Howdy! People wanted to know how to rear Thesprotia graminis, so - here is what I know so far.
I got Thesprotia graminis ooth on Halloween, and on the exact same day, just a few hours after, the ooth gave me 12 hatchlings, which I moved to a bigger container and started feeding them.
Small nymphs were ready to hunt just a few hours after they hatched - at first they would eagerly grab springtails, but since those usually crawl at the bottom, I had to try and mix it up with some flies - surpisingly, 5 mm long nymphs were able to grab D. melanogaster with those tiny arms, and munch on them for about an hour.
After 5-6 days, first nymphs started molting into L2, and this pace was prety much consistent up until the final molt, which took about 10-12 days for the females, and 14-16 days for the males - both sexes undergo 6 moltings. It took only 42 days for the first females to mature, and about 46 days for the males - needless to say, they are quick developers.
As for size, males are about only 5 cm long, while females are usualy above 6 cm - sexing can wait till they are pre sub, before that it may be a bit hard to tell the difference.
I kept all nymphs in one container - they were never separated into smaller groups, yet there was no cannibalism whatsoever - but I atribute it only to the regular food supply, because this species so agressive, that despite the slender body it may attack the prey that seems far too big to handle, this includes other Thesprotia nymphs/adults.
As for conditions - temperature is best to be kept around 30C, it might be a bit higher, but this is the fasest bet. Humidity is important, but this species can tolerate humidity fluctuations - as for me, I simply kept the substrata a bit moist, and there were no mis-molts.
They seem to like spending time in places that simulate their natural habitat - most of my Thesprotia avoid the mesh lid, and hang around the twigs I put in the enclosure - so I guess it would be a good idea to provide them with grass, branches, twigs and so on.
Well - if you have any other questions, ask away.
Sub-adult male eating a waxmoth, and another one, molting into adult.
Freshly molted adult female...
I got Thesprotia graminis ooth on Halloween, and on the exact same day, just a few hours after, the ooth gave me 12 hatchlings, which I moved to a bigger container and started feeding them.
Small nymphs were ready to hunt just a few hours after they hatched - at first they would eagerly grab springtails, but since those usually crawl at the bottom, I had to try and mix it up with some flies - surpisingly, 5 mm long nymphs were able to grab D. melanogaster with those tiny arms, and munch on them for about an hour.
After 5-6 days, first nymphs started molting into L2, and this pace was prety much consistent up until the final molt, which took about 10-12 days for the females, and 14-16 days for the males - both sexes undergo 6 moltings. It took only 42 days for the first females to mature, and about 46 days for the males - needless to say, they are quick developers.
As for size, males are about only 5 cm long, while females are usualy above 6 cm - sexing can wait till they are pre sub, before that it may be a bit hard to tell the difference.
I kept all nymphs in one container - they were never separated into smaller groups, yet there was no cannibalism whatsoever - but I atribute it only to the regular food supply, because this species so agressive, that despite the slender body it may attack the prey that seems far too big to handle, this includes other Thesprotia nymphs/adults.
As for conditions - temperature is best to be kept around 30C, it might be a bit higher, but this is the fasest bet. Humidity is important, but this species can tolerate humidity fluctuations - as for me, I simply kept the substrata a bit moist, and there were no mis-molts.
They seem to like spending time in places that simulate their natural habitat - most of my Thesprotia avoid the mesh lid, and hang around the twigs I put in the enclosure - so I guess it would be a good idea to provide them with grass, branches, twigs and so on.
Well - if you have any other questions, ask away.
Sub-adult male eating a waxmoth, and another one, molting into adult.
Freshly molted adult female...
