Seeking advice on how exactly to get my two females to breed and looking for any pointers or stratedgies to help me out as this is a challenge for me and would like to try to get them mated before my 3 males expire and this is the situation currently.I got the three males in their own kritter keepers one side of the room and next to me at my computer desk are the two females in their own critter keepers and this is where the problems lie!I have put the females in the net cage cube and then the males along with them but dont have anything really to put in the cages like fake plants or anything right now and the females look at the males and as I said before they make swipes at the males and one or two of the males will do the same thing to the female and I can get almost halfway at times but somehow the male just loses interest and nothing happens afterwards.So what I am asking is would using 75 watt bulbs to warm the females up be something to try or would that be a problem and fry the females or will it not work?Just seeking advice from someone who has mated these successfully and able to help give me their techniques to get them to mate is all I am asking and will try anything to get these thick headed female shields bred!One other thing is the females and males are little over three weeks to four weeks old as of right now and should I wait another few weeks at least to see if the females will lighten up!
Shield Mating Advice
- Thread starter massaman
- Start date
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hogosha
Well-known member
Have you looked over Rick's post on mating? http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7112
Other than leaving out temps that were discussed elsewhere for different species it looks pretty well written.
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
You don't say what the ambient temperature in yr garage is at this time of year, Paul, but I imagine that it is much lower than that experienced by mating shield mantids in the wild. Any directional incandescent or fluorescent bulb will be effective if you use a dimmer and an accurate thermometer.
You can buy an in line dimmer switch, the kind used on night lamps at Lowes, Home Depot or similar stores for about $20. It is much safer to control the heat with one than by moving the bulb closer and further from the object.
You need an accurate thermometer, and a hygrometer to see how much the temp increase is lowering the humidity. I swear by this inexpensive one for about $18: http://www.amazon.com/Caliber-Digital-Humidifier-Temperature-Gauge/dp/B0007W1EA6/r I just tested the hygrometer on a new one, using the salt test, and it was exactly accurate at the tested humidity.
Do you know where the shield mantis lives and the temperature and humidity there in the summer? Google and Wunderground are your friends.
Try out the lamp by checking the temp and gradually increasing it with the dimmer until you get what you want, and then you are good to go. I have found that when the heat is restricted to one area of the enclosure, the mantids can choose their optimal temperature.
I'm not sure why you can't go out and get some real twigs. If they start growing strange things, just remove them. A little microwaving (5 minutes) does no harm, either.
Good luck!
You can buy an in line dimmer switch, the kind used on night lamps at Lowes, Home Depot or similar stores for about $20. It is much safer to control the heat with one than by moving the bulb closer and further from the object.
You need an accurate thermometer, and a hygrometer to see how much the temp increase is lowering the humidity. I swear by this inexpensive one for about $18: http://www.amazon.com/Caliber-Digital-Humidifier-Temperature-Gauge/dp/B0007W1EA6/r I just tested the hygrometer on a new one, using the salt test, and it was exactly accurate at the tested humidity.
Do you know where the shield mantis lives and the temperature and humidity there in the summer? Google and Wunderground are your friends.
Try out the lamp by checking the temp and gradually increasing it with the dimmer until you get what you want, and then you are good to go. I have found that when the heat is restricted to one area of the enclosure, the mantids can choose their optimal temperature.
I'm not sure why you can't go out and get some real twigs. If they start growing strange things, just remove them. A little microwaving (5 minutes) does no harm, either.
Good luck!
well right now the temp in my garage i would say is pretty cold maybe 20-30 degrees or so being still winter and I can get my room in the seventies but no higher then that for the sake of keeping a average utility bill and I do have lamps but no dimmers but they are at least 75 watt and dont know if this is a problem but I got a hexagon nightstand that I took everything out of and stapled a tower where the door use to be as I taken it off for I put a lamp in one of them shieds in there and can raise the temp inside the nightstand a little higher then room temp but worried that keeping my shields in there would fry them as I can feel a little heat on the top of the nightstand and its all wood!
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My only problem is trying to calm the females down so they wont be so aggressive which I may have to give them a few more weeks to settle down if that but dont know if the males will live that long or not to try to get them calm enough to breed!
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
I read yr post several times, Paul, but want to be sure that I understand you. I explained to you the need for having greater heat in yr breeding enclosure, since your ambient is in the 70's, how to safely modulate that temp and how to measure it and the accompanying changes in humidity. Am I right in thinking that you are unwilling or unable to purchase the necessary equipment?
At a minimum, you must have an accurate, quick-read thermometer. You can get away without a hygrometer, and guess, without any hope of accuracy, the humidity. You can increase or decrease the heat from the lamp by moving it closer or further from the area that you wish to heat , though the "square law"makes this a difficult and often risky proposition. Without a good thermometer, though, there is no point in even trying, and you would risk seriously injuring your mantids. It must be very hard to try to get results with such limited facilities, but if you try to raise any living thing under sub optimal conditions, you will meet with sub optimal results.
sbugir
Well-known member
I honestly don't see what you need advice in. You've solved your own problem in your first post.
You said, "they make swipes at the males and one or two of the males will do the same thing to the female ... loses interest and nothing happens afterwards."
Judging by this quote I'd say they obviously aren't ready. Just wait a couple days or a few weeks and try again. If your males pass on I'm sure someone will be able to help you out to get another.
You said, "they make swipes at the males and one or two of the males will do the same thing to the female ... loses interest and nothing happens afterwards."
Judging by this quote I'd say they obviously aren't ready. Just wait a couple days or a few weeks and try again. If your males pass on I'm sure someone will be able to help you out to get another.
