Temporary heating

[Raya]

Pretty soon I'll be getting my first mantid. I'm going for an African mantid, since I've heard they're good for beginners and pretty hardy too. I've got an awesome terrarium (30cm x 30cm x 45cm), and I'm in the proces of setting it up.

I've been reading through the archives of this forum, so I know that everybody here agrees with the fact that mantids will be okay at room temperature (as I'm typing this, mine is currently 21C). I live in England, and right now we're having a bitterly cold winter, so it's freezing at night. I'm a mammal wrapped in a duvet, and I still get cold! So until the spring arrives I'm thinking of giving the enclosure a bit of extra heat to help the mantid. The temperature is also probably going to drop at midday, when the heating turns off because no-one is in the house.

The pet shops nearby sell heating mats, lamps and rocks. The mats go from large enough to cover the entire bottom to about half cover.

I've read some conflicting reports on here, with some people saying go for the mat, others that the mat is useless with a substrate (haven't decided what substrate to have yet, but it'll be either bark chips or a soil block). Looking at your amazing setups, a lot of you are using regular desk lamps. I can't do this myself unless the lamp is on the outside of the terrarium. Either way with the lamps, I couldn't have them on all night since the tank is in the room I sleep in.

Which form of heating would you guys recommend? I'm just looking at something to give a boost to take off the worst of the cold. Would warming the tank in the evening/morning, then turning off the heat source when I went bed/out be enough? Is a heating gradient (ie with the small heat pad) important for mantids, or will the heat of my terrarium offset it?

Probably should mention as well that I won't be breeding. I want to learn how to take care of a single mantis before I bring more into the world!

 

[Headspace]

The most important thing is...don't overthink it. Keeping the terrarium next to a radiator or desk lamp, far enough away so that the temperature stays constant, is probably the best idea. I find that during the colder months, things dry out much more easily so you will want to mist more often. You could get one of those heating pads that they use, but I doubt it will be necessary.

I have one remaining Chinese Mantis and it seems to be fine when it goes down to ~60 degrees during the night and around 70 during the day. The thing to keep in mind is that the mantids will have a higher metabolism and shorter lifepsan at higher temperatures--so much of an insect's life is dependant on ambient temperature since they cannot regulate their own body temperatures.

We are having bitter cold in the U.S. as well, BTW.

As for number of mantids...when I started in this hobby I raised them from ooths and still do. This latest batch was the first time they reached adulthood. Expect to lose mantids, it's just how it works in the hobby and in nature. So don't be afraid to buy more than one.

 

[hibiscusmile]

what is a duvet? I use the heat tape in mine that need the warmth, simple and regulate it with a control, but others i have in a 10 gal aquarium with the lightson and it stays over 80F in there.

 

[Rick]

I don't use any heat.

 

[PhilinYuma]

what is a duvet?

"duvet" is another name for a doona

 

[PhilinYuma]

I use the heat tape in mine that need the warmth, simple and regulate it with a control, but others i have in a 10 gal aquarium with the lightson and it stays over 80F in there.

I like the idea of the heat tape. It would be good if I could use it in my plastic 'roach box. Can it be controlled to a low enough temp to be used with plastic?

Oops! A duvet is also called an eiderdown or a couterpane in England (I forgot that its only called a doona in Australia).

South of the border it's a a cubrecama or a colcha.

 

[hibiscusmile]

well Phil once again u really cleared that up! I don't know what those are either.

Some plastic has a heat melt of 180F, so if unsure on what u have call manufacturer. You have to purchase the thermosat too and then it can be controled, otherwise, no!

 

[Raya]

The most important thing is...don't overthink it. Keeping the terrarium next to a radiator or desk lamp, far enough away so that the temperature stays constant, is probably the best idea. I find that during the colder months, things dry out much more easily so you will want to mist more often. You could get one of those heating pads that they use, but I doubt it will be necessary.I have one remaining Chinese Mantis and it seems to be fine when it goes down to ~60 degrees during the night and around 70 during the day. The thing to keep in mind is that the mantids will have a higher metabolism and shorter lifepsan at higher temperatures--so much of an insect's life is dependant on ambient temperature since they cannot regulate their own body temperatures.

We are having bitter cold in the U.S. as well, BTW.

As for number of mantids...when I started in this hobby I raised them from ooths and still do. This latest batch was the first time they reached adulthood. Expect to lose mantids, it's just how it works in the hobby and in nature. So don't be afraid to buy more than one.

I think my problem is that I'm overthinking it...this is the first time I've ever tried to keep a pet so complicated, so I'm terrified of doing the wrong thing! I really don't want to end up killing it by accident after only a few days. Plus I can't exactly go out and catch a new one! I'm not breeding yet because not only do I want practice first, I have to figure out what to do with lots of baby mantids. I can't let them go, and I'd feel terrible about putting them in the freezer just because there's too many. If I can find pet shops/friends/strangers to sell them to, then I'll do it. But I'm getting ahead of myself...better see if I can keep just the one first!

what is a duvet? I use the heat tape in mine that need the warmth, simple and regulate it with a control, but others i have in a 10 gal aquarium with the lightson and it stays over 80F in there.

A duvet is a quilt. The nice big padded blanket thing that keeps you toasty when it's cold Never heard it alled a counterpane before...you must have some posher English friends than me, Phil

Never heard of heating tape though. Is it just like a normal strip of tape that warms up? Or a long thin mat?

 

[hibiscusmile]

kind of like a duck tape it is about 3" wide and flat, has a place to attach wires for plugging it in. thanks for the info on quilt

 

[nasty bugger]

There are water bed heaters, I picked one up at a yard sale for a couple bucks, for my plants outside, or you could check with a local green house or plant supply to see what they use the heat the roots of their plants.

I mention this as the substrate would be similar to soil that roots are in. I think that an issue could be, in extreme cold, the terarium not retaining the heat, and that could be remedied by using another duvet over it when it's really cold, or inverting a box or glass aquarium over it to hold in some heat.

I have a small garden in my living room, that I use a 600 watt hps light on, and it heats my house and keeps the mantis' and fish warm. It's not real cold where I live, down in the 40's farenheit, at night, so it's not too cold here. The light keeps my apartment in the 80's most of the time,, sometimes too warm for me. I had the windows open last night cause it's been so warm, and it was still in the high 70's.

On the other hand, my earthworms, which I use to eat the garbage that they can and make good soil amendments, love the cool weather. They live in the back bedroom, on the north side of the building, where it's colder. Maybe you ought to get some earthworms for pets :lol: They aren't exciting at all, but they do their job

If you have south exposure it would be warmest, but in real cold area's it won't make any difference.

I don't know that enough heat would come off of a heated aquarium to keep the mantis comfortable, but I do know that containers usually fall over so they don't sit well in an aquarium I know this from experience, before the garden was going.