What species? And what stages?
If you could get the actual Latin names and more information about what nymph stage they are I would be more than happy to help you. I can’t do much without knowing the specific species and their stages because the husbandry varies between different species and stages in those species.
Sounds good!
Deroplatys lobrata?
what are the enclosures like? I have major too high humidity concerns. these species have very different humidity requirements. So spraying them both twice A day would not work
Okay so for Parashendale affinis your humidity is way too high! Humididty in homes is usually around 30-50 percent, at least around me, and P. affinis does well IME right around 50% but I would say no more than 60%. So depending on where you live and time of year, your in home humidty, if its on the higher side, can be close to what budwings need. So spraying twice a day will for sure cause molting issues. you may only need to spray a couple times a week, if that. Maybe once a week, maybe not at all.
2 mistings daily is way too much for all 3!! They do not need that at all, any of the species. People mist mantids way too much, don’t encourage people keeping wet mantids
I think it really depends on the species and size of the mantis. If you're talking about smaller nymphs/species like creobroter or odontomantis, 2-3 mistings per day is vital to keep them from dehydrating. Larger mantids, such as adult females, don't require as much but will still drink from water. Also, since mantids can't absorb any moisture from the air, I feel like misting them daily or twice a day provides them with an ample chance to hydrate themselves. The conditions where you actually keep your mantids is also important. If you live in a relatively dry area or if it's during winter, they can lose moisture quicker and it's better to provide them with more water. I've never really encountered issues with too much humidity for mantids and molting, the only problem I can think of is if you keep them too moist and with little ventilation. The stuffy conditions could quickly kill them, but I don't think it'd have any impact on the molt. Also based off of op's post, I think that it'd be better to redecorate the enclosures so that there's more sticks/decor towards the top so that they have ample molting space. Personally, I keep most of my mantids in 32 oz deli cups or larger contaienrs with a mesh/cloth lid with some fiberglass mesh wrapping around the interior of the container and they seem to do just fine.
Yes but we’re not talking about those species. We’re talking about P. affinis and D. dessicata that absolutely do not need two mistings a day. He needs the correct husbandry for the species he owns. Not other species he doesn’t own.
I think his husbandry is fine. Looking back at the original post, it seems like the mantids were moting too close to the ground. If op can rearrange the decor so that it's more centered towards the top, that'd be better.
Yes but he should know what his inside humidity is and mist accordingly, never just blindly mist and guess. Mantids in nature
well we don’t know what his set ups look like. But IMO his husbandry is not correct, especially for P. affinis. I’ve kept budwings a lot and there have been times I’ve never sprayed them. He needs to learn where each species come from and more about specific husbandry for each. He’s keeping 3 very different mantids in exactly the same conditions, and spraying twice a day, just to spray. That’s not good husbandry cause he doesn’t know enough about them.
