Using heat lights...

[Stuart89]

As the title says, do you worry/ is it possible to blind the mantis while using a heat light to maintain temperature?

Got ghosts arriving tomorrow and want to use a heat light, but I fear that if they are sitting on the top of the cup/tank, they would be staring at the light all day long even it not intentionally... Is this a problem or am I just over-worrying about little things?

Stuart!

 

[mrblue]

you are over worrying. if it is too hot for them they will move away from the light, i dont think staring at the light will blind them either. ive used lamps for a long time and have never had them blind a mantis.

 

[macro junkie]

it wont matter.just make sure u have the right lamp for the right size..1ftx1ft is good enough for 50watts max..i point it in the corner so if they get to hot they can go in to the shade.i have mine out side my net cage.

 

[nympho]

As the title says, do you worry/ is it possible to blind the mantis while using a heat light to maintain temperature? Got ghosts arriving tomorrow and want to use a heat light, but I fear that if they are sitting on the top of the cup/tank, they would be staring at the light all day long even it not intentionally... Is this a problem or am I just over-worrying about little things?

Stuart!

i wouldnt worry insects evolved filters and stuff to cope with solar radiation about 300 million years ago, or they couldnt function.

and the suns a tiny bit brighter than a lamp

 

[macro junkie]

i wouldnt worry insects evolved filters and stuff to cope with solar radiation about 300 million years ago, or they couldnt function.and the suns a tiny bit brighter than a lamp

:lol: :lol:

 

[Stuart89]

hehe alright cheers guys, it will be connected to a habistat dimmer thermostat. Fancy cost me £40! haha. Got it spare from when I kept my snakes in tanks using bulbs.

 

[acerbity]

I had one of my mantids go blind in one eye around the time my cups got knocked around too close to one of my lamps.

Might be coincidence though.

 

[hibiscusmile]

I just ordered some heat tape. Never used it but thought I would give it a try. I will let yous know how it goes, ...lets see now ... hows gonna be a guinne pig to get boiled?.......

 

[macro junkie]

... hows gonna be a guinne pig to get boiled?.......

people like u shouldnt keep mantids. heheheh im joking :lol:

 

[bugzilla]

Just to play devils advocate here but aren't their eyes adapted to the lower light levels of wooded areas?????

 

[Rick]

Why do you need a heat lamp? Room temps are fine unless your place stays cold or something. The lights are going to dry everything out.

 

[Guest]

the original poster is in south wales, uk. the uk in general is colder than you lot in usa. also, uk room temperature is not exactly the same temperature as these insects would have in the wild. while it may be true that alot of species "do fine" at room temperature, what is wrong with wanting to offer something more close to their natural habitat? with some species (granted, not p.paradoxa) room temperature is far from fine. even if you disregard all that, you surely agree that they will grow faster at warmer temperatures. for some people this may be reason enough. also i have had some p.paradoxa that are very fussy and reluctant eaters, some specimens of this species sometimes refuse to eat for no apparent reason. warmer temperatures usually open up a mantids apetite, maybe this will be useful with this species?

 

[Orin]

I'd worry more about drying the mantis out, ghosts are not a dry-loving species. I'm sure you could figure out a safe set-up but that might be after a few losses.

 

[mrblue]

i use lamps with all my mantids (including p.paradoxa) and have never had any (p.paradoxa or otherwise) die of drying out. i am not saying it is impossible, just that this is my experience. the only way i can see them drying out would be if you didnt spray the mantids at all for days and days, and left the lamp on 24/7. but we all spray our mantids, lamps or no lamps, so this is unlikely.

 

[Stuart89]

Why do you need a heat lamp? Room temps are fine unless your place stays cold or something. The lights are going to dry everything out.

Yeh Ive recorded my room temperatures and they are around 22-23°C, I plan to keep my ghosts at 26°C (80°F). However I think I might end up using a spare heat mat connected to that matstat, dont think I can quite get the room for the light setup aswell. We shall see...

 

[hibiscusmile]

Yea, I worry about the lamp for a couple reasons, is why I want to try the tape, the lamp if turned off wont give off the heat...duh :blink: , and they won't experience night otherwise, plus if it gets too hot (boiled),

without a thermosat, you would not be able to turn it down without checking all the time, i surely don't need another task. I am having issues with a few mantis wanting more heat than the room temp. I was hoping not to have to resort to something else, but alas, I am!

 

[Krissim Klaw]

I have no info on the topic other than heating lights have never blinded any of my mantises (though I only used mine when I couldn't get my crew out for some nice sunning under the real sun).

On another note, I never thought about the possibility of mantises going blind by staring at a bright light. They can't blink... oh how the question got the little wheels in my head turning. :lol:

 

[Orin]

i use lamps with all my mantids (including p.paradoxa) ...

What kind of set up are you talking about here? What wattage are the lamps and how big of a cage? You put the lamps directly on the screen cover or somwhere else? I've seen some diagrams and finished photos for mini lights on custom mantid cages that would be safe but a lot of work.

 

[macro junkie]

What kind of set up are you talking about here? What wattage are the lamps and how big of a cage? You put the lamps directly on the screen cover or somwhere else? I've seen some diagrams and finished photos for mini lights on custom mantid cages that would be safe but a lot of work.

i do to.1ft x 1ft net cage with 50 watt subglow basking lamp pointed at the net cage from out side..i have moss as flooring and have to mist this every day with alot of water to keep humidity up.the moss if its really damp will dry out over 24-48hours.sinse i changed the positions of the lamp so its not pointing at the moss it dont dry out as fast now.

i have my cages on tabels,i have desk top lamps that sit next to the cages pointing in.its not ideal but it works