Skate Life
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Hey guys, I got a diabolica from someone from another site by accident. He said its an L1, it kinda looks like a ghost mantis. He said I had almost the same name as his other costumer.

Well I'm keeping it in a big tank, maybe big enough to last him to adulthood.

It has about 1 inch of soil(I didn't use peat moss because it grows fungus real fast), moss, a thick branch for him to climb to the top. The humidity is well over 85% and the room temperature is between 80-85, 70 at night.

I think he might not make it as he's not taking any food and he walks slow.

I've been told its a very hard species to care for. I'm barley a beginner :(

 
Hey guys, I got a diabolica from someone from another site by accident. He said its an L1, it kinda looks like a ghost mantis. He said I had almost the same name as his other costumer.Well I'm keeping it in a big tank, maybe big enough to last him to adulthood.

It has about 1 inch of soil(I didn't use peat moss because it grows fungus real fast), moss, a thick branch for him to climb to the top. The humidity is well over 85% and the room temperature is between 80-85, 70 at night.

I think he might not make it as he's not taking any food and he walks slow.

I've been told its a very hard species to care for. I'm barley a beginner :(
Could be about to molt mate!

 
Yep, it may be trying to molt. How long has it been? From my experience(Not much), it doesn't seem like they need a lot of time where they stop moving and eating.

 
I'm trying to get some by my freaking webcam! Well anyway is the enclosure environment good?

 
The only thing that's iffy is that it's a big tank--will he be able to find food?

Anyway, just see how things go. It very well may be trying to molt--and the whole damn molting thing really freaks you out as a beginner, because you think the thing is going to die--I was there, too. And still am, I'm still learning.

Oh dear I didn't realize this was such an old post...!

What happened to your diabolica?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ditch the tank until he gets to subadult, and use a 32 oz. FF culture cup. Poke holes in the sides, maybe a couple up top too (ventilation is key), stick some branches in there, and it should be fine for a while.

 
32 oz deli cup works great for nymphs. He doens't need much space.

 
It died last month, I came back from school and found its old skin on top of the tank and he was laying flat on the ground. I picked it up and prodded it and it was moving very lethargically. I tried to hand feed him forcefully, but it was no use. I don't know how it got that way. It was doing just fine the day before its molt. It seemed to die for no apparent reason, I don't think i was doing anything wrong.

The very next morning it was upside down, legs curled, and its eyes were pitch black... Maybe next time :(

 

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