Too little ventilation?

[Mantidkid]

hi i recently got a chinese mantis l3 and i’m wondering if the enclosure she has isn’t well ventilated enough, the only ventilation are these holes on the lid

 

[Synapze]

What are the dimensions of the piece shown and dimensions of total enclosure?

 

[Mantidkid]

What are the dimensions of the piece shown? 

i’m not sure exactly but i’ll show you a pic of my mantis against it

 

[Synapze]

Cute. Is that the entire enclosure or just the top/lid?

 

[Mantidkid]

Cute. Is that the entire enclosure or just the top/lid?

that’s just the lid but it’s the only ventilation for the enclosure so i just wanna make sure enough air is getting in

 

[Charoozz520]

Depending on how tall the enclosure is you can always add some ventilation on the sides for cross ventilation.

 

[Mantidkid]

Depending on how tall the enclosure is you can always add some ventilation on the sides for cross ventilation.

it’s not very big as she’s just a baby so i think it’ll be okay for now

 

[Synapze]

Yeah, adding cross ventilation is a good idea. Something as simple as adding some drill holes or using a cheap vent insert should do the trick. You can buy several vents like this on eBay. 

 

Knowing the total dimensions of the enclosure would be useful.

 

[Mantidkid]

Yeah, adding cross ventilation is a good idea. Something as simple as adding some drill holes or using a cheap vent insert should do the trick. You can buy several vents like this on eBay. 

 

Knowing the total dimensions of the enclosure would be useful.

i measured it with a ruler so it’s not gonna be 100% accurate but it seems about 7cm wide and 8cm tall

 

[Synapze]

i measured it with a ruler so it’s not gonna be 100% accurate but it seems about 7cm wide and 8cm tall

I think that's fine considering the dimensions of the enclosure. For a larger enclosure, cross ventilation would be much more important. This little nymph will outgrow this enclosure very fast anyway.  

 

[Mantidkid]

I think that's fine considering the dimensions of the enclosure. For a larger enclosure, cross ventilation would be much more important. This little nymph will outgrow this enclosure very fast anyway.  

yeah it’s okay i’ve got 2 more enclosures set for as it grows. Thanks for the help!

 

[Charoozz520]

Yeah I think you can get away with just the holes on top with such a small enclosure. But once it gets bigger cross ventilation helps a lot or just even a row of holes towards the bottom of the enclosure. Hot air rises so as the hot air escapes through the top, fresh air will be pulled in through the bottom. 

 

[MantisGirl13]

That's pushing it with too little ventilation, but you should be ok for a while. Just make sure you put screen on the lid so that your mantids can grip for molting and hanging! That is essential. 

- MantisGirl13

 

[Mantidkid]

That's pushing it with too little ventilation, but you should be ok for a while. Just make sure you put screen on the lid so that your mantids can grip for molting and hanging! That is essential. 

- MantisGirl13

yeah i have some netting that i put underneath the lid so she can walk on the top properly

 

[Mantidkid]

Yeah I think you can get away with just the holes on top with such a small enclosure. But once it gets bigger cross ventilation helps a lot or just even a row of holes towards the bottom of the enclosure. Hot air rises so as the hot air escapes through the top, fresh air will be pulled in through the bottom. 

yeah okay i’ll see if i can try something like that with my next enclosure 

 

[MantisGirl13]

yeah i have some netting that i put underneath the lid so she can walk on the top properly

Perfect! You'll need to upgrade your enclosure size in about a month if your mantis is only L3.

- MantisGirl13

 

[MantisGirl13]

Oh, and also, you'll want to make sure that fruit flies can't escape through the mesh if you are still feeding them to your mantis.

- MantisGirl13

 

[Mantidkid]

Oh, and also, you'll want to make sure that fruit flies can't escape through the mesh if you are still feeding them to your mantis.

- MantisGirl13

it’s okay i make sure they don’t escape 

 

[Mantidkid]

Perfect! You'll need to upgrade your enclosure size in about a month if your mantis is only L3.

- MantisGirl13

yep next time she molts i’ll check her size compared to the enclosure and see if it’s time to move up