STOP THE SUFFERING? iris oratoria nymph

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A nymph has been trying to come out of the bottom of his ooth for over an hour now. The poor thing is still wet and stuck together like glue. I lost his sibling yesterday from the bottom of the sac because his legs were stuck together with a piece of ooth. He was ok, but the wind blew him away.

This one IS NOT OK. He keeps trying. Did I mist my iris oratoria ooth too much?

What do I do?

 

[Ranitomeya]

You should not be misting the ootheca directly at all and there should be no water droplets anywhere near the nymphs when they're hatching. A damp--not wet--piece of paper towel in the container will provide more than enough humidity. The hatchlings are small and can easily be trapped by the surface tension of water.

It's not unusual to have nymphs hatch out unsuccessfully. If they don't make it out successfully their exoskeleton begins to harden and they become unable to move normally. You can either carefully remove it from the ootheca and euthanize it or it'll die soon on its own.

 

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Is there a way to save the rest of the ooth after misting it? Does misting permanently damage it? How do some survive in the rain? I put it outside to cool it and hopefully dry it. I had to put the nymph in the freezer. It never dried. Broke my heart.

 

[Ranitomeya]

Oothecae are usually positioned with the openings downwards and in areas that are relatively protected from the elements. Misting also produces a finer spray that can get into the foam of the oothecae whereas rainwater would generally run off. Allow the surface of the ootheca dry off by providing a more ventilation and don't mist it any more.