Dana
Active member
My Carolina girl, Jade, laid her first ooth yesterday! We were super lucky in that a male Carolina actually came to our house to mate with her. I've been searching and searching for one to no avail, and last Wednesday lo and behold a male flies near her enclosure! Amazing! 4 days later Jade lays her first ooth. Thankfully two days ago I put two sticks in her enclosure (just in case), and she laid it on one of the sticks. I feel like I'm having the most perfect situation with my first ever mantis experience.
So. What do I do with the ooth? I'm not prepared to care for babies now, and I don't believe they survive our winters here, so I would like to keep it cold. My questions:
- How many days do I wait to remove the stick with the ooth from her enclosure?
- Do I store it in my fridge, and if so, does it matter whether it's upright, laying down, etc., in the fridge? Or does it need to be in the same exact position it's in now? I know when I place the stick back into something for the nymphs to hatch that it'll need to be upright, etc., but how about for storage?
- What temperature is best outside when I'm ready to let these hatch? I think I read 50 degrees is best. And is it about 6ish weeks for them to hatch once I do take them out of the fridge (assuming that answer is yes, to storing in the fridge)?
I think that's all my questions for now. If you've got any other pertinent information that you'd like to add that you think I should know, please do tell. I'm so excited that we are getting to experience the full cycle of life of a mantis!
So. What do I do with the ooth? I'm not prepared to care for babies now, and I don't believe they survive our winters here, so I would like to keep it cold. My questions:
- How many days do I wait to remove the stick with the ooth from her enclosure?
- Do I store it in my fridge, and if so, does it matter whether it's upright, laying down, etc., in the fridge? Or does it need to be in the same exact position it's in now? I know when I place the stick back into something for the nymphs to hatch that it'll need to be upright, etc., but how about for storage?
- What temperature is best outside when I'm ready to let these hatch? I think I read 50 degrees is best. And is it about 6ish weeks for them to hatch once I do take them out of the fridge (assuming that answer is yes, to storing in the fridge)?
I think that's all my questions for now. If you've got any other pertinent information that you'd like to add that you think I should know, please do tell. I'm so excited that we are getting to experience the full cycle of life of a mantis!
